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Growing up in Contemporary Sectarian Movements an Analysis

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Growing up in Contemporary Sectarian Movements an Analysis Growing Up in Contemporary Sectarian Movements An Analysis of Segregated Socialization A thesis submitted to the Department of Sociology in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Amanda van Eck Duymaer van Twist The London School of Economics and Political Science University of London 2007 UMI Number: U506060 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U506060 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without prior written consent of the author. I warrant that this authorization does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I understand that in the event of my thesis not being approved by the examiners, this declaration will become void. The work presented in the thesis is my own. 2 ABSTRACT This thesis explores changes in group boundaries when children are bom into sectarian movements, and how these changes affect the movements and their young members. Over time sectarian groups may ‘denominationalise’ or remain sectarian. The resulting dynamics, within the sect and between the sect and society, affect the people bom within these sects, and their (perceived) level of inclusion or exclusion within society. This point is illustrated throughout the thesis on several levels, describing internal pressures on sectarian groups as well as external pressures - offering a variety of case studies involving legislation, regulation, intervention, and their outcomes. In turn, attitudes towards sects differ according to the state’s position, public perception, and what information is provided and used in deciding on action. Tension between the state and sects can shape the childhoods of those within the sectarian groups. How these tensions are resolved has a strong influence on the range of options second-generation adults have regarding their affiliation with the group in which they were raised; whether they stay, leave, are expelled, can choose their own level and mode of adherence, and so forth. This is the first comparative exploration of the different options presented by a variety of sectarian groups and by the types of support available within the wider society for second-generation members who have decided to leave. The thesis raises questions about the effects sectarian socialization can have on future social affiliations and the role of the support mechanisms in the young people’s subsequent adjustment to the wider society. It illustrates, on the level of the individual, the significance of primary and secondary socialization regarding the transmission of values and world-views and, most interesting sociologically, a person's perception of society and his or her place within it. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 8 1. Part I: Sects and Their Children 18 Sects and Society 18 The Bruderhof 22 The Church of Scientology 24 The Family International 29 The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification 33 The International Society for Krishna Consciousness 37 Sects and Children 40 Children of the Millennium 41 The New Children 44 Establishing Priorities 49 Juggling Resources 54 The Advantages of Communalism 56 Conclusion 61 2. Changes Over Time 64 Adaptation from One Generation to the Next 64 Charismatic Leadership and Change 66 The Unification Church 67 The Power of Traditional Ties 69 The Bruderhof 70 Modifications in Leadership 75 Revolutionary Practices 76 Disciplining 78 The Family’s Victor Program 79 ISKCON’s Gurukulas 84 The Bruderhof s Ausschluss 92 Leadership, Stasis and Change 97 Conclusion 100 4 3. Points of Conflict 104 The Family and the State 111 History 111 The Law of Love 114 Flirty Fishing 115 Sharing 118 Children 121 History of Investigations 125 Accommodation 128 The Reliability of Literature 134 Bending versus Breaking 139 The Changes after the Ward Case 141 Shake-Up 2000 143 Conclusion 148 4. Part II: What Happened? 152 The Aftermath of Growing Up in a Sectarian Group 152 What is Perceived as Successful Socialisation? 153 The Good, the Bad and the Troubled... 158 5. The Young Members Who Stay 169 The Goodies, the Rebels and the Innovators 169 Why Do They Stay? 169 The ‘Strangeness’ Outside and the “Goodness’ Within 169 How Do They Fit In? 183 Adapt to Fit: the Goodies and the Activists 183 Change from Within: the Rebels and Innovators 185 Nametags and Their Work 189 A Meeting Half-Way 192 Staying by Different Rules 192 Staying on a Different Level 196 Conclusion 201 5 6. The Young Members Who Leave 206 Why Do They Leave? 207 Look Back in Anger 207 This Is Not For Me 215 Is This the Right Decision? 