"In the US and elsewhere," says Chiu Hei-yuan, a research fellow in the Institute of Sociology at the Academia Sinica, "adherents of new religions often argue that what they follow isn't a religion at all. But if you look closely, you'll see that they have all the elements of a religion: an organization, sacred texts, special codes of conduct, and a staff."
話雖如此，「無論是在美國或是其他地區，新興宗教經常有人強調自己不是『宗教』，但如果仔細觀察，會發現他們有組織、有經典、有特殊儀軌和執事的人員，具備了所有的宗教元素，」中央研究院社會學研究所研究員瞿海源說。