Globalisation of NRMs. Jewish Kabbalah in Britain, France, Israel and Brazil (2007-2010).
Research Fellowship funded by the ESRC Research grant scheme.
Aims
The purpose of my new research is to further this question, and could be presented as being twofold:
- to offer an analysis of globalisation of religion based on empirical and cross-national investigations. A cross-national perspective will allow exploring the interaction of transnational movements with different local cultural contexts, and understanding singularities and variations. The emphasis is on the interaction between local and global (the diversification of cultures and the incorporation of locality implied by globalization),
- to explore the fast growing Kabbalah Centre, dedicated to the teaching of Jewish Kabbalah. The rapid diffusion of this religious movement makes of it a promising case-study of the globalisation of religion, as well as a significant contribution to the sociology of religion. Indeed, it seems that the relations between Judaism and new religions have been quite neglected.
Fieldwork 
In order to explore local adaptation to, and reception of, this transnational religious movement, I propose to conduct a cross-national investigation of the Kabbalah Centre in Britain, France, Israel, and Brazil.
Whereas the British state has been relatively liberal regarding “cults”, the French state considers that they are a threat to the State and society. The policy against cults has led to government inquiries into cults, and in 2001 a Bill was passed “to strengthen the prevention and suppression of cultic movements that infringe human rights and fundamental freedom”. Comparison of responses to new religious minorities in France and Britain based on neo-Hindu case-studies proved to be revealing. In Britain, neo-Hindus are torn between the institutional pressure to emphasize the reference to Hinduism, and their universalistic ideology which targets a western audience. In contrast, it is crucial for NRMs in France to differentiate themselves from the so-called cults, insisting for example, on their religious character or their authenticity.
Israel seemed to be an obvious choice, because the Kabbalah Centre started there. Kabbalah might compete with other movements of return and alternative spiritualities that are very popular among ‘secular Jews’; to them it might represent a globalised way of returning to their roots. Indeed, I was informed that many disciples in Israeli Kabbalah Centres were recent migrants. Besides, the conflictive relations of Kabbalah Centres with Jewish religious authorities and Kabbalah’s changing identity will be particularly interesting to study in the only country in which Judaism is the religion of the majority. On the whole, new religions have aroused considerable opposition in Israel. Strikingly, as in France, they are accused of undermining loyalty to the state and were examined by an Interministerial Commission of Inquiry on Cults. The anti-cult responses of Israeli society are distinctive in that they express a concern about the survival of Jewish identity as well as a reaction to missionary religious organisations, including Christian evangelisation. Therefore, movements attracting Jews in particular, such as the Kabbalah Centre, are probably more likely to arouse hostility.
While Kabbalah Centres encounter the opposition of religious orthodoxy in Israel, they face a very different situation in Brazil. Unsurprisingly, two of the seven Latin American Kabbalah Centres are Brazilian: Brazil represents an exceptional case of exuberant religious culture, which has generated numerous organizations that are now part of global religious networks. Kabbalah Centres probably contribute to the alternative spirituality that has grown up among the urban middle classes since the 1980s, including Eastern religions, esoteric organisations, and alternative therapies. In view of Brazil’s unusual capacity to assimilate and combine various traditions, I would expect that Kabbalah teachings will be more varied and that local groups will have less clear-cut boundaries. The historical religious diversity that discouraged the formation of strong anti-cult networks and policies against “cults” in Brazil will be fascinating to compare with the other national contexts.
Four phases of fieldwork may seem ambitious. Nevertheless, my goal is not to become a country specialist, but to fully explore the development of a successful transnational new religion. Finally, rather than just avoiding Euro-centrism on globalization, this project throws light on positive responses to religious diversity (British multiculturalism and Brazilian multireligious culture) and hostile reactions through a secular anti-cultism in France and a religious one in Israel.
