George Chryssides

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,[3] with the thesis: An examination of some problems concerning the philosophical analysis of religious language.

He has taught at various British universities and was Head of Religious Studies at the University of Wolverhampton from 2001 until 2008.

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.[4]

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some features of the movement remain stable, change is also frequent, making old assessments and criticism quickly outdated.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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[6] So Chryssides recommends that those embarking on the study of Jehovah's Witnesses be aware of these currents and navigate through them.[6] 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.[7]

• Chryssides, George D. (1974). An examination of some problems concerning the philosophical analysis of religious language (D. Phil. University of Oxford). OCLC 43196874.

• Chryssides, George D. (1991). The Advent of Sun Myung Moon: The Origins, Beliefs and Practices of the Unification Church. UK: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-49698-5.
• —— (1998). The Elements of Unitarianism. Element Books. ISBN 1-86204-247-0.
• —— (1999). Exploring New Religions. London: Cassell. ISBN 0-304-33651-3.
• —— (2001). Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements. Lanham, Maryland, and London: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-4095-2.
• —— (2003). Unitarian Perspectives on Contemporary Social Issues. London: Lindsey Press.
• —— (2008). Historical Dictionary of Jehovah's Witnesses. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6074-2.
• —— (2009). The A to Z of Jehovah's Witnesses. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6891-5.
• —— (2010). Christianity Today. Continuum. ISBN 978-1-8470-6542-1.
• —— (2011). Christians in the Twenty-First Century. Equinox. ISBN 978-1-84553-213-0.
• —— (2013). The Study of Religion:An Introduction to Key Ideas and Methods 2nd. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-78093-840-0.
• —— (2016). Jehovah's Witnesses Continuity and Change. Ashgate. ISBN 978-1-4094-5608-7.

• Chryssides, George D. (2000). "Is God a Space Alien? The Cosmology of the Raëllian Church". Culture and Cosmos. 4 (1): 36–53. doi:10.46472/CC.0104.0207.
• "The New Age: A Survey and Critique". Global Dialogue. 2 (1): 109–119. Winter 2000. ISSN 1450-0590.
• "New Religious Movements - Some Problems of Definition". Internet Journal of Religion. 1997. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010.
• —— (2010). "How Prophecy Succeeds: The Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Expectations". International Journal for the Study of New Religions. 1 (1): 39. doi:10.1558/ijsnr.v1i1.27. ISSN 2041-952X.