DOCSLIB.ORG

Are Converts to New Religious Movements 'Brrin Wrshed'?

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Are Converts to New Religious Movements 'Brrin Wrshed'? Chapter Five Are Converts to New Religious Movements 'BrRin wRshed'? The Issue nnd Its Significflnce The followers of NRMs are brainwashed! How else can one account for the seemingly sudden and unexpected conversion of ordinary middle-class young people to such outlandish new religions? How else can one explain the sweeping changes in their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviour? With this oft-repeated yet little-understood accusation we move to the heart of the contemporary controversy about cults, beyond the public lectures, books, and newspaper articles and into the courts of law. The brainwashing claim has been pivotal to numerous criminal cases and civil suits. Hoping to over- ride the legal right of their adult children to choose whatever religious prac- tices or world-view they wish, parents have sought to invoke the spectre of brainwashing to convince judges that their children are incompetent and in need of rescue. Deprogrammers,1 having 'rescued' many cult members by force, have called on theories of brainwashing to defend themselves against charges of kidnapping and assault, arguing that their actions were the less- er of two evils (Bromley, 1988). Meanwhile former members of cults have sued various NRMs for damages, arguing that they have been harmed by their alleged experience of brainwashing while in a cult. But are the charges of brainwashing true? In some cases, judges and juries have been convinced; in others they have not. (See Anthony, 1990; Anthony and Robbins, 1992, 1995; Richardson, 1991, 1995b, 1996b, 1997, 2004a; and Young and Griffiths, 1992 for excellent overviews of the issues and specific legal cases.) If true, then the NRMs in question do pose a serious public risk. If the charges are not true, then the primary risk to the public is posed by those who try to use this claim to suppress the civil lib- erties and religious freedoms entrenched in the US and Canadian constitu- tions and characteristic of most modern democratic societies (Bromley and Robbins, 1993; Richardson, 2004b). It is understandably difficult for the parents of converts to see their dreams of worldly success for their children thwarted by the other-worldly demands of life in some unknown and exotic new religion. Recast as 'brain- washing', the unconventional religious choices of these young people can be seen as a medically definable deviance, subject to the same state scruti- ny and intervention as other public health and social problems, such as gang violence, drug abuse, and AIDS (see Singer, 1995: 5, 84; Robbins and Anthony, 1982b). Do NRMs indeed use sophisticated techniques of 'mind- control', 'thought reform', or 'coercive persuasion' to entice and hold their devotees? Or does the brainwashing scenario simply allow parents and other opponents of NRMs to avoid facing other unwelcome possibilities? Perhaps the NRMs are actually offering the children something that they need or desire? Or perhaps the world the parents have created for their chil- dren is unsatisfactory in some crucial regard? Most scholars associated with the academic study of NRMs have con- cluded that the charge of mind control has not been substantiated and is theoretically implausible. Most also tend to discount the admissibility of brainwashing claims made by expert witnesses in court cases. Rather, the vast majority of the scholars studying NRMs, with a few notable exceptions (e.g. Kent, 2001b), are of the opinion that accusations of brainwashing sig- nificantly distort the realities of cult life as revealed by years of systematic empirical study.2 Such accusations are considered primarily to be tools of propaganda designed to persuade the public and politicians to act against the interests of NRMs. Nevertheless, despite the legal reversals suffered by the anti-cult movement, media reports indicate that there is still a nearly complete faith in the accuracy of the brainwashing supposition.3 American courts will no longer accept expert testimony on 'cult brain- washing' as scientifically credible (Young and Griffiths, 1992; Anthony and Robbins, 1995). But the same accusation has played an important role in the public reaction against 'cults' in Europe, Russia, China, and elsewhere, with very detrimental consequences for many NRMs (see, for instance, Richardson and.Introvigne, 2001 and various essays in Richardson, 2004b and Lucas and Robbins, 