At the beginning of this meeting, Hojjatul Islam wal Muslimeen Dr. Hafez noted the history of the emergence of New Religious Movements. He said that these movements emerged in the 1970s, and this emergence coincided with the anti-cultural movement in America and then in Europe which was caused by intense social tensions such as the confrontation between the new and the old generation and the emergence of abnormal life styles. Because of such conditions, meaninglessness became common in the world, and the rise of and tendency towards modern religious movements increased.
He went on to analyze the concept of religion in the title of Religious Movements, and added that religion in these movements is secular.
Hojjatul Islam wal Muslimeen Mr. Hafez defined the secularism in these movements in the decline of traditional religion the concepts of which are believed to be intrinsic, secular worldview, the separation of religion from society and abandonment of religion, the denial of the holiness of the world, and the emergence of a new utilitarian society.
He categorized religious organizations in four types of church, sect, religion, and faith. Continuing the typology of religious movements, he referred to the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the United States and the Umm Shin Reiki in Japan, and said that ethical movements such as the Sai Baba spiritual tradition in the Indian subcontinent and movements focused on techniques such as yoga are among the other movements to be mentioned.
The specialist in the field of emerging religions continued to examine in detail the causes of the emergence of new religious movements. He put all these factors into two epistemic and social categories. In this section, issues such as the decline of metaphysical meaning, globalization, and meaning crisis were raised.
At the end and while introducing and criticizing several sects of emerging mysticisms, Hojjatul Islam wal Muslimeen Mr. Hafez insisted that a detailed understanding of theoretical foundations and their social context is essential for the precise identification of emerging mysticisms.
It is worth mentioning that this conference was among the expert meetings of “Kalame Seva” and was held by the think tank of Islam, Religions, and Intercultural Relations in four sessions for the level-three students of specialty in theology in Navvab Great Seminary.