Polish New Religious Movements
Pawel Zalecki
Almost all New Religious Movements (NRMs) found in Poland, even those of Oriental origin, arrived from Western countries. Only a few NRMs have no agencies or"headquarters" abroad. The best known that started in Poland due to a missionary activity of their representatives from the West are: 1) Science of Identity Institute "Chaitanya Mission" (in Poland since 1988, registered in 1990, ca. 1,000 followers); 2) International Society for Krishna Consciousness, ISKCON (in Poland since 1976, registered in 1988, ca. 12,000 followers and ca. 500 persons after the religious initiation); 3) The Family, The Children of God, or The Family of Love (in Poland since 1974, ca. 150 followers); 4) Bahá'í Faith (in Poland since 1989, registration in 1992, ca. 500 followers); and 5) Unification Church (in Poland since 1980, registration in 1990, ca. 500 followers).
The rapid increase in the number of NRMs in the early 1990s has now
subsided. A statement of one of the highest spiritual leaders of the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness in Poland captures past
and current trends well: "When the system transformation started in
Poland in 1989, the movement developed very fast. People were
interested and joined.... It can be said there was a real Krishna
Movement boom. Now, after eight to nine years, we notice this interest
has diminished and the number of followers is not growing as rapidly.
In fact, quantity seems to have been replaced by quality." This is
perhaps true for many other NRMs.
Edited excerpt reprinted with permission from Pawel Zalecki, "Religious Revival in Poland. New Religious Movements and the Roman Catholic Church" in Pink, Purple, Green; Women's, Religious, Environmental and Gay/Lesbian Movements in Central Europe Today, edited by Helena Flam. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs/Columbia University Press, 2001.
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© 2003 East-West Church and Ministry Report
ISSN 1069-5664