2004). Thus the public debate over 'mind control' or 'mental manipulation' in the new religions is far from over. I cannot pretend to be impartial here because I long ago dismissed the brainwashing scenario based on my own studies and the scholarly record, but there are many who still think otherwise, including some judges, lawyers, government officials, psychiatrists, psychologists, and even sociol- ogists. So, having declared my bias, let me summarize the arguments for and against as even-handedly as I can, drawing first on the views of such anti-cultist writers as the psychologist Margaret Singer (1995), the sociolo- gist Ronald Enroth (1977), who writes from an evangelical Christian per- spective, and Steven Hassan (1988), an ex-Moonie and exit counsellor for people who have left NRMs. Their comments display the remarkable consis- tency of the argument made against the recruitment activities of NRMs, an argument that has changed little in over thirty years. The Cnse Agoinst the Cults Early in the public debate about 'cults', the threat supposedly posed by these new religions was described as a Very frightening form of thought control or brainwashing', a 'syndrome of seduction and mental subversion' (Enroth, 1977: 156). On the basis of anecdotal accounts of life in the cults, a comparison was made to the experience of the political thought-reform of some American prisoners of war during the Korean War (1950-3). In that war, for purposes of propaganda, the Communist Chinese had attempted systematically to break the will of some American prisoners in order to make them confess publicly to war crimes or betray their allegiance to the United States.4 With repetition, the analogy drawn between the fate of these POWs and converts to NRMS soon took on an aura of factuality, and some people, like John Clark (MD) of Harvard University, even warned the American people of the extreme 'health hazards' posed by 'destructive cults' (cited by Enroth, 1977: 156). But the early analyses offered by Enroth (1977) and others were clearly speculative and based on a handful of sto- ries of cult participation. The stories in question were presented as 'atroci- ty tales', designed to galvanize anti-cult sentiment, though many of these stories were in fact ambiguous. Soon the concepts of brainwashing and cults became synonymous in the minds of a naive and fearful public. Anti- cultists like Singer and Hassan incorporate the concept of mind control into their very definition of'cults' (Hassan, 1988: 55; Singer, 1995: 7; Langone, 1993: 5), which interprets all NRMS as destructive of individual integrity and autonomy; it is merely a matter of degree how bad (in this regard) they are. Some cults, the anti-cultists admit, are less harmful than others. But the use of some measure of brainwashing is necessitated in almost every case, they argue, by the hidden and true agenda of these organizations: Cults basically have only two purposes: recruiting new members and fund-raising. Established religions and altruistic movements may also recruit and raise funds. Their sole purpose, however, is not simply to grow larger and wealthier; such groups have as goals bettering the lives of their members or humankind in general, either in this world or in a world to come. A cult may claim to make social contributions, but in actuality these remain mere claims or gestures. In the end, all work and all funds, even token gestures of altruism, serve the cult. (Singer, 1995: 11) Of course, the cults place a near total emphasis on growth, it is assert- ed, to enhance the wealth, pleasure, and power of the cult leaders. The groups are essentially exploitive. In Singer's words (1995: 6): 'Cults seem to have no end to their peculiar practices. Cult leaders seem to have no end to their unconscionable behaviours and their capacity to abuse their follow- ers.' The statements of Enroth, Hassan, Singer, and many other anti-cultists (e.g. Conway and Siegelman, 1978; Delgado, 1980) tend to be extreme and absolute on these points. Yet Singer insists that her use of the term 'cult' is 'merely descriptive, [and] not pejorative' (Singer, 1995: ll).5 Cults, as a class of things, are to be indiscriminately feared and dis- credited because their recruitment practices run contrary to the primary value that Americans place on individual freedom. The success of the anti- cult movement rests, in other words, on the supposition that all, or at least most, cults employ brainwashing. Let me illustrate this point with a passage from Hassan (1988: 51-2): The casualties of mind