FECRIS (Fédération Européenne des Centres de Recherche et d'Information sur le Sectarisme) – European Federation of Centres of Research and Information on Sectarianism, a French non-profit association and anti-cult organization, serves as an umbrella organization for groups which investigate the activities of groups considered cults in Europe.
History
FECRIS was formed as a French non-profit association, founded in Paris on 30 June 1994 at the request of the French anti-sect association UNADFI (National Union of Associations for the Defence of Family and the Individual), after the 1993 Congress on Sectarianism in Barcelona. FECRIS serves as an umbrella organization for groups which investigate the activities of groups they consider cults in Europe, and it describes itself as "politically, philosophically and religiously neutral". The first president of FECRIS was Dr. Jacques Richard, succeeded by Friedrich Griess. The organization began in 1994 with representation from 10 different countries in Europe. The group's first meeting was held in Paris in October 1994. Its second meeting in April 1995 was attended by individuals from six different countries. At the meeting, the organization decided to focus on research, and stated "the legal aspects of family/cult relationships should be the first subject for research by an appropriate university or professional department".
At a meeting held in Germany in 1996, the organization recommended perusing recent court decisions for information that could be of use to individuals involved in groups researched by FECRIS. By 1999, FECRIS had established a website, located at www.fecris.org. The organization's president, Jean Nokin, traveled with the vice president to a meeting of the American Family Foundation (now the International Cultic Studies Association) in April 2000, where they presented on the topic of "Cults and the Millennium". By May 2001, FECRIS had 36 member organizations in 24 different countries. A June 2001 meeting in Paris dealt with the impact of membership in controversial religious groups, issues of litigation against cults, and safety of youth involved in such groups. The organization held a May 2002 meeting in Barcelona on the topic of "Children and Cults".
As of 2003 the government of France provided funding to the organization. In March 2005, the Council of Europe's Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly granted FECRIS advisory status. In 2009, FECRIS was granted "ECOSOC Special Consultative Status" by the United Nations.
Analysis
FECRIS is described in the 2006 book Non-State Actors in the Human Rights Universe as "a transnational network of (state agencies created to deal with the 'cult issue') anti-cult associations". The A to Z of New Religious Movements by George D. Chryssides places FECRIS within the genre of the anti-cult movement. Paul A. Marshall writes in Religious Freedom in the World that many cult-awareness groups (CAGs) that investigate new religious movements belong to FECRIS. Writing in Multireligiosität im vereinten Europa, Eileen Barker comments that "FECRIS was founded to encompass a number of anti-cult groups." The organization is described in the 2004 book New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities: "In France, the principal anti-cult group is UNADFI (National Association for the Defence of the Family International). FECRIS (European Federation of Centres for Research and Sectarianism), founded in 1994, covers Europe more widely, having representatives from ten different European countries."
Criticism
A 2012 special issue of Religion – Staat – Gesellschaft: Zeitschrift für Glaubensformen und Weltanschauungen ("Journal for the Study of Beliefs and Worldviews") was devoted to a case study of FECRIS; under the heading "Freedom of Religion or Belief: Anti-Sect Movements and State Neutrality" it collected six essays and a conclusion (by Willy Fautré, member of the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies). Five of the essays discussed the activities of FECRIS in various countries (France, Russia, Austria, Germany, and Serbia). According to Regis Dericquebourg FECRIS pathologizes and criminalizes members of religious minorities, and falsely assigns "sect" status to religious minorities.
