Inform

INFORM (Information Network Focus on Religious Movements)

Formation	1988
Founder	Eileen Barker
Type	Non-profit charity
Headquarters	London School of Economics, United Kingdom
Membership	religious, secular
Board of Governors Chair	Eileen Barker
Board of Governors Chair	James A. Beckford
Board of Governors Chair	Rev. Andrew Maguire
Director	Nick Parke
Key people	James A. Beckford, Rev. Andrew Maguire, Sarah Jane Harvey, Sibyl Macfarlane, Suzanne Newcombe, Silke Steidinger, Adviya Khan
Affiliations	London School of Economics, Methodist Church, Church of England, Greek Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, St Clement Danes, Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, Baroness Sally Greengross of Notting Hill
Staff	7
Website	inform.ac

INFORM (Information Network Focus on Religious Movements) is an independent registered charity located at the London School of Economics. It was founded in 1988 by the sociologist of religion, Eileen Barker, with funding from the British Home Office, Britain’s mainstream churches, foundations and enquirers. Its stated aim is to provide neutral, objective and up-to-date information on new religious movements (NRMs) to government officials, scholars, the media, and members of the general public, in particular to relatives of people who have joined a new religious movement., as well as religious or spiritual seekers

The founding of INFORM was motivated by a shared impression among clergy and academics that groups hostile to cults often aimed to feed rather than alleviate enquirers' fears. The British Home Office had received many complaints related to NRMs from concerned parents, but did not feel that any of the existing counter-cult and anti-cult groups deserved state funding. Answering the need for a body that would disseminate well-researched, impartial, and easily understood information, Eileen Barker, a leading sociologist of religion based at the London School of Economics and Political Science, established INFORM in 1988 with the support of the Home Office, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Hume and other mainstream churches.

INFORM, based at the London School of Economics and Political Science, collects information on new religious movements and makes this data available to all interested parties – government officials, researchers and the media as well as relatives of people who have joined a new religious movement. Seeking to dispel the often inaccurate and distorted information disseminated about new religious movements in the media, INFORM aims to provide reliable information, based on in-depth research, about the character, policy and origins of new religious movements, as well as information about what motivates converts, and how movement membership tends to affect members' subsequent lives and careers.