control include not only the millions of cult mem- bers themselves, their children, and their friends and loved ones, but also our society as well. Our nation is being robbed of our greatest resource: bright, idealistic, ambitious people who are capable of making an enor- mous contribution to mankind. Many of the former members I know have become doctors, teachers, counsellors, inventors, artists. Imagine what cult members could accomplish if they were all set free to develop their God-given talents and abilities! What if they channelled their energies into problem solving, rather than trying to undermine America's freedoms with some warped totalitarian yision? / Here we have the standard objections to the cults: they are redirecting talented people into useless, wrong, or even subversive causes, and these people are not free to return to more useful, right, and (in the US) proper- ly American ways of life.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Conference Handbook ICSA 2010 Annual International Conference: Psychological Manipulation, Cultic Groups, and Harm
    Conference Handbook ICSA 2010 Annual International Conference: Psychological Manipulation, Cultic Groups, and Harm With the collaboration of Info-Cult/Info-Secte, Montreal, Canada July 1-3, 2010 Doubletree at George Washington Bridge 2117 Route 4 East, Fort Lee, NJ International Cultic Studies Association PO Box 2265 Bonita Springs, FL 34133 239-514-3081 www.icsahome.com Welcome Welcome to the 2010 International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) conference, Psychological Manipulation, Cultic Groups, and Harm. Speakers have given much of their time in order to present at this conference. Many attendees have come long distances and have diverse backgrounds. Hence, please help us begin sessions on time and maintain a respectful tone during the sometimes lively and provocative discussions. This is a public conference. If you have matters that are sensitive or that you prefer to keep confidential, you should exercise appropriate care. Private audio- or videotaping is not permitted. We hope to make some videos and/or audios available after the conference. Press who attend the conference may come from mainstream and nonmainstream, even controversial, organizations. If a journalist seeks to interview you, exercise appropriate care. If you desire to refuse an interview request, feel free to do so. Remember, if you give an interview, you will have no control over what part of the interview, if any, will be used. ICSA conferences try to encourage dialogue and are open to diverse points of view. Hence, opinions expressed at the conference or in books and other materials available in the bookstore should be interpreted as opinions of the speakers or writers, not necessarily the views of ICSA or its staff, directors, or advisors.
    [Show full text]
  • The Israeli Center for Victims of Cults Who Is Who? Who Is Behind It?
    Human Rights Without Frontiers Int’l Avenue d’Auderghem 61/16, 1040 Brussels Phone/Fax: 32 2 3456145 Email: [email protected] – Website: http://www.hrwf.eu No Entreprise: 0473.809.960 The Israeli Center for Victims of Cults Who is Who? Who is Behind it? By Willy Fautré The Israeli Center for Victims of Cults About the so-called experts of the Israeli Center for Victims of Cults and Yad L'Achim Rami Feller ICVC Directors Some Other So-called Experts Some Dangerous Liaisons of the Israeli Center for Victims of Cults Conclusions Annexes Brussels, 1 September 2018 The Israeli Center for Victims of Cults Who is Who? Who is Behind it? The Israeli Center for Victims of Cults (ICVC) is well-known in Israel for its activities against a number of religious and spiritual movements that are depicted as harmful and dangerous. Over the years, the ICVC has managed to garner easy access to the media and Israeli government due to its moral panic narratives and campaign for an anti-cult law. It is therefore not surprising that the ICVC has also emerged in Europe, in particular, on the website of FECRIS (European Federation of Centers of Research and Information on Cults and Sects), as its Israel correspondent.1 For many years, FECRIS has been heavily criticized by international human rights organizations for fomenting social hostility and hate speech towards non-mainstream religions and worldviews, usually of foreign origin, and for stigmatizing members of these groups.2 Religious studies scholars and the scientific establishment in general have also denounced FECRIS for the lack of expertise of their so-called “cult experts”.
