George Chryssides
George D. Chryssides (born 1945) is a British academic and researcher on new religious movements and cults, has taught at several British universities, becoming head of Religious studies at the University of Wolverhampton in 2001. He is currently honorary research fellow in contemporary religion at York St John University and the University of Birmingham. Chryssides is the author of several books and articles, with a particular interest in the academic study of new religious movements, on which he has published extensively. He is currently president of the International Society for the Study of New Religions, and a Governor  of Inform (Information Network Focus on Religious Movements), based at King’s College London. Biography. Education. Chryssides holds a First Class Honours B.D. in systematic theology from the University of Glasgow. He obtained a First Class Honours MA degree in philosophy at the University of Glasgow. From 1974, Chryssides holds a Ph.D. in philosophy of religion from the University of Oxford, with the thesis: "An examination of some problems concerning the philosophical analysis of religious language". Teaching. He has taught at various British universities and was Head of Religious Studies at the University of Wolverhampton from 2001 until 2008. Academic  work. Definition of new religious movements. From the 1980, George Chryssides’s main interest has been new religious movements, on which he has authored numerous books and scholarly articles. Chryssides entered the debate about how to define the category of “new religious movements.” While other scholars insist on either theological or sociological features, and suggest to identify as “new religious movements” the groups with a non-mainline theology or perceived as deviant by society, Chryssides favors a simple chronological test, although one combined with the fact that the movement is clearly outside the great world religions. For him, “new religious  movement” is an organization founded “within the past 150 or so years,” which cannot be easily classified within one of the world’s main religious traditions. Study of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He has written extensively on new religious movements, and has a particular interest in Jehovah’s Witnesses. Chryssides has been defined by fellow sociologist James T. Richardson as “one of the leading scholars” of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He sees in the Witnesses both continuity and change. Although some features of the movement remain stable, change is also frequent, making old assessments and criticism quickly outdated. Indeed, according to  Chryssides, criticism itself is a main factor determining change. Using ex-members as a reliable source. In his studies, Chryssides reports that he has taken pains to highlight the variety of positions from which the Watch Tower Society is discussed: neutral academics, former members and a handful of insiders. Chryssides states that responses to hostile criticism from ex-members who typically seek to discredit the Watch Tower Society are lacking because Jehovah's Witnesses tend to avoid outside reading and insiders sometimes tend to be unaware of outside scholarship, and thus their discussion tends to be limited. So Chryssides recommends  that those embarking on the study of Jehovah's Witnesses be aware of these currents and navigate through them. Chryssides has said that he learned useful information from critical ex-members of the Jehovah's Witnesses, although accounts by critical former members may be biased.