Editing CESNUR (section)

== Organization ==
According to its official website, CESNUR "is a network of independent but related organizations of scholars in various countries, devoted to promote scholarly research in the field of new religious consciousness, to spread reliable and responsible information, and to expose the very real problems associated with some movements, while at the same time defending everywhere the principles of religious liberty."<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |title=About CESNUR - Cosa è il CESNUR |url=https://www.cesnur.org/about.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191121151603/https://www.cesnur.org/about.htm |archive-date=2019-11-21 |access-date=2019-10-30 |website=CESNUR}}</ref> The Italian authorities{{Who|date=July 2022}} recognized CESNUR as a public non-profit organization in 1996 and were contributors to CESNUR projects.<ref name="WF" /> Other sources of income include book royalties and member contributions.<ref name="WF" /><ref name="Clarke2004">{{Cite book |last=Clarke |first=Peter |title=Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-134-49970-0 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DouBAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA101 101] |language=en }}</ref>

While established by a group composed mostly of Catholic scholars, CESNUR is not affiliated with any religious group or denomination and has from the outset included scholars of various religious persuasions.<ref name="WF">{{Cite book |last=Fautré |first=Willy |author-link=Willy Fautré |title=Non-State Actors in the Human Rights Universe |publisher=[[Kumarian Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-415-30948-6 |editor=Andreopoulos |editor-first=George J. |language=en |chapter=Non-state actors and Religious Freedom in Europe |editor2=Kabasakal Arat |editor-first2=Zehra F. |editor3=Juviler |editor-first3=Peter H.}}</ref> CESNUR is critical of concepts like [[Brainwashing|mind control]], thought reform and [[brainwashing]], asserting that they lack [[science|scientific]] and scholarly support and are mainly based on [[anecdotal evidence]].<ref name="kent" />

In a 2018 history of the academic study of new religious movements, American scholar W. Michael Ashcraft described CESNUR as "the largest outlet currently supporting research on NRMs."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ashcraft |first1=W. Michael |title=A Historical Introduction to the Study of New Religious Movements |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-67083-8 |page=236 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CnVUDwAAQBAJ&q=ashcraft%20cesnur&pg=PT409 |access-date=19 December 2019 |language=en}}</ref> In 2018, ''[[The Korea Times]]'' described CESNUR as "the largest international association of scholars specializing in the study of new religious movements."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dong-hwan |first=Ko |date=2018-11-14 |title=Hundreds of Chinese religious asylum seekers rejected in Jeju |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/11/177_258676.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030081037/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/11/177_258676.html |archive-date=2019-10-30 |work=[[The Korea Times]] |language=en}}</ref>

===Activities and publications===
Since 2017, CESNUR has published ''The Journal of CESNUR'', a periodic about new religious movements.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Zeller |first=Benjamin E. |date=2020-04-17 |title=New Religious Movements: A Bibliographic Introduction |journal=Theological Librarianship |language=en |publisher=[[American Theological Library Association]] |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=38–49 |doi=10.31046/tl.v13i1.564 |issn=1937-8904 |doi-access=free}}</ref> CESNUR sponsors yearly conferences in the field of new religions.<ref name="Lewis2014">{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=James R. |author-link=James R. Lewis (scholar) |title=Cults: A Reference and Guide |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-317-54513-2 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=JWJ_BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA204 204] |language=en }}</ref> The 2019 conference at the [[University of Turin]] included over 200 attendees.<ref name="lastampa.it">{{Cite news |date=2019-09-03 |title=A Torino oltre duecento studiosi al convegno del Cesnur sul nuovo pluralismo religioso |trans-title=In Turin, over two hundred scholars at the Cesnur conference on the new religious pluralism |url=https://www.lastampa.it/vatican-insider/it/2019/09/02/news/a-torino-oltre-duecento-studiosi-al-convegno-del-cesnur-sul-nuovo-pluralismo-religioso-1.37406723/ |access-date=2022-07-15 |work=[[La Stampa]] |language=it}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> The journal's articles are typically sourced from CESNUR's annual conferences.<ref name=":0" /> The journal is [[open access]], and Introvigne is the founder and lead editor.<ref name=":0" /> [[Benjamin E. Zeller]] noted in 2020 that, while too recently founded to give a proper analysis, the journal's articles tended to disproportionately focus on East Asia.<ref name=":0" /> The organization is regarded as an apologist for [[cult]]s.<ref name=Da20>{{cite journal |last1=Datta |first1=Neil |title=Modern-Day Crusaders in Europe: Tradition, Family and Property |journal=Političke Perspektive |date=2018|doi-access=free|volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=69–105|publisher=[[University of Zagreb]]|doi=10.20901/pp.8.3.03}}</ref>