    [Show full text]
  • Steven Hassan M.Ed., LMHC
    Steven Hassan M.Ed., LMHC, NCC 716 Beacon Street #590443 Newton, Massachusetts 02459 (617) 396-4638, Fax (617) 628-8153 Email: [email protected] Web: www.freedomofmind.com and www.freedomfromundueinfluence.org SUMMARY Licensed mental health professional, cult expert and undue influence expert with professional experience in the United States and abroad including consulting, counseling, speaking, media appearances, activism, writing, researching, teaching, and expert witness work to assist individuals and families with problems related to undue influence including brainwashing, mind control, and unethical hypnosis. Expertise includes undue influence in cases of destructive one-on-one relationships, families, parental alienation, mini-cults, religious cults, therapy and self-improvement groups, professional abuse, institutional abuse, corporations, multi-level marketing, political groups, human trafficking, hate and violent extremism, and other undue influence situations. CREDENTIALS Doctoral Studies Fielding Graduate University, School of Leadership Studies, PhD student in Organizational Development and Change (ODC) (Expected 2020) Masters Cambridge College, Masters in Education in Counseling Psychology, Cambridge, MA (1985) License Licensed Mental Health Counselor in 1992 (Commonwealth of Massachusetts #820) ​ ​ Hassan, Steven A., CV Revised 10/30/2019 Page 1 National Certification National Board of Certified Counselors: Nationally Certified Counselor, Cert. No. 43226 Additional Professional Training American Academy of Psychiatry
    [Show full text]
  • Cults and Families
    REVIEW ARTICLES Cults and Families Doni Whitsett & Stephen A. Kent Abstract This article provides an overview of cult-related issues that may reveal themselves in therapeutic situations. These issues include: families in cults; parental (especially mothers’) roles in cults; the impact that cult leaders have on families; the destruction of family intimacy; child abuse; issues encountered by noncustodial parents; the impact on cognitive, psychological, and moral development; and health issues. The authors borrow from numerous the- oretical perspectives to illustrate their points, including self psychology, developmental theory, and the sociology of religion. They conclude with a discussion of the therapeutic challenges that therapists face when working with cult-involved clients and make preliminary recommendations for treatment. FOR MOST INDIVIDUALS, it is mysterious and beyond Colloquium: Alternative Religions: Government control their comprehension how intelligent people can get caught and the first amendment, 1980) and the near sacrosanct up in often bizarre (and sometimes dangerous) cults.1 Yet a value of family autonomy. In addition, professional uncer- remarkable number of people do, as contemporary cults tar- tainty about proper counseling responses to clients’ disclo- get individuals throughout their life spans and across all sures of previous or current cult involvement stems from socioeconomic brackets and ethnicities. Regrettably, it is insufficient knowledge of the various cognitive, emotional, impossible to quantify how many people are involved in and behavioral indicators that are associated with member- potentially damaging cultic religions or similar ideological ship in highly restrictive groups. commitments, but one estimate of prior involvement comes By this time in the development of the profession, most from Michael Langone—a psychologist who is the executive clinicians routinely assess for evidence of domestic violence director of the American Family Foundation (a respected or child abuse.
    [Show full text]
  • What Is a Cult? the Mind Control Process in the FWBO
    Mind control as practised by Friends of the Western Buddhist Order Text by Mark Dunlop Legal Disclaimer The following information is based on experience of The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) in the UK, and should therefore be taken as applying only to FWBO bodies located in the UK. Readers in other parts of the world should make their own enquiries as to whether or not the information provided here is relevant to their local situation. The FWBO is a UK based religious charity, which also has about thirty centres in the rest of the world. The FWBO offers public classes in meditation, Buddhism, and related disciplines. They also run residential communities, retreat centres, fund-raising trusts, and various businesses, and they can be viewed on the Internet at: http://www.fwbo.org/index.html [WARNING: this is the cult's home page] This is one page of an ex - FWBO site. The purpose of the site is to inform a wider public about some of the harmful aspects of new religious movements and mind control cults in general, and of the FWBO in particular. The site is spread over a number of pages: Main page: The FWBO Files (140 kb text.) The following pages have been contributed by ex-member Mark Dunlop: Section 1: Shorter History and Teachings of The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. (27 kb text.) Section 2 [this page]: What is a Cult? -The Mind Control Process in the FWBO (67 kb text plus 181 kb pictures) Section 5: Possible Legal Protection against Cults - 'gold dust', according to a leading British cult expert.
