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 | 2003-NOV-28: CA: Margaret Singer died: Margaret Thaler Singer, 82, died of pneumonia in Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley, CA after a long illness. She had been one of the main leaders in the anti-cult movement -- a decentralized group which believes in the widespread use of brainwashing and mind control techniques by religious and secular groups. During the 1950s, she started to study brainwashing at Walter Reed Institute of Research in Washington, DC, by interviewing American POWs from the Korean War. She is well known for her testimony in the 1976 trial of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst, who was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army and later took part in a bank robbery. Singer testified in over 200 court cases involving new religious groups, and was a leading authority on schizophrenia and family therapy. Her son, Sam Singer, said: "My mom spent her whole life assisting other people - victims, parents or lawyers - and often for free." She wrote a 1995 book on new religious movements titled: "Cults in Our Midst." She was the recipient of the Hofheimer Prize, the Dean Award from the American College of Psychiatrists, and other honors. Her family asked that memorial donations may be sent to the anti-cult group, the American Family Foundation in Naples, FL. 1 |
| 2005-DEC: ON: Allegations of criminal acts involving deprogramming: A woman, whose name has not been released, was allegedly kidnapped by her father, brother, and other men just before Christmas. She was held for ten days until she was able to escape and contact police. Members of her family in Milton ON have been charged with kidnapping and/or forcible confinement. Their motivation appears to be the woman's membership in the Dominion Christian Centre (DCC) in Hamilton ON. They considered it to be a cult. The family allegedly arranged to have a well known American programmer come to Milton to try to talk the woman into leaving the group. The DCC was once affiliated with the Open Bible Faith Fellowship, a network of Evangelical Christian churches across North America. 2 |
References:
- The Baltimore Sun, 2003-NOV-29, Page 6B.
- Paul Morse, "Woman disappeared for 10 days. Family members charged with kidnapping in alleged effort to deprogram 'cult' victim," The Hamilton Spectator, 2006-AUG-31 at: http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/
Copyright © 2003 to 2006 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance.
Created: 2003-DEC-2
Latest update: 2006-SEP-03
Compiler: B.A. Robinson
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