Massimo Introvigne: Scholars Study new Religions but not Fight them

Abstract

Massimo Introvigne (born 1955) is one of the world known researchers of the new religions, author of dozens of books in the sociology of religion. He is the founder of the International Center for the Study of new Religious Movements in Turin, which holds annual conferences and gathers the best experts in this field. The last conference was held in 2018 in Taiwan. Introvigne was interviewed by Boris Falikov, his Russian colleague, Associate Professor of the Center for Study of Religion at the Russian State University for the Humanities. He tells about his long academic journey, the methods of studying nRM, the new directions in the discipline. He also speaks of his colleagues and debates with those who prefer to fight the new religions instead of studying them. Introvigne also shares some elements of his personal life like his – friendship with the famous semiotician and writer Umberto Eco and his own collection of comic, one of the largest in the world.