    [Show full text]
  • Researching New Religious Movements
    Researching New Religious Movements ‘The most important “first” that this book achieves is its bold questioning of the whole intellectual apparatus of the sociology of religion as it has been applied to the understanding of the new religious movements. I am confident that Elisabeth Arweck’s study will quickly become required reading in the sociology of new religious movements.’ Professor David Martin, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, London School of Economics, University of London ‘Powerful and original . it succeeds triumphantly in being at the same time an important, high-quality academic study and a book for our times.’ Professor David Marsland, Professorial Research Fellow in Sociology, University of Buckingham New religious movements such as Scientology, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Unification Church (Moonies) are now well established in mainstream cul- tural consciousness. However, responses to these ‘cult’ groups still tend to be overwhelmingly negative, characterized by the furious reactions that they evoke from majority interests. Modern societies need to learn how to respond to such movements and how to interpret their benefits and dangers. Researching New Religious Movements provides a fresh look at the history and development of ‘anti-cult’ groups and the response of main- stream churches to these new movements. In this unique reception study, Elisabeth Arweck traces the path of scholarship of new religious move- ments, exploring the development of research in this growing field. She con- siders academic and media interventions on both sides, with special emphasis on the problems of objectivity inherent in terminologies of ‘sects’, ‘cults’, and ‘brainwashing’. Ideal for students and researchers, this much- needed book takes the debate over new religious movements to a more sophisticated level.
    [Show full text]
  • Combatting CULT MIND CONTROL
    Combatting CULT MIND CONTROL STEVEN HASSAN IIIIIIIHII Park Street Press / dedicate this book to people all over the world who have ever experienced the loss of their personal freedom, in the hope that it might help ease their suffering. Park Street Press One Park Street Rochester, VT 05767 Copyright © 1988, 1990 by Steven Hassan All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hassan, Steven. Combatting cult mind control / Steven Hassan, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-89281-311-3 1. Cults—Controversial literature. 2. Cults—Psychological aspects. 3. Hassan, Steven. I. Title. BP603.H375 1990 306'. I—dc20 90-43697 CIP Printed and bound in the United States 10 98765432 Park Street Press is a division of Inner Traditions International, Ltd. Distributed to the book trade in Canada by Book Center, Inc., Montreal, Quebec Contents Foreword by Margaret Singer xiii Preface xvii Chapter 1 Exit-Counseling: The Background 1 Chapter 2 My Life in the Unification Church 12 Chapter 3 The Threat: Mind Control Cults Today 35 Chapter 4 Understanding Mind Control 53 Chapter 5 Cult Psychology 76 Chapter 6 Cult Assessment: How to Protect Yourself 95 Chapter 7 Exit-Counseling: Freedom Without Coercion 112 Chapter 8 How to Help 132 Chapter 9 Unlocking Cult Mind Control 148 Chapter 10 Strategies for Recovery 168 Chapter 11 The Next Step 187 Appendix Lifton's Eight Criteria of Mind Control 200 Resource Organizations 206 Endnotes 211 Bibliography 221 Index 233 About the Author 237 I Acknowledgments With heartfelt gratitude, I thank my parents, Milton and Estelle Hassan, for all their love and support.
