The Freedom of the Cage Eileen Barker T here is a sense in which it can be said that all sociology is concerned with how individual free- dom is both curtailed and enhanced by society. In this essay, I suggest some ways in which empirical re- search, rather than abstract philosophizing, might help us to understand more about the dynamics of the rela- tionship between the individual and society. More spe- cifically, I question whether, as has been alleged with not insignificant consequences, a social group can to- tally remove an individual's freedom without resort to physical coercion; and, conversely, I ask what hope the individual has of becoming totally free of the con- straints of society. The sociologist studies religion as part of a social structure and culture. It has frequently been observed that the fact that religious beliefs, practices, and insti- tutions are associated with supernatural phenomena means that they can command an extra potency either to exert control over individuals or to give individuals the strength to resist social pressures; that is, one the one hand, religion can give a society (or a subculture) an additional hold over individuals, but, on the other hand, it can give individuals an added capacity to act independently or in defiance of society. Believers themselves are likely to insist that such additional powers have little or nothing to do with ei- ther the individual or society. It is God, the Goddess, a god, a devil, or some other spiritual or transcendent entity that is responsible for the conversion, the godly or evil action, or what have you. But sociologists, qua sociologists, have to remain methodologically agnos- tic. We have no way of knowing whether or not God is an independent variable. We tend, however, to ob- serve that if some supernatural being is responsible for, say, a conversion, the being frequently, if not al- ways, uses other people as an instrument, and such use is open to sociological investigation. Even Paul's dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus took place only after he had learned quite a lot about Chris- tianity from social contacts. Allegations of Total Control To what extent can such social contacts determine our behavior? Today one can find people who assert that new religious movements, or "cults," exert total control over their hapless victims. Such assertions are not the result of a philosophical belief that individuals are necessarily controlled by the social environment. On the contrary, those who make such assertions clearly believe that human beings can be free to make their own choices, but that the sinister psychological or social techniques practiced by particular groups remove their victims' freedom. Perhaps we would not need to worry too much if such claims were confined to a fanatic but ineffectual anticult lobby, to the more sensationalist sections of the media, or to those people next to whom I seem con- stantly to be placed at dinner parties--people who tell me that they happen to know someone who had grief- stricken friends whose son or daughter was tragically