Massimo Introvigne, Managing Director, Center for Studies on New Religions

Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist, is the managing director of CESNUR, the Center for Studies on New Religions, in Torino, Italy, and the author of some 70 books in the fields of new religious movements and religious pluralism. In 2011, he served as the Representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for combating racism, xenophobia, and intolerance and discrimination against Christians and members of other religions. From 2012 to 2015 he was the chairperson of the Italian Observatory of Religious Liberty, instituted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Overall, Introvigne's work is quite sympathetic toward the plight of CAG; in many ways the book reads like an apologetic for the movement. In addition to his use of surveys and interviews, the author quotes extensively from the group's scriptures and other published documents." - Matthew Winslow, Lecturer, Historical and Theological Studies, East Asia School of Theology, Cru, Singapore, Mission Studies

"This volume is a testimonial and comprehensive study of the sociocultural landscape of a new religious movement in contemporary China." - David W. Kim, Kookmin University, Seoul, South Korea; Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, Journal of Church and State

"Easy and enjoyable to read, Massimo Introvigne has provided compelling and valuable stories." - Richard Cook, Evangelical Missions Quarterly

"A valuable resource for students of new religious movements." - Scott Lowe, Nova Religio

"an extremely useful volume on a group that has been fundamentally misunderstood to this point." - David Ownby, Université de Montréal, Journal of the American Academy of Religion