ICSA E-Newsletter
http://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_enews/affnb_2007_01.htm#education
Vol. 6, No. 1, 2007
Contents
Articles
· McCabe, Kelley, Goldberg, Lorna, Langone, Michael, & DeVoe, Kristen. A Workshop for People Born or Raised in Cultic Groups
· Akyol, Mustafa. European Muslims and the Cult of Jihadism
Recent Publications in Cultic Studies Review
Education and Research Events
Books, Articles, and Web Sites Brought to Our Attention
Group News Briefs
Reminder: ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) is the new name for AFF (American Family Foundation)
Remember to Refresh Your Browser
Recent Publications in Cultic Studies Review
If you do not yet subscribe to the journal, you may do so here ($25/year for Web subscription; print and web subscription - $45 U.S.; $55 Canada/Mexico; $65 other countries).
Articles
· Cultism, Terrorism, and Homeland Security (Stephen Bruce Mutch, Ph.D., LL.B.)
· Responding to Jihadism: A Cultic Studies Perspective (Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.)
· Terrorist Motivations, Extreme Violence, and the Pursuit of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) (Jaime Gomez)
· Are Terrorists Cultists? (Arthur A. Dole, Ph.D., ABPP)
· Terror and Terrorism: A History of Ideas and Philosophical-Ethical Reflections (Brig. Gen. Edwin R. Micewski)
· The Psychobiology of Trauma and Child Maltreatment (Doni Whitsett, Ph.D., L.C.S.W.)
· The Problems and Possibilities of Defining Precise Criteria to Distinguish Between Ethical and Unethical Proselytizing/Evangelism (Elmer J. Thiessen, Ph.D.)
· Antisocial Personality Disorder in Cult Leaders and Induction of Dependent Personality Disorder in Cult Members (John Burke, Ph.D.)
Book Reviews (reviewer in parentheses)
· Help At Any Cost: How the Troubled Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids (Steve K. D. Eichel, Ph.D., ABPP)
· Madness and Evil—A Review of The Sullivanian Institute/Fourth Wall Community: The Relationship of Radical Individualism and Authoritarianism (Daniel Shaw, C.S.W.)
· Theosophy and Culture: Nicholas Roerich (Joseph P. Szimhart)
· ocCULT: They Didn't Think It Could Happen in Their Church (Joseph P. Szimhart)
· Captives of a Concept: Understanding the Illusionary Concept that Holds Jehovah’s Witnesses Captive (Marcia Rudin, M.A.)
· I Can’t Hear God Anymore (Lois V. Svoboda, M.D., L.M.F.T.)
· Out of the Cocoon: A Young Woman’s Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult (Mary Kochan)
· The Great Failure: A Bartender, a Monk, and My Unlikely Path to Truth (Katherine V. Masis, M.A.)
Education and Research Events
ICSA Annual International Conference – Brussels, Belgium
ICSA’s Annual International Conference will take place in Brussels, Belgium June 30 – July 1, 2007. Nearly 100 speakers will present on a wide range of subjects. For information on the program and how to register go to: http://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_conferences/2007brussels/2007_a_home.htm
Call for Art and Literary Works for The Phoenix Project Arts Exhibit
Ex –cult members and ex-members of high demand organizations, who will be attending the ICSA Brussels 2007 Conference, or who will have a person at the conference able to present their work, are invited to submit proposals of their visual art or literary works to be considered for participation in The Phoenix Project Arts Exhibit, to be presented at the 2007 ICSA Conference in Brussels.
This exhibit of cult related artwork will be that which has been created by former members in any stage of recovery. It is suggested that submitted artwork show the world of ex-members, their healing or recovery, or aspects of their time of transition from their cult or high-demand organization. New works are welcome.
Creations may be in any art form, including but not limited to: literary (such as poetry, drama, short story, or other writings), music of any kind, dance, and the visual arts (such as paintings, drawings, collage, sculpture, fiber arts, photography, film, video, or multi-media).
If desired, this work may be presented anonymously, through another presenter.
We anticipate that this exhibit will illuminate the reality of life in a high-demand organization, and of its effects on individuals, and that it will provide an empowering experience for participating artists, who will have the chance to tell their own stories in their own ways.
