Definitions of TermsThe anti-cult movement (ACM) is composed of a number of individuals and agencies which attempt to raise public concern about what they feel are serious emotional, spiritual and physical abuses by religious and other groups. Terminology is confusing, as it is in many other areas of religion. People frequently assign different meanings to various terms. We recommend the following definitions:
History of the Anti-cult MovementThe ACM started as a response to a series of spiritual movements in the 1960's. Countless new religious movements (NRMs) had appeared in North America. Many were headed by a single charismatic leader. Numerous young adults flocked to these groups, seeking an intense spiritual experience and inter-personal intimacy. Some of these movements encouraged their followers to sever relationships with their friends and families of origin. Many followers abandoned their academic pursuits in order to devote more time to the movement. Some parents became alarmed, fearing that their children had become the mindless victims of mind control techniques and brainwashing. The movie The Manchurian Candidate (1962) supported this concept; many viewers believed that the degree of control over brainwashing victims which was shown in the movie could be attained in real life. A very successful book which attacked new religious groups was published in 1965 by an Evangelical Christian author, Walter Martin. 2 Although primarily a counter-cult book, it contains a anti-cult chapter "The Psychological Structure of Cultism" which heightened many parents' concerns. The book went through 36 printings between 1965 and 1985! A new edition was published in 2003. The book is still in print in 2004 and is widely stocked in conservative Christian bookstores. In response to the perceived threat of cults, many non-profit, minimal-budget anti-cult agencies sprang up throughout the country, during the early 1970's. They considered most NRM's to be illegitimate religions which were a potential mental health hazard to young people. Rumors spread that some religious groups kept their members in a sort of prison and engaged in brainwashing techniques to convert them into near "zombies". (The American Psychological Association and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion 3 have expressed doubts that this is possible). The tiny, local ACM groups coalesced into a smaller number of well-organized agencies:
One influential ACM group was the Cult Awareness Network (CAN). It was an offshoot of an earlier Citizens Freedom Foundation - Information Services The latter was in turn an offshoot from the original Citizens Freedom Foundation. At first, CAN approved of deprogramming in principle. They maintained close relations with deprogrammers. One of them, Robert Brandyberry, allegedly stated that CAN officials had directly referred him to 75 to 85% of the persons who had paid him to conduct illegal deprogrammings involving kidnapping and criminal confinement. Although they claimed to have disassociated themselves from kidnapping and abuse, CAN remained a main referral service by which the public were placed in touch with violent deprogrammers. In the late 1970's, the American Family Foundation (AFF) was formed from a local chapter of CAN. The AFF has not supported violent deprogramming interventions. However, there was extensive sharing of lobbyists, directors, advisors, etc. between the CAN and AFF, at least during the early to mid 1990s. By the mid 1990's, CAN and the AFF were the main surviving national anti-cult groups. CAN went bankrupt in mid-1996; its assets were purchased by the "new" CAN. The AFF is still active. This essay continues below.
Sponsored link:
What ACM groups believe:Various groups within the ACM have differing concepts about what defines a cult. They often list a group of factors that a cult exhibits. In their list of "Characteristics of a Destructive Cult," reFOCUS lists five. 3 They do not say how many of the 5 must be present in order for a faith group to be called a cult:
Mind control can involve many techniques. Robert Lifton describes eight of them in his book "Thought Reform & the Psychology of Totalism:" 4
Many in the ACM promoted the idea that mind-control groups went well beyond making high demands on their members. The groups were seen as reducing their members to near "zombie-like" status through severe psychological methods. These beliefs were often supported by testimony from disillusioned former members. This propaganda was readily believed by the general public. Cults were seen as kidnapping vulnerable youth and brainwashing them until their self-will was destroyed. The public had mistaken beliefs about the effectiveness of psychological "programming." This came from a number of sources of misinformation:
The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and other professional groups have expressed doubts that this level of mind-control is possible. Sociologists Bromley, Shupe and Hill 5,6 demonstrated that this type of brainwashing cannot be achieved. A special investigator for the Ontario government agreed. 7 Unfortunately, much of the public continue to believe otherwise.
Involvement of Child Protective Services:Many child protective services in North America had become caught up in the hysteria, suspected that children were being physically or sexually abused within religious groups and intentional communities. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, hundreds of children were taken into care on suspicion of abuse, without any solid evidence of wrongdoing by the adults. The Family, formerly called The Children of God, were a main target of these seizures, worldwide. Over 700 of their children were examined by child protective services in various countries around the world. At least 475 were taken into care for a time. Not one case of child abuse could be confirmed. The rate of child abuse within COG households was apparently much lower than was found in society generally. Seizure of children by state child protective agencies has now almost disappeared, due to greater understanding by child protection officers of the realities of communal living, and due to their embarrassing losses in court.
ACM influence on psychiatry:The anti-cult movement was successful in having "cult induced disorder" added to DSM-III (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual). This manual is in general use by psychiatrists, psychologists and other therapists throughout North America. Under the title "atypical dissociative disorder", the manual describes a variety of dissociative states:
Current status of the ACM and deprogramming:The Family estimated in 1997 that 1000 deprogramming attempts per year were still made in the US. Illegal activities have since been largely replaced by "exit counseling" of NRM members who have already left their religious group on their own initiative. As described elsewhere in this series of essays, the old Cult Awareness Network (CAN) was forced to declare bankruptcy because of its criminal activities. Its name and assets were purchased by the new CAN. The AFF continues today as the leading ACM organization.
References cited above:
Copyright © 1996 to 2001 incl. and 2004 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance |
|
|
|
Page Translator:
