Religious Conversion - Other Religions and Sects

Other Religions and Sects

Conversion to new religious movements (NRMs) is riddled with controversies. The anti-cult movement sometimes uses the term thought reform or even brainwashing. Often they will call certain NRMs cults. There are many different definitions for the word cult. NRMs are very diverse and it is not clear whether conversion to NRMs differs from conversion to mainstream religions. However, it is clear that for the first decade or so of any NRM's existence, the overwhelming majority of its members must be converts (because the NRM will not have been in existence long enough for a significant number of its members to have been brought up in it). It is also clear that every mainstream religion must have gone through this stage when it first emerged. See also Brainwashing controversy in new religious movements.

Research both in the USA and the Netherlands has shown there is a positive correlation between lack of involvement in mainstream churches in certain areas and provinces and the percentage of people who are a member of a new religious movement. This applies also for the presence of New Age centres. The Dutch research included Jehovah's Witnesses (though most JW's were previously religious including a number of former ministers, deacons, priests and nuns) and the Latter Day Saint movement/Mormonism in the NRMs (which was more indicative of the research).

In the 1960s sociologist John Lofland lived with Unification Church missionary Young Oon Kim and a small group of American church members in California and studied their activities in trying to promote their beliefs and win new members for their church. Lofland noted that most of their efforts were ineffective and that most of the people who joined did so because of personal relationships with other members, often family relationships. Lofland published his findings in 1964 as a doctorial thesis entitled: "The World Savers: A Field Study of Cult Processes," and in 1966 in book form by Prentice-Hall as Doomsday Cult: A Study of Conversion, Proselytization, and Maintenance of Faith. It is considered to be one of the most important and widely cited studies of the process of religious conversion, and one of the first modern sociological studies of a new religious movement.

In 1965, William M. Branham started teaching separation from mainstream religion. In several of his sermons he claimed denominational religion was "The Mark of the Beast" from the Book of Revelation.

The Church of Scientology attempts to gain converts by offering "free stress tests" (see picture at auditing). Unlike other religions, Scientology requires converts to sign contracts before attending church.

On the other end of the scale are religions that do not accept any converts, or do so only very rarely. Often these are relatively small, close-knit minority religions that are ethnically-based such as the Yazidis, Druze, and Mandaeans. Zoroastrianism classically does not accept converts, but this issue has become controversial in the 20th century due to the rapid decline in membership. Chinese traditional religion lacks clear criteria for membership, and hence for conversion. The Shakers and some Indian eunuch brotherhoods do not allow procreation, so that every member is a convert.