Attraction, Affiliation and Disenchantment in a New Religious Movement

Attraction, Affiliation and Disenchantment in a New Religious Movement A Study of Individuals’ Experiences in a Siddha Yoga Practice By John Paul Healy A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Social Sciences and International Studies University of New South Wales, 2008 Declarations ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed …………………………………………….............. Date …………………………………………….............. COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ‘I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or hereafter known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.' Signed ……………………………………………........................... Date ……………………………………………........................... AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT ‘I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format.’ Signed ……………………………………………........................... Date ……………………………………………........................... i Abstract This thesis explores thirty-two individuals’ experiences of involvement in Siddha Yoga. Such groups have often been labelled as cults and accused of ‘brainwashing’ their followers. The conceptualisation of affiliation as brainwashing has been influential within the helping professions, including psychology, counselling and social work. However, this conceptualisation is not supported by empirical research on cults, or what have become known as New Religious Movements (NRMs). The research problem which this thesis addresses therefore is: ‘If a brainwashing model of affiliation does not give an adequate explanation for cult/NRM involvement how else might it be understood?’ A primary objective of this study was to inform the helping professions, in particular social work. A secondary objective was to add to knowledge about Siddha Yoga Practice in Australia, which no other study had addressed, and thereby to add to the growing understanding of NRMs in Australia. The study applied a qualitative research framework, informed by grounded theory, ethnography and phenomenology and used a purposive sampling technique. Materials were collected by semi-structured in-depth interviews, participant observations and field notes, and analysed with the assistance of NVivo data analysis computer software. This study found that the conceptualisation of affiliation as brainwashing fails to account for the variety of individuals’ experiences of involvement in Siddha Yoga. Moreover, the findings highlight that involvement in regard to attraction, affiliation and disenchantment is not helpfully understood by adopting a ‘brainwashing’ model and could be better understood through the lens of the sociology of religion, including studies of the experiences of those in mainstream religions. One implication of the findings for social work and other helping professions is that existing approaches to interpersonal helping could be used with individuals who seek assistance after leaving a NRM. For social work, this thesis also adds to the growing knowledge of the diverse religious orientations in the wider community. Such knowledge can enhance social work education, practice and theory in relation to social work’s diverse client population. ii Dedication This is dedicated to my 10 brothers and sisters and our parents who brought us out from Ireland to Australia. iii Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the cooperation of the participants who graciously allowed me into their lives to tell me their stories. To them I am deeply grateful and honoured to have spent time in their company. Thank you also to Swami Nityananda of Shanti Mandir, and Swami Shankarananda of Shiva Yoga who kindly allowed access to their ashrams and centres. Also thank you to Siddha Shiva Yoga for allowing me to visit their centre in Ghent, Belgium. There are many I would like to acknowledge from the Social Work program at the University of New South Wales for their encouragement and sustained support. Dr Mark Hughes, my primary supervisor, from the beginning of my PhD candidature to the end, dedicated much of his time to my study and also in supporting my professional development. It was Mark who kept me on track and who helped me to focus on goals and deadlines. With Mark’s encouragement and tough love the thesis evolved naturally. I would also like to acknowledge my various co-supervisors I had during my candidature. Dr Elizabeth Fernandez, who helped me begin my study and made sure that I got out in the field early in the project. Also thank you to Professor Carmen Moran who for a time advised me on aspects of my study and also encouraged my early attempts at the findings chapters. And many thanks to my final co-supervisor Dr Lesley Hughes who brought fresh eyes and good humour near the end of my candidature, her attention to detail and interest in the topic was much appreciated. I also have to thank Karen Heycox for commenting on my very first journal article. Thank you to Professor Richard Hugman for ‘Hugman’s Handy Hints on developing a research proposal’. Although he gave these out when I was doing honours many years ago, they were still helpful in completing this present study. Many thanks to A/Professor Eileen Baldry who always made me feel like I was part of the school. Thank you also to A/Professor Helen Meekosha for her postgraduate support. A special thank you to Chris Mangos for her encouraging words which were always helpful. Thank you to Dr Shannon McDermott and Dr Leanne Dowse with whom I shared some of their joys and struggles as they successfully completed their own PhDs. Lastly, thanks to Dr Michael Wearing who warned me off doing a PhD, but then when I failed to take his advice still supported and encouraged me at every stage. Michael has been a great friend and an interesting role model. In the larger School of Social Sciences and International Studies I would like to acknowledge Dr Alan Morris in regard to his collegial generosity and for his involvement in the postgraduate student seminars. Most importantly I owe a special thank you to my sister-in-law at the school, Carol Healy who was my inspiration for going to University and in taking it as far as I have. Carol and her partner, my brother Martin, have both supported me all the way and if not for their encouragement I would not have entered University, nor discovered the joys of learning. Also many thanks to Eileen Barker and her staff for providing me office space and resources at Inform, the London School of Economics, over a two week period for research purposes. iv Thank you to my friend Des Devlin who kindly read a draft of the thesis and offered many suggestions on style and structure. And thanks to Kim Wilson, for our shared love and experience of India and the nights at Bentley’s Hotel Mumbai. Many of my friends have given encouragement and support for my study, thank you to Kim Mclean and his partner Elanora, Bob and Mitzy, Deb Shaw, Camilla Hodgkins, Libby Wertheim and Annie Wertheim. Also my Sunday cycling buddies, Dr Michaelis Michael, Karen Bland, Dr Bea, Dr Amitavo, Matt and Steph. Thank you to Susie Eisenhuth for her always generous words of encouragement. Thank you also to Francis Duffy with whom I started my social work degree and for the many late night discussions on the topics of both our postgraduate studies. Finally thanks to Ram Dass and Piper, our fur kids, and Robyn who loves them…. v Table of Contents Declarations ........................................................................................................................ i Abstract.............................................................................................................................. ii Dedication ......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................

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