Centro studi sulle nuove religioni

The Center for Studies on New Religions (Centro Studi sulle Nuove Religioni), otherwise abbreviated as CESNUR, is a nonprofit organization based in Turin, Italy, that focuses on the academic study of new religious movements and opposes inaccurate portrayals by the anti-cult movement. It was established in 1988 by Massimo Introvigne, Jean-François Mayer, and Ernesto Zucchini. In 2001, Stephen A. Kent described CESNUR as "the highest profile lobbying and information group for controversial religions". The organization is described by the cult research website Apologetics Index as an apologist for cults. CESNUR's scholars have defended such diverse groups as the Unification Church, the Church of Scientology, and Shincheonji Church of Jesus, accused of having aided the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. CESNUR describes itself as an independent scholarly organization, but the organization has met with criticism for alleged personal and financial ties to the groups it studies; anthropologist Richard Singelenberg questioned in 1997 whether CESNUR is "too friendly and does not make enough critical comments about new religious movements and sects". CESNUR publishes The Journal of CESNUR, focusing on the academic study of new religious movements, and Bitter Winter, a daily magazine on religious issues and human rights in China.