ABSTRACT
The two previous chapters dealt with dissident organizations linked with religion and ethnicity-two of the most basic forms of identification available to individuals. Ethnic or national identity is generally difficult to change. Even if one becomes a naturalized citizen, one may still be regarded as foreign, or perhaps just different. In states where communal violence has occurred, shared citizenship has not prevented violence between groups that are perceived to be different. Similarly, religion has formed one of the more basic identifiers for members of a society. While some individuals can and do change religions, most individuals do not. Personal, family, and peer groups may reinforce the religious identity to a sufficient degree as to make conversion relatively rare. Even if individuals are not particularly active in the religion of their group, they will still often have a cultural identification with that religion and be affected by the values that are inherent within it. Of the religious groups discussed in Chapter 5, Aum Shinrikyo was the one exception in this regard since its members voluntarily chose to join and become devoted to the sect and its leader. The followers of Islam, Judaism, Christianity, or Sikhism, on the other hand, are much less likely to be composed of converts or persons who have recently joined, and in religious groups of long-standing members, the newcomers will usually be obvious.