217 Support 220 Support from the Groups 220 Spiritual and Emotional Support 224 Material Support 228 Parents as ‘Middle Management’ 233 The ‘Cult Scene’ 236 Support from Former Members 241 KIT 241 Moving On 244 Cohorts of Leavers 247 Other Support 253 The Inevitable Conflict 257 Solidifying the Gap Rather than Building Bridges 261 Conclusion 265 7. In the Wilderness 270 Branded by the Past 272 From One Culture to Another 274 Between Two Worlds 285 Shaping Identities 290 From the ‘Old’ to a ‘New’ Identity 294 Conclusion 301 Conclusion 304 Segregated Socialisation 305 Adaptation Over Time - The Creation of Different Cohorts 307 Support 308 The Passage 311 Appendix 317 Bibliography 322 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been written without the mentorship of Professor Eileen Barker, the foundation of knowledge she has created, on which this research rests, and the infectious curiosity she instilled in her students to explore views that might, at first, appear impossible to comprehend, and seek to understand them. I also thank my other mentor, Professor Paul Rock, for his solid support, vital feedback and advice, and most impressively, his speed-of-light reading. I am also truly grateful for those whose stories and accounts are at the heart of this thesis; in some cases persons who have recalled painful pasts, in other cases persons who have taken time to explain their view of what they know can occasionally be challenging issues to understand to ‘outsiders’. I value their time, patience, and trust, and hope I have done their stories and points of view justice. I would also like to thank Inform for its impressive database, and allowing me to use material for this thesis, and Professor Larry Greil for his feedback. And, of course, my long-suffering friends and colleagues San Kim and Sarah Harvey, who have been important sounding boards, and whose comments on earlier drafts have been invaluable. I am grateful to my family, and would like to direct a specialdank/ewel to my father for his unwavering support and encouragement. And,la piii importante, with love, Laura. 7 INTRODUCTION In a diverse society one finds a variety of world-views, beliefs and practices, within a patchwork of conceptual territories and enclaves; consequently, one finds a range of forms of socialisation. Such variety, within one society, often results in a balancing act between accepting diversity and variety, and ensuring that individual rights are not infringed upon. But this is easier said than done, and societies that embrace diversity have struggled in attempting to regulate previously foreign practices (that are the norm in what were, initially, far-flung cultures) that potentially fall within the parochial concepts of abuse. The government of the UK, for example, has struggled to regulate what it has defined as “Female Genital Mutilation” and “Forced Marriages”, practices that under different names and by different degrees are considered traditional and normal within some of its resident immigrant cultures - the former being a form of circumcision (or excision) for girls seen by some as an integral part of their religious culture, the latter arranged marriages where the parents or religious elders match partners.1 Currently, State bodies and NGOs within the UK are struggling to create a national understanding of good practice regarding the disciplining of children, especially after several cases of child abuse resulting from beliefs in spirit possession of the children and attempts at exorcism. But these are sensitive debates where religion and culture, and interpretations tendered of them, are accused of cutting across individuals’ rights and what is assumed to be to the benefit of the community as a whole. Both the 1 Of course the re-defined concepts, including the terms ‘mutilation’, and ‘forced’, point to varieties of practice and different interpretations of what happens (Stobart 2005). See, for example, the report commissioned by the DfES on the topic (Stobart 2006). 8 former Prime Minister Tony Blair and Minister Jack Straw have argued that the practice of some Muslim women of wearing theNiqab is segregating them from the wider community. Blair and Straw pinpointed this style of dress as hampering social integration. Interestingly, this implies that social integration is desirable. But what if integration is not deemed to be desirable by some communities? Or what if different parts of the wider community disagree on acceptable and desirable levels of integration? Integration may be perceived as problematic or unacceptable by those who object to the norms and values accepted within the hegemonic majority often referred to as the ‘mainstream’, be these disrespectful styles of dress, ‘too much freedom’, loose morals, or a lack of education.
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