Religious Experts Say 15 "Dangerous" Religious Sects Are Active in Bulgaria

There are about 15 "totalitarian and destructive" religious sects that are currently active in Bulgaria, according to the Sofia Morning News website.

Prof. Ivan Zhelev, Chair of the Center for Research of New Religious Movements (CRNRM), said many of the 120 religions registered in Bulgaria were fictitious, and that if the state undertook a campaign to inspect them, their number would drop to no more than 20.

Among the most "destructive" sects are the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Krishna Followers, and the Charismatists, according to Prof. Alexander Dvorkin, Director of the Center for Religious Research and of the Russian Association for Studying Religions and Sects.

In his words, several Russian sects -- including the Followers of Visarion, of Anastasia, and of Norbekov -- are also active in Bulgaria. The predominant religion of Bulgaria is Eastern Orthodoxy. Prof. Dvorkin warned that periods of crisis and stress increased people's susceptibility to being influenced by destructive religious movements.