WM Bruce Lectures
The William Bruce Lecture series presents histories of some of the remarkable Swedenborgians and their impact on society. They are sponsored by the New York New Church Legacy Fund and the Swedenborg Library Chicago.
The William Bruce Lectures
Wednesday, November 4, 2026, 5 PM Eastern
Children & New Religious Movements,
with Dr. Susan Palmer
Riverside Church, NYC
What is a child? The answer mayseem obvious—until we step inside the world of alternative spiritual communities, where children may be revered as enlightened masters, treated as spiritually unformed subordinates, or embraced as equal souls in small bodies. Drawing on years of field research, this lecture explores how new religious movements (NRMs) understand childhood, and what those understandings mean for the children who grow up within them. Dr. Palmer presents a typology of three ideal types: Child-centered Groups, where children are seen as spiritually superior to their parents; Adult-centered Groups, where children rank below adults in the community’s hierarchy; and Age-Unity Groups, where children and adults are regarded as ontologically the same and equal. These patterns come to life through case studies of twelve movements, including the Children of God, Rajneeshpuram,the Twelve Tribes, ISKCON, the Raelian Movement, MOVE,and the Order of the Solar Temple. Along the way, the lecture raises broader questions: How do a community’s beliefs about the soul, salvation, and the future shape the everyday lives of its youngest members? And what can these movements teach us about our own culture’s assumptions about childhood?
Susan J. Palmer is a Canadian sociologist of religion whose primary research focus is new religious movements. She is an Affiliate Professor atConcordia University in Montreal and Principal Investigator of the SSHRC-funded research project “Children in Sectarian Religions andState Control” at McGill University’s School of Religious Studies, where she is also a member of the faculty. The author of twelve books on new religious movements, her notable works include Moon Sisters, Krishna Mothers, Rajneesh Lovers (Syracuse, 1994), Aliens Adored: Raël’s UFO Religion (Rutgers, 2004), The New Heretics of France (Oxford, 2011), and Storming Zion: Government Raids on Religions (Oxford,with Stuart Wright).
Sponsored by the New York New Church Legacy Fund and The Swedenborg Library Chicago
Susan J. Palmer is a Canadian sociologist of religion whose primary research focus is new religious movements. She is an Affiliate Professor atConcordia University in Montreal and Principal Investigator of the SSHRC-funded research project “Children in Sectarian Religions andState Control” at McGill University’s School of Religious Studies, where she is also a member of the faculty. The author of twelve books on new religious movements, her notable works include Moon Sisters, Krishna Mothers, Rajneesh Lovers (Syracuse, 1994), Aliens Adored: Raël’s UFO Religion (Rutgers, 2004), The New Heretics of France (Oxford, 2011), and Storming Zion: Government Raids on Religions (Oxford,with Stuart Wright).
Sponsored by the New York New Church Legacy Fund and The Swedenborg Library Chicago
Swedenborg discussed slavery extensively across his theology. While his influence on 18th-century Swedish abolitionism has long been recognized, paradoxically, few studies have explored Swedenborg’s own views on slavery in detail. This mini-course will delineate the corpus of Swedenborg’s writings about temporal and spiritual slavery. We will explore where his views on slavery stood in the context of his time, how they differed from abolitionism, and eventually, how they became part of his wider theology about free will, evangelization, and spiritual emancipation.
Vincent Roy-Di Piazza is a historian of early modern science, religion, and political economy, based in Finland. Vincent obtained his doctorate from the University of Oxford in 2022, with a dissertation on Swedenborg and the soul–body problem. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, his articles on Swedenborg have been featured in academic journals such as Annals of Science, Political Hermetica, and the Intellectual History Review.
Carl Wennerlind is the Professor of History at Barnard College and an affiliated faculty member in the Department of History at Columbia University. A historian of economic thought and early modern Britain, his research explores the intellectual, political, and moral foundations of capitalism. Wennerlind’s work focuses particularly on 18th-century debates over credit, money, and scarcity.
He is the author of Casualties of Credit: The English Financial Revolution, 1620–1720 and Scarcity: A History from the Origins of Capitalism to the Climate Crisis. His scholarship connects economic ideas with broader questions about political order, environmental limits, and the historical development of modern market societies.
Rev. William Bruce (1799–1882) was a minister of the New Jerusalem Church (the Swedenborgian denomination) in Edinburgh, Scotland, and one of the more prolific theological writers within the British New Church movement of the 19th century. Bruce’s long career — spanning most of the 19th century — made him an important figure in the growth of Swedenborgianism in Scotland. He died in 1882, leaving behind a substantial body of theological writing that remains a powerful source for understanding the breadth of Swedenborg’s writings.
His published works include Marriage: Its Origin, Uses, and Duties (1850), Commentary on the Gospel According to St. Matthew (1867), Sermons Expository and Practical (1867), The Story of Joseph and His Brethren (1871), Commentary on the Revelation of St. John (1877), and The First Three Kings of Israel (1879). Their publication was made possible in part through the generous financial support of a prominent Paisley benefactor, Mr. David Spiers.
Previous William Bruce Lectures:
July 1, 2026 /Sulzburger Parlor, Barnard College at Columbia University
Emanuel Swedenborg on Temporal and Spiritual Slavery,
with Dr. Vincent Roy-Di Piazza
This course will be in-person on campus.
“To be his own master, and so to be free.” “Swedenborg on Temporal and Spiritual Slavery” with Dr. Vincent Roy-Di Piazza, Carl Wennerlind.
“To be his own master, and so to be free.” “Swedenborg on Temporal and Spiritual Slavery” with Dr. Vincent Roy-Di Piazza, Carl Wennerlind.