ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the relatively under-examined problem of personal feelings of scepticism and concern in the sociological study of New Religious Movements (NRMs) within the specific research setting of the charitable organization INFORM (Information Network Focus on Religious Movements), established in London in 1988 to conduct academic research about NRMs and to provide information and advice. It draws out the epistemological, methodological and ethical dimensions to this problem which brings the insider/outsider debate in the sociology of religion into sharp relief. Knowledge of the ultimate ‘truth’ of a movement’s religious claims is impossible and the question has to be put aside. Yet, empirical knowledge is achievable, despite the limitations of one’s position, and, in my view, moral awareness is vital. Despite the decline in public controversies and consequently the decline in academic attention to them, NRMs remain a challenge to mainstream society and academia and high-quality social scientific research about them involving reflexivity, openness to criticism and awareness of constraints and demands is important.