    [Show full text]
  • Policing the Borders of Identity At
    POLICING THE BORDERS OF IDENTITY AT THE MORMON MIRACLE PAGEANT Kent R. Bean A dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2005 Jack Santino, Advisor Richard C. Gebhardt, Graduate Faculty Representative John Warren Nathan Richardson William A. Wilson ii ABSTRACT Jack Santino, Advisor While Mormons were once the “black sheep” of Christianity, engaging in communal economic arrangements, polygamy, and other practices, they have, since the turn of the twentieth century, modernized, Americanized, and “Christianized.” While many of their doctrines still cause mainstream Christians to deny them entrance into the Christian fold, Mormons’ performance of Christianity marks them as not only Christian, but as perhaps the best Christians. At the annual Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti, Utah, held to celebrate the origins of the Mormon founding, Evangelical counter- Mormons gather to distribute literature and attempt to dissuade pageant-goers from their Mormonism. The hugeness of the pageant and the smallness of the town displace Christianity as de facto center and make Mormonism the central religion. Cast to the periphery, counter-Mormons must attempt to reassert the centrality of Christianity. Counter-Mormons and Mormons also wrangle over control of terms. These “turf wars” over issues of doctrine are much more about power than doctrinal “purity”: who gets to authoritatively speak for Mormonism. Meanwhile, as Mormonism moves Christianward, this creates room for Mormon fundamentalism, as small groups of dissidents lay claim to Joseph Smith’s “original” Mormonism. Manti is home of the True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days, a group that broke away from the Mormon Church in 1994 and considers the mainstream church apostate, offering a challenge to its dominance in this time and place.
    [Show full text]
  • LITERATURE on NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS in TURKEY and the WEST Süleyman TURAN∗
    Uluslararası Sosyal Aratırmalar Dergisi The Journal of International Social Research Cilt: 6 Sayı: 27 Volume: 6 Issue: 27 Yaz 2013 Summer 2013 www.sosyalarastirmalar.com Issn: 1307-9581 YEN DN HAREKETLERLE LGL TÜRKYE’DEK VE BATI’DAK LTERATÜR LITERATURE ON NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS IN TURKEY AND THE WEST Süleyman TURAN∗ Öz Yeni dini hareket (YDH)’ler, XX. yüzyılın ikinci yarısında ortaya çıkan dini akımları ifade etmektedir. Genellikle küçük gruplar halinde kalma eiliminde oldukları için bu hareketler yakın döneme kadar ya çok az ilgi görmü ya da hiç ilgi çekmemilerdi. Ancak özellikle görsel ve yazılı medyada çıkan haberler sayesinde insanlar YDH’lerden daha fazla haberdar olmaya balamı ve neticede seküler ve sözde rasyonel toplumlarımızda alternatif dünya görüleri ve yaam biçimleri benimseyen ve sunan az sayıda insanın, görünüte acayip inanç ve uygulamaları insanların ilgi ve merakını cezp etmitir. YDH’leri anlamak ve açıklamak üzere Batı’da çok sayıda bilimsel çalıma kaleme alınmıtır. Ülkemizde ise özellikle son on yılda YDH’ler konusunda birçok aratırmanın ortaya konulduunu görmekteyiz. Bu bibliyografya çalımasının amacı, hem Batı’da hem de ülkemizde ortaya konulan çalımaları tespit ederek, YDH’lere ilgi duyan okuyucu ve aratırmacılara literatür verisi salamak ve yeni aratırmalara kapı aralamaktır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Yeni Dini Hareketler, Dünya Dinleri, Küreselleme, Türkiye. Abstract The term of “new religious movement/s” (NRMs) generally refer to religious trends appeared in second half of 20th century. They generally tend to be so small or last for so short a time that they attracted litle or no attention. Hovewer, yet almost every one has read articles or watch television shows about these groups.
    [Show full text]
  • March, 2021 Edition
    Reboot America — New Opportunities Demographics by Naveen Sankar Consumers are at the heart of capitalism, and any trend Positioning America to take analysis will be incomplete without analyzing what is full advantage of the fourth happening in this space. Every study from the last ten years industrial revolution would indicates the following. require us to take a closer look at the trends that are Population Growth is Slow, Uneven: Akin to driving it and trends that are unique to America. If the last the Great Depression two presidential elections are any indications, the electorate Census Bureau data indicates that most counties are only also believes that we are growing at 0.7%. The average population growth in previous heading in the wrong decades used to be 1% or above. Slowing population growth direction. has a severe impact on housing, city finances, entrepreneurship, and social justice. Numerous news articles So let us explore a few trends that are active in our society that about cities using their police department to aggressively fine we must take into consideration while we reboot the system. motorists are just one example of the impact on social justice. Page 1 Libertarian Party of Dallas County, Texas March 2021 American Heartlands are Emptying jobs in society. No amount of government course correction can bring back these jobs. Capital will always look for the easiest path for returns. It’s not naive to look back and long for Counties across the Midwest are experiencing significant the glory days of Industrial America, but it’s naive to think outflow in the prime working-age population.
