Christchurch City Council has voted to loan $160,000 interest-free to a charismatic spiritual group so members can bid for a world conference of the Subud faith in Christchurch.

Christchurch City, New Zealand, councillors will decide this week if a controversial spiritual group should be granted an interest-free loan of $162,735 to fund a conference.

Christchurch group rejects 'cult' claim

Nearly half a century ago, Mohammad Subud, a little known humble book-keeper of Java founded the spiritual movement he named SUBUD. AN acronym for the Sanskrit words Susila Buddhi Dharma, it grew fast and steadily till today it has a following in over 70 countries across the globe. Subud is neither a religion nor a cult, and identifies itself with the goal of all great doctrines: the realisation of the search for God. Its claim to being unique is the seemingly easy way it offers for the realisation of that goal.