Advantages of being recognized as a religion

Gaining legal status Religious movements are granted wide protection under the law in many countries.

Gaining Tax benefitsMany countries grant tax concessions to officially recognized religions.

Establishing a link to an ethnic community The position of a minority religious movement may be strengthened if it can demonstrate its ties to an ethnic community and through that to a major religion

Achieve respectability and legitimacy Religious organizations enjoy a degree of respect as a religion. Moreover, where recognised as a religion, an organisation is afforded legitimacy like more traditional religious organisations

Disadvantages of status as a religion

Legal restrictionsA religious group may be denied access to public institutions, restricting their operations to the voluntary sector.

Negative images of mainstream religionReligious organizations may distance themselves from mainstream religions due in part to the negative social portrayal of the latter. Also, mainstream religions may be considered moralistic, spiritually lifeless, and authoritarian, all of which may contrast significantly with the values and beliefs of a new religious/spiritual movement.

Identification as a cultIn many countries the rights of religious minorities are uncertain and precarious. Anti cult movements are able to tap into a reservoir of popular hostility, and the mass media have relative freedom to target religious minorities.