    [Show full text]
  • Acts Salses-Le-Charteau
    Acts of the conference Apocalyptic cults: failed utopias and consequences for followers Saturday October 13, 2012 Multipurpose hall, Salses Le Château 1 , 66600 France organized by the European Federation of Centres of Research and Information on Sectarianism (FECRIS) with the logistic support of CCMM 2 and sponsored by the Commune of Salses Le Château and the French Government 1 Northern starting location of the Catalan Countries in Salses, Pyrénées-Orientales. 2 CCMM, Centre de documentation, d'éducation et d'action Contre les Manipulations Mentales - Documentation Centre for education and action against mind control, founded in 1981 by Roger Ikor, French Goncourt author, www.ccmm.asso.fr INDEX Serge Blisko, President of MIVILUDES 3, France: Welcome …………………………………………….. 3 Georges Fenech, previous President of MIVILUDES, Member of the National Assembly for the 11th Rhône district, France: Welcome (summary)………………… 8 Danièle Muller (Switzerland), delegate of FECRIS at international organisations: Welcome (summary)……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8 Olivier Morice, Lawyer at the Paris Bar, France: The trial of Scientology, its challenges, its difficulties placed in an overall international perspective of the Scientology organization (summary)…………………………….. 8 Sandrine Mathen, analyst and psychologist at CIAOSN 4, Belgium: No one is a prophet in his own country, even if it is a small one ………………………………….…... 8 Presentation …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….….. 15 Testimony of a former follower of a group/sect gravitating around Bugarach and Rennes-le-Chateau ………………………………………………………………….………………………………..……….. 17 Mike Garde, President of Dialogue Ireland 5 : "The House of Prayer": an Irish apocalyptic Marian group at the edge of Europe …….. 18 Roxana-Mălina Chirilă, Romania The Emotional Apocalypse: A Quick View of MISA 6 and its Apocalypse(s) ………..…….
    [Show full text]
  • Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan (Park Street Press
    STATEMENT DC845 Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan (Park Street Press, 1988) How can an otherwise intelligent member choose to remain in a cult even after he or she has seen proof that it is false? What enables some sects to keep such a tight grip on their followers? Steven Hassan’s Combatting Cult Mind Control offers amazing insight into these and other puzzling questions. The author probes beyond doctrine to uncover the thought control techniques common to many cults. Hassan argues that whether leaders of such groups are conscious of it or not, they employ principles of psychological manipulation that originated in Chinese communist re-education camps and that have been refined and perfected in a modern religious context. After reading Combatting Cult Mind Control I feel more comfortable with the fact that I myself fell for the Watchtower Society’s deceptions and remained in that system for 13 years. I can see now that I was not simply “taking in knowledge” at my “free home Bible study” and at Kingdom Hall, I was also the target of pow erful manipulative techniques that can induce a person to believe virtually any cultic doctrine, regardless of how bizarre it may be. Hassan shows how the same psychological devices are used to convince Unificationists that Rev. Sun Myung Moon is the second Messiah, and to persuade UFO enthusiasts that contact with extrater restrials will occur on a certain date. Why do many cults put such a heavy emphasis on proselytizing activity, even by new members ? Aside from the numerical growth that this produces, it also has a reinforcing effect on the new devotee: “Research in social psychology has shown that nothing firms up ones beliefs faster than trying to sell them to others”(p.
    [Show full text]