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Régis Dericquebourg (born 1947) is a French sociologist of religions.
He wrote his thesis on Jehovah's Witnesses under the direction of Jean Seguy. He holds a doctorate in psychosociology and a postgraduate degree in clinical psychology from the Institute of Paris 7.[1] He is a member of the Group for the Study of Religions and Secularity at the National Center for the Scientific Studies in Paris, and a professor at the Charles de Gaulle University – Lille III. He published five books, many sociological articles in collective books, encyclopedias, and journals and regularly participated in conferences of sociology. His contributions are mainly on Jehovah's Witnesses, healing in religion, and new religious movements.[2]
One of Dericquebourg's main contributions to the sociology of religions is the creation of a new category of religions, “religions de guérison” (healing-oriented religions). This category should avoid the debates about which movements are genuine religions and which are cults by focusing on healing as the main feature, and reason of success, for a number of religions very different between each other. In his 1988 book Les Religions de guérison, Dericquebourg proposed the category based on his analysis of Christian Science, Scientology, Antoinism and Invitation to Life, claiming that seeking healing is the main motivation for joining all these four groups.[3]