From an epistemological point of view, the insider/outsider debate in the study of New Religious Movements highlights major differences among scholars. Mediated through Russell McCutcheon’s pioneering book The Insider/Outsider Problem in the Study of Religion (1999), the theoretical issue has taken on new challenges in the contemporary pluralism, with the onset of an unprecedented spiritual differentiation. With this panel, we seek to address a wide range of open-ended questions, fostering a dialogue between the two perspectives and focusing on standpoint and reflexivity. We encourage contributors – through theoretical papers, ethnographies and case studies – to explore benefits and drawbacks of both perspectives, investigating some NMRs pivotal concerns, including but not limiting to the following:What are the chances and limits offered by the two approaches in the study of minority and alternative religions within the framework of contemporary pluralism?The emic approach is today an increasingly privileged perspective in the study of so-called contemporary spiritualities: how does it affect the comprehension of these phenomena?What are the disparities between emic and etic representations of esoteric movements, given the specificity of their epistemologies and the eventual feature of secrecy?Does the emic paradigm foster more reliable outlooks on neo-pagan movements and their flourishing in the context of multiple modernities?Chair: Marco Castagnetto Alessio (Università di Torino) Speakers:Mary Briggs (University of Edinburgh), Researching the Opaque: Insider and Outsider Accounts of the Evangelism of the Shincheonji Church of JesusMarco Castagnetto Alessio (Università di Torino), Questioning Secrecy. Western Esotericism Under the Lens of Etic and Emic DiscoursesRadu Petre Muresan (University of Bucharest), The neopagan movement in Romania. Recent developments and epistemological challengesNicola Luciano Pannofino (Università di Torino), (Neo)(-)Paganism(s)? Rhetorics underlying the terminological conflict between etic and emic definitions