Chen Tao (UFO religion)

Chen Tao (真道, or "True Way") was a UFO religion that originated in Taiwan.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] It was founded by Hon-Ming Chen (陳恆明 born 1955), who first associated it with UFOs but later claimed that the group had been misrepresented as a New Age UFO cult. Chen was a former professor who claimed to be an atheist until he joined a religious cultivation group that dated back for two generations to the original female founder, Teacher Yu-Hsia Chen. But he broke with the group, headed by the third-generation teacher, in 1993 and created, with another fellow-cultivator, Tao-hung Ma, their own groups. It was later, when he broke with Ma and decided to move to the United States, that new elements, such as the pseudo-scientific information of cosmology and flying saucers, as well as Christian motifs of the prophecy of the end and the great tribulation, etc., were introduced into the group.

Chen Tao (True Way Cult)
TypeUFO religion
FounderHon-Ming Chen (陳恆明)
Origin1993
Taiwan

In Taiwan, the group was originally officially registered as the Chinese Soul Light Research Association. When the group moved to the United States from Asia, it was registered in the US as God's Salvation Church and first relocated to San Dimas, California.[8] Adherents moved to Garland, Texas, in 1997.[9]

This new religious movement was a mix of Buddhism, Taoism, Christian millennialism and Ufology.[10]

Failed prophecy

The group is best known for a highly publicized, and failed, millennial prophecy. Shortly after moving to Garland in August 1997, Chen predicted that at on March 31, 1998, God would be seen on Channel 18 all across North America.[3][9]

The group reportedly moved to Garland because the name sounded like "God Land".[8] At the time the group had roughly 140–160 members.[11] Members purchased more than 20 homes in an upper-middle-class south Garland neighborhood. Like their neighbors, these followers were white-collar professionals, some of whom were reportedly wealthy. "They dressed in white, wore cowboy hats and drove luxury cars," according to The Dallas Morning News.[6]

The Garland Police Department, understanding the potential gravity of the situation, coordinated resources, including religious studies professor Lonnie Kliever, and were on stand-by when the international media began arriving in what had previously been an upper-middle-class section of the Dallas suburb. "Its presence unsettled many Garland residents," wrote Adam Szubin in a law enforcement case study.[4]

When the predicted appearance did not occur, the group became confused. "The Chen Tao leader announced that he obviously had misunderstood God's plans, and members quietly returned to their homes," wrote Szubin.[4] Chen offered to be stoned or crucified for the event, but no one took him up on this offer.[3]

Aftermath

Unlike other millennial religious groups, such as Millerites, Chen Tao seems to have effectively fallen apart after its leader's prophecies went unfulfilled.[11] Immediately after the failed prediction, some of the members had to return to Taiwan owing to visa problems; in total, roughly two-thirds abandoned the group. Later the remaining members moved to Lockport, New York. They continued to wear cowboy hats but began stating that a war between China and Taiwan would lead to a nuclear holocaust that would result in much death, but also God's arrival in a "God plane" to save the members.[12] They originally stated that this would occur in 1999 but later revised the date.[13]

Religious studies scholars Stuart A. Wright and Arthur L. Greil traveled to Lockport to interview Master Chen and observe the group post-prophecy.[11]

See also

References
  1. Davis, Derek; Hankins, Barry. New Religious Movements and Religious Liberty in America, Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2003.
  2. Dawson, Lorne L. (Ed.) Cults and New Religious Movements: A Reader, Wiley-Blackwell, 2003.
  3. Kliever, Lonnie D. (1999). "Meeting God in Garland: A Model of Religious Tolerance". Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 3 (1): 45–53. doi:10.1525/nr.1999.3.1.45. ISSN 1092-6690.
  4. Szubin, Adam; Carl J. Jensen; and Rod Gregg. "'Interacting with "Cults': A Policing Model," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Vol. 69, No. 9, 2000.
  5. Prather, Charles H. "Ritual and the experience of belief: understanding group reactions to failed prophecy" Unpublished MA Thesis, University of North Carolina at Greensboro 2002.
  6. Baxter, Irvin (2006-06-19). "Irvin Baxter: Ministry says Armageddon is near". Religion News Blog. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  7. Prather, Charles Houston (July 1999). "God's Salvation Church: Past, Present and Future". Marburg Journal of Religion. 4 (1): 1–18.
  8. Verhovek, Sam Howe (1998-03-04). "Taiwanese Group Prepares to Meet God -- in Texas". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  9. "Chen Tao | History, Beliefs, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  10. Hannah, Jake (2022-09-18). "Chen Tao: The Strange Taiwanese UFO Cult". Taiwan Foreigner 台灣外國人部落格. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  11. Wright, Stuart A.; Greil, Arthur L. (2011). "Failed Prophecy and Group Demise: The Case of Chen Tao". In Tumminia, Diana; Swatos, William H. (eds.). How Prophecy Fails. Boston: Brill. pp. 153–171. ISBN 978-90-04-21560-3.
  12. Heard, Alex; Klebnikov, Peter (December 27, 1998). "Apocalypse Now. No, Really. Now!". The New York Times.
  13. Ostling, Richard N. (1999-12-26). "Some religious believers waiting for end of the world". The Daily Courier. pp. 8A. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
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