Introvigne has spoken before the [[Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe]] and the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]].<ref name="kent"/> He testified on behalf of Scientologists in a criminal trial in [[Lyon]].<ref name="kent"/> In 1995, Introvigne argued that [[Order of the Solar Temple]] members who died by mass suicide had acted on their own initiative as opposed to being victims of the leader's manipulations.<ref name="Trouw2">{{Cite news |last=van der Velde |first=Koert |date=1997-08-05 |title=Sekte-onderzoekers verblind door eigen inlevingsvermogen |trans-title=Cult researchers blinded by their own empathy |url=https://www.trouw.nl/gs-ba6de2e5 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928033646/https://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/sekte-onderzoekers-verblind-door-eigen-inlevingsvermogen~ba6de2e5/ |archive-date=2019-09-28 |work=[[Trouw]] |language=nl}}</ref> In 1997, Melton appeared as an expert witness on behalf of the [[Singapore]] branch of the [[International Churches of Christ]], arguing that the group was not a "cult". The testimony garnered attention for Melton's admission on cross-examination that he had publicly made similar claims about [[Peoples Temple]], responsible for 918 deaths in [[Jonestown]], Guyana.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ooi Boon |first=Tan |date=1997-07-17 |title=Church not a cult, says expert witness |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Page/straitstimes19970717-1.1.35 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804192950/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Page/straitstimes19970717-1.1.35 |archive-date=2022-08-04 |access-date=2019-11-30 |work=[[The Straits Times]] |page=35 |language=en |via=[[NewspaperSG]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1997-11-11 |title=Why church wasn't considered cult |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Page/straitstimes19971111-1.1.30 |access-date=2024-03-24 |work=[[The Straits Times]] |page=30 |language=en |via=[[NewspaperSG]]}}</ref> 

In 2001 and 2006 CESNUR published two editions of its encyclopedia of religions in Italy.<ref name="Stausberg" />

====''Bitter Winter''====
''Bitter Winter'' was launched in May 2018 as an online magazine which covers [[Freedom of religion in China|religious freedom]] and [[human rights in China]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lemaître |first=Frédéric |date=2019-12-31 |title=En condamnant un pasteur, la Chine réprime le protestantisme, en plein essor |trans-title=By convicting a pastor, China suppresses Protestantism, in full swing |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2019/12/31/en-condamnant-un-pasteur-la-chine-reprime-le-protestantisme-en-plein-essor_6024475_3210.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309160424/https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2019/12/31/en-condamnant-un-pasteur-la-chine-reprime-le-protestantisme-en-plein-essor_6024475_3210.html |archive-date=2020-03-09 |access-date=2020-03-12 |work=[[Le Monde]] |location=Paris |language=fr}}</ref><ref name=about/><ref>{{Cite news |last=Tatad |first=Francisco S. |date=2018-10-05 |title=Can the Church survive China's embrace? |url=https://www.manilatimes.net/2018/10/05/opinion/columnists/topanalysis/can-the-church-survive-chinas-embrace/448558/448558/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006040340/https://www.manilatimes.net/2018/10/05/opinion/columnists/topanalysis/can-the-church-survive-chinas-embrace/448558/448558/ |archive-date=2019-10-06 |access-date=2019-10-28 |work=[[The Manila Times]] |language=en}}</ref> According to the magazine it is supported by volunteer contributions and is published daily in five languages.<ref name="about">{{Cite web |date=2018-04-24 |title=About |url=https://bitterwinter.org/about/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114114814/https://bitterwinter.org/about/ |archive-date=2019-11-14 |access-date=2019-10-28 |website=Bitter Winter |language=en}}</ref>

