Berna, Fabrice <br/><br/>
Health-related cultic deviances: A comparison between France and Switzerland 

 -  2024.<br/>							 
<br/><br/> 85 
<br/><br/> In the first part of our paper, we clarified the different definitions of “cultic deviances” (dérives sectaires) and the political and legal responses to these deviant religious groups in France and Switzerland. This second part focuses on the methodology for assessing cultic deviances in the healthcare field, and on the analysis of available data to observe their evolution over time. As the most accessible statistics are those on health-related referrals or reports sent to MIVILUDES in France or the CIC in Switzerland, we highlight that these data are not directly indicative of “health-related cultic deviances.” We then propose a critical and comparative analysis of the methods used by these two institutions, and an assessment of the figures. Our analyses show a relative stability in referrals to the CIC on the subject of holistic health between 2002 and 2023, while the use of these practices has gradually increased in Switzerland, regulated by the 2009 law. In France, the number of health-related referrals to MIVILUDES increased until 2017, then stabilized. MIVILUDES’ figures for health-related referrals are not precise, particularly those related to UCHPs. We discuss these figures, highlighting the asymmetry between academic expertise and political and media communication on the one hand, and the discrepancy between the available figures and certain claims of an increase in cultic deviances in healthcare since the pandemic on the other.