11/07/2025 11:00
- 15:00
HALL: Seminar Room 02
Proponent:
Introvigne M.
Chair:
Zoehrer P.
Speaker:
Chen S.,
Ho E.,
Huang C.,
Introvigne M.,
Nemes M.
Taiwan has one of the largest percentages of new religious movements in the world in proportion to its population. Compared to Mainland China, Taiwan is hailed today as a beacon of religious liberty for these movements—and rightly so. However, new religious movements suffered discrimination and even outright persecution during the Martial Law period, for different reasons. A case in point is Yiguandao: its members escaped persecution in Mainland China only to find new problems in authoritarian Taiwan. Soka Gakkai was also persecuted because of its Japanese origins and had to disband. As late as 1996, there was a crackdown on several religious movements for political reasons. Today, as evidenced by the case of Scientology, even new religious movements controversial elsewhere operate freely in Taiwan, although the case of Tai Ji Men shows that problems persist at different levels, particularly with respect to taxes. The session also discusses some features of Tai Ji Men and media opposition against movements stigmatized as "cults."