Some of the magazine's correspondents were arrested in late 2018 by the authorities for their work documenting and publicizing [[antireligious campaigns of the Chinese Communist Party]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Cielo |first=Settimo |date=2018-12-29 |title=Christmas Behind Bars In China, For the Martyrs of the Free Press |url=http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2018/12/29/christmas-behind-bars-in-china-for-the-martyrs-of-the-free-press/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229192127/http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2018/12/29/christmas-behind-bars-in-china-for-the-martyrs-of-the-free-press/ |archive-date=2018-12-29 |access-date=2022-07-15 |magazine=[[L'Espresso]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name="lastampa">{{Cite news |date=2018-12-28 |title=Arrestati in Cina 45 giornalisti, trasmettevano notizie al magazine italiano "Bitter Winter" |trans-title=45 journalists arrested in China, they were broadcasting news to Italian magazine "Bitter Winter" |url=https://www.lastampa.it/2018/12/28/vaticaninsider/arrestati-in-cina-giornalistitrasmettevano-notizie-al-magazine-italiano-bitter-winter-rug2VZ0QdLFVoTauXCbsGJ/pagina.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181228200229/https://www.lastampa.it/2018/12/28/vaticaninsider/arrestati-in-cina-giornalistitrasmettevano-notizie-al-magazine-italiano-bitter-winter-rug2VZ0QdLFVoTauXCbsGJ/pagina.html |archive-date=2018-12-28 |work=[[La Stampa]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/media-01312019162346.html|title=Media Outlet Monitoring Uyghur Persecution in China Vows to Continue Work Despite Ban, Arrests|last=Lipes|first=Joshua|date=January 31, 2019|work=[[Radio Free Asia]]|access-date=October 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201033545/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/media-01312019162346.html|archive-date=February 1, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=human>{{Cite web|url=https://hrwf.eu/chinese-ministry-of-state-security-takes-over-the-campaign-against-bitter-winter/|title=Chinese ministry of state security takes over the campaign against Bitter Winter|date=August 7, 2018|website=Human Rights Without Frontiers|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029094441/https://hrwf.eu/chinese-ministry-of-state-security-takes-over-the-campaign-against-bitter-winter/|archive-date=October 29, 2019|access-date=2019-10-06}}</ref> The [[United States Department of State]] in the chapter on China of its 2019 Human Rights Report noted that, among 45 ''Bitter Winter'' contributors the magazine reported had been arrested in 2018, in 2019, 4 of the 22 detained in [[Xinjiang]] were released, and among the 23 detained in [[Henan]], [[Fujian]], [[Zhejiang]] and [[Shanxi]], "several had been released after indoctrination training," while "online media reported that police tortured" those arrested in Fujian.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CHINA-INCLUSIVE-2019-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf|title=China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau) 2019 Human Rights Report|author=U.S.Department of State|date=2020|access-date=March 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313194153/https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CHINA-INCLUSIVE-2019-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf|archive-date=March 13, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

The same United States Department of State quoted repeatedly ''Bitter Winter'' as "an online magazine on religious liberty and human rights in China" in the China section of its 2018 International Religious Freedom Report.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/CHINA-INCLUSIVE-2018-INTERNATIONAL-RELIGIOUS-FREEDOM-REPORT.pdf|title=China (includes Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Macau) 2018 International Religious Freedom Report|author=U.S.Department of State|date=2019|access-date=March 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807101350/https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/CHINA-INCLUSIVE-2018-INTERNATIONAL-RELIGIOUS-FREEDOM-REPORT.pdf|archive-date=August 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The American [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] magazine ''[[World (magazine)|World]]'' called ''Bitter Winter'' "a thorn in the side" of the [[Chinese Communist Party]], and reported that in a secret document "the Chinese government has called ''Bitter Winter'' an 'overseas hostile website' [境外敌对网站] and instructed its intelligence agency, the [[Ministry of State Security (China)|Ministry of State Security]], to investigate the group."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cheng |first=June |date=2019-12-20 |title=Watchdog on the web |url=https://world.wng.org/2019/12/watchdog_on_the_web |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128153113/https://world.wng.org/2019/12/watchdog_on_the_web |archive-date=2020-01-28 |access-date=2020-03-12 |work=World Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-08-03 |title=Chinese Ministry of State Security Takes Over the Campaign Against Bitter Winter |url=https://bitterwinter.org/state-security-takes-over-campaign-against-bitter-winter/ |access-date=2022-07-15 |website=Bitter Winter |language=en-US}}</ref>