For more information, please e-mail Phoenix Project Director and Coordinator Diana Pletts at: [email protected]
We look forward to considering your artwork for this event, and hope that you will consider working with us in this presentation of ex-cult member artwork.
Please pass this announcement on. Thank you.
Child Trauma Academy Offers Online Training
The CTA has been offering a live online training series this fall. This has been a very rewarding and interesting experience. Clinical cases from the various participating organizations are discussed from a neurobiologically-informed, developmentally- respectful interdisciplinary clinical approach used by the CTA. These weekly training sessions use a web-based audioconference model. This allows individuals to log into the training site and call a conference call number and participate wherever they are. This inexpensive alternative to onsite training or video conference allows institutions and individuals to build capacity and meet training requirements. CEUs are available for qualifying participants. The upcoming Winter Series is open to individuals and institutions seeking to learn more about clinical work with maltreated and traumatized children. For more information or to subscribe please contact Jana Rosenfelt at 281.932.1375, [email protected] or click on the link below. For the last five years, the CTA has been providing online courses on our online University, www.C hildTraumaAcademy.com. These classes are completely free for participants. If certification or CEUs are desired, a small administrative fee is charged. The feedback on these Web-courses is very positive. CASA workers, foster parents, judges, teachers, clinicians and a host of other professionals have found these courses very helpful.
Kiev Conference
The Family and Personality Protection Society hosted a conference September 27-28, 2006 in Kiev, Ukraine entitled, “Therapy and Prevention of Psychological and Social Dependencies.” Participants included mental health professionals, researchers, and others. The conference included simultaneous translation in Ukrainian, Russian, and English. Some publications may result from the conference. http :// www . fpps . org . ua
Dialogue Ireland Seminar Series, “Cracking Cults”
The "Cracking Cults" seminars will start on Monday January 15 at 7:30 PM. Registration from 7PM
Venue: 22-24 Foley Street, Dublin 1- See map below. Further details can be seen on our web site http://www.dialogueireland.org
Seminars can be attended individually for €20 or €200 for ten. Please have the fee in the post before Friday to guarantee a place. For other arrangements please contact the director before midday Monday 15 January by phone or email.
DIALOGUE IRELAND TRUST
Phone: 353 -1- 8309384 or mobile 353 - 87 2396229
7/8 Lr Abbey St; Dublin 1
Web site http://www.dialogueireland.org
Charity number: CHY 14004
15 January 2007 1. What is a Cult? Course Outline and Definitions (Mike Garde)
22 January 2007 2. Criminal Cults (Paul Williams and Mike Garde)
29 January 2007 3. Cultist Attitudes and Tendencies in Religion (Mike Garde)
5 February 2007 4. Political Cults (Dr Mark Dooley)
12 February 2007 5. Eastern Religiosity/New Age and Cultism (Fr Louis Hughes OP)
19 February 2007 6. The Cult of Islamism within Islam (Sheikh Shaheed Satardien and Mike Garde)
26 February 2007 7. Addiction & Cults (Alan O’Dwyer and Mike Garde)
5 March 2007 8. The New Messiahs: Examination of Main Cult Leaders of History (Mike Garde); One Case Study: Charles T. Russell Tounder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (Joe Leddy)
12 March 2007 9. Secularism as New Cultist Movement (David Quinn)
26 March 2007 10. Conclusions: The Cults of the Celtic Tiger (Mike Garde)
New Acquisitions of Info-Cult/Info-Secte
New acquisitions to the library of Info-Cult/Info-Secte can be found at: http://www.math.mcgill.ca/triples/infocult/ic-acq.html.
New Religious Movements and Politics Conference
INFORM conducted a conference on this subject on Saturday, November 25, 2006 at the New Theatre of the London School of Economics. Speakers included: Professor Eileen Barker, Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics; Madame Anne Fournier of MIVILUDES; Mr. Stephen Green of Christian Voice; Mr. Shiraz Maher, former member of the Hizb ut Tahrir; Professor Ian Reader of the Department of Religious Studies, Lancaster University; Mr. Ringo Ringvee, Department of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Interiors, Estonia; Dr. Marat Shterin, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Kings College London; and Mr. Steve Wilson of Public Bodies Liaison Committee for British Paganism.
Eternal Light Award to Rabbi A. James Rudin
Long-time ICSA advisor Rabbi A. James Rudin will receive the Eternal Light Award of the Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies, a collaboration of St. Leo University and the American Jewish Committee, at the 8th Annual Eternal Light Award Dinner on February 18, 2006 in Sarasota, Florida. “Rabbi A. James Rudin has been selected by the Board of Directors to receive this award for his lifetime work in support of Catholic-Jewish relations. Each year the Board selects a noted individual who reflects the values of the Center and has materially contributed to bridge understanding among both communities. Past Eternal Light honorees include the late Professor Jan Karski, Rabbi Irving Greenberg, the Rev. John T. Pawlikowski, Professor Deborah Lipstadt, Bishop John Nevins, the late Rabbi Sanford Saperstein, and Cardinal William Keeler.”
Dr. Janja Lalich Consults on TV Series
A story in the Chico Enterprise-Record (September 18, 2006) by Melissa Dougherty discusses Dr. Janja Lalich’s consultation to the writers of the new FOX TV-Series, “Vanished.” “While she cannot reveal who kidnapped the young wife of a U.S. senator — the premise on which the show revolves — Lalich said it's no spoiler to say that some sort of secret organization is involved.”
Ministerial Meeting on Cults
Rev. Kelley McCabe helped organized a ministerial meeting on high-demand groups at the Indian River Memorial Hospital (Florida) on November 15, 2006. Speakers included Lorna Goldberg and Kristen DeVoe, both licensed clinical social workers. Ms. Goldberg talked about how to recognize some of the common characteristics of high-demand groups and how best to avoid them. This information is relevant to congregations: grandparents, parents, and children, alike. Ms. Goldberg also presented information on a workshop (called the SGA Workshop) offered to children who were born into, or grew up in, a destructive cult environment. Children who grow up in these environments lack many of the basic skills for navigating in our complex world. Ms. DeVoe shared some of her experiences of being recruited into, and growing up in, a cult she joined at the age of 14. Ms DeVoe also talked about her attendance at last spring's SGA Workshop and its impact on her efforts to rebuild her life.
Joe Szimhart Talk to Ex-Ramtha Members
Joe Szimhart spent a weekend with approximately 35 former members of Ramtha in Seattle, Washington. Mr. Szimhart says: “Fascinating and tragic stories. Most of these folks are middle-aged and older and mostly women--one lady flew in from CT to attend. She left the group after 16 years in last November! There were many folks who were members for 15 to 22 years. Some left 10 to 15 years ago.”
RIP: Father Walter Debold
Long-time ICSA advisor Father Walter Debold died at the age of 90 on December 10, 2006. Father Debold was Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. A member of Cultic Studies Review editorial board, Fr. Debold lectured and wrote widely about cult issues for more than 25 years. Father Debold’s ICSA profile includes eulogies, comments from members of the ICSA community, and reflections that he asked his family to send to ICSA after his death: http://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_profile/debold_walter.asp#Comments_
RIP: Gabriel Cazares
From St. Petersburg Times, September 29, 2006 (By Mike Donila and Robert Farley, Staff Writers, with Craig Basse): “ Former Clearwater Mayor Gabe Cazares, a civil rights advocate, champion of the disadvantaged and arch-enemy of the Church of Scientology, died Friday (Sept. 29, 2006). He was 86. As a politician, Mr. Cazares led the local Democratic Party and won public office at a time when few Hispanics even lived in Pinellas County. As a community activist, he worked to help the poor and build bridges in Clearwater during the early years of integration. But after the Church of Scientology came to town in late 1975, Mr. Cazares became an outspoken critic, prompting Scientologists to hatch plans to smear him. . . When the smoke eventually cleared, a $1.5-million defamation lawsuit filed by Mr. Cazares and his wife against the church was settled out of court in 1986. It was one of several suits between Mr. Cazares and the church over the years.”
RIP: Jose Maria Baamonde
Dr. José María Baamonde , Argentinean psychologist and founder of Fundación S.P.E.S (Servicio Para el Esclarecimiento en Sectas ), died of cancer on August 23, 2006. Dr. Baamonde received a Ph.D. in psychology from the John F. Kennedy University of Buenos Aires. He taught courses in Catholic Culture at Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina and psychology at the Universidad San Pablo-CEU in Madrid, Spain. He also worked as an adviser to the Secretariado para la Familia de la Conferencia Episcopal Argentina. He spoke at ICSA’s 2005 Annual International conference in Madrid. Among other works he is author of La Familia: La Verdadera Historia de los Niños de Dios .
Send news updates on your education and research activities to Dr. Langone at [email protected] .
Books , Articles, and Web Sites Brought to Our Attention
New Book by Bruce Perry and Maia Szalavitz
From childtraumaacademy.org: “We are pleased to announce that the critically- acclaimed book by Dr. Bruce Perry and Maia Szalavitz, ‘The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog’ is now available in all major bookstores. In beautifully written, fascinating accounts of experiences working with emotionally stunted and traumatized children, child psychiatrist Perry educates readers about how early-life stress and violence affects the developing brain. He offers simple yet vivid illustrations of the stress response and the brain's mechanisms with facts and images that crystallize in the mind without being too detailed or confusing. The stories exhibit compassion, understanding and hope as Perry paints detailed, humane pictures of patients who have experienced violence, sexual abuse or neglect, and Perry invites the reader on his own journey to understanding how the developing child's brain works.’ -- Publishers Weekly.” (ICSA hopes to make this book available on our online bookstore, www.cultinfobooks.com, soon.)
New Book by Pascal Zivi and Jacques Poujol: Les Abus Spirituels
Zivi, Pascal, & Poujol, Jacques. Les abus spirituels. Empreinte temps présent, 2006. ISBN : 978-2-906405-79-5. « On parle d’abus spiritual lorsqu’une personne profite de sa position d’autorité pour en dominer psychologiquement et spirituellement une autre, en la privant de son autonomie et de son libre arbitre. Ce phénomène, encore tabou, touche pourtant de nombreuses personnes au sein des églises et des communautés chrétiennes. »
Evangelicals Losing Youth?
Goodstein, Laurie. (2006, October 6). Evangelicals fear the loss of their teenagers. New York Times. “Despite their packed megachurches, their political clout and their increasing visibility on the national stage, evangelical Christian leaders are warning one another that their teenagers are abandoning the faith in droves. At an unusual series of leadership meetings in 44 cities this fall, more than 6,000 pastors are hearing dire forecasts from some of the biggest names in the conservative evangelical movement. Their alarm has been stoked by a highly suspect claim that if current trends continue, only 4 percent of teenagers will be ‘Bible-believing Christians’ as adults. That would be a sharp decline compared with 35 percent of the current generation of baby boomers, and before that, 65 percent of the World War II generation. . . Mr. Smith said he was skeptical about the 4 percent statistic. He said the figure was from a footnote in a book and was inconsistent with research he had conducted and reviewed, which has found that evangelical teenagers are more likely to remain involved with their faith than are mainline Protestants, Catholics, Jews and teenagers of almost every other religion.”
Master’s Thesis on Magnificat Meal Movement
Mike Garde of Dialogue Ireland Trust completed a Master’s thesis in Theology at Milltown Institute in Dublin entitled, “Spirituality and Cultism, A Case Study of a New Religious Movement – the Magnificat Meal Movement.” Abstract – “ This thesis is concerned with the distinguishing characteristics of cultist NRMs. The Magnificat Meal Movement (MMM) is the particular focus through which this is done. Chapter One is introductory in nature and outlines the task of the different chapters and their development. The spiritual, professional, and academic aspects relevant to the topic are integrated. Chapter Two investigates and evaluates the question of terminology and its classification. Oriented by methodological developments in spirituality and practical theology, this chapter uses an interdisciplinary approach to critically review what scholars in the field are saying. A new definition of cultist NRMs is advanced. This necessitates a move away from identifying groups or persons allegedly involved in cults in favour of the recognition of patterns of behaviour and human mentalities called cultist tendencies or attitudes that can be clearly identified and analysed. This new approach has clear pastoral, spiritual and theological advantages. Chapter Three is contextual in nature. It traces the origins and development of the MMM and its foundress Debra Geileskey in Australia. While this is done in a chronological fashion, the chapter is concerned to identify the underlying religious patterns that come to characterise the MMM. The conflation of the person of Debra with the MMM will be evidenced. Chapter Four examines the history of the MMM in Ireland using the same methodology as in Chapter Three. Patterns of growth and decline will also be traced. Chapter Five takes up the task of critical evaluation and asks the question: is the MMM a cultist NRM? Chapter Six draws the conclusions about the MMM together, and identifies it clearly as a cultist NRM. Specific recommendations for those involved with NRMs are proposed. Areas for further study and issues that need to be addressed by the Churches and the Irish State in relation to NRMs are identified.”
Six-Part New York Times Series on Religious Exemptions
In October 2006 the New York Times began a 6-part series on how American religious organizations benefit from an increasingly accommodating government. The five parts dealt with: Favors for the faithful, limiting workers rights, giving exemptions, personal exemptions, ministry for medicine, Christ’s mission, Caesar’s money. The series is available at: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/business/churchstate.html.
Pentecostal Survey
Goodstein, Laurie. (2006, October 6). Pentecostal and charismatic groups growing. New York Times. “A survey of Pentecostal and charismatic Christians in 10 countries in Asia, Africa and the Americas shows they are gaining converts and are more politically engaged than experts had thought. . . The survey (available online at pewforum.org/surveys/pentecostal) found that in Brazil, Guatemala and Kenya, about half the population or more were renewalist Christians. In many of the countries studied, a majority of the Protestants were renewalists, and in Latin American countries, many left Roman Catholic churches for Pentecostal ones. Change has happened quickly, in part because Pentecostals and charismatics are far more likely than other Christians to say they share their faith at least once a week with nonbelievers, the survey shows. “Pentecostal beliefs and practices are literally reshaping the face of Christianity throughout the developing world,” said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
Speaking in Tongues
Carey, Benedict (2006, November 7). A neuroscientific look at speaking in tongues. New York Times. “The passionate, sometimes rhythmic, language-like patter that pours forth from religious people who ‘speak in tongues’ reflects a state of mental possession, many of them say. Now they have some neuroscience to back them up. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania took brain images of five women while they spoke in tongues and found that their frontal lobes — the thinking, willful part of the brain through which people control what they do — were relatively quiet, as were the language centers. The regions involved in maintaining self-consciousness were active. The women were not in blind trances, and it was unclear which region was driving the behavior.”
How the Brain Distorts and Deceives
Fine, Cordelia. (2006). A mind of its own: How your brain distorts and deceives. W. W. Norton & Company. From book review by Susan Salter Reynolds in Discoveries: “We’re keeping the truth from ourselves! ‘A Mind of Its Own’ is a remarkably entertaining tale of the many ways our brains distort the world and protect our precious egos. ‘Failure is perhaps the greatest enemy of the ego, and that's why the vain brain does its best to barricade the door against this unwelcome guest,’ writes author Cordelia Fine. ‘Your brain is vainglorious,’ says Fine, a research associate at Australian National University. ‘It's emotional and immoral. It deludes you. It is pigheaded, secretive, and weakwilled. Oh, and it's also a bigot.’ Fine walks us through the prefrontal cortex, where emotions rule judgment, and studies showing that ‘[w]e are strangely blind to how the subtleties of other people's situations might affect them. Our sensitivity to the context, so sharply tuned when we apply it to ourselves, becomes sloppy and careless when we focus on others.’ She reveals the brain's unflagging penchant for delusion (i.e., ‘seeking evidence that supports whichever hypothesis we happen to be entertaining’); its secrecy (no wonder we have to pay professionals to tell us why we do things!); and its generally weak-willed nature. ‘It's hard work being in charge of a brain,’ Fine writes. Though by the end of ‘A Mind of Its Own,’ it seems perfectly clear that we are not really in charge at all.”
False Confessions.
Stambor, Zak. (2006, September). Can psychology prevent false confessions? Monitor on Psychology, 20-21.
French Translation of Polygamy Article
The Kropveld & Langone article published in ICSA e-newsletter, Vol. 5, No. 2 (2006), “’Lost Love’” in the Controversy Surrounding “’Big Love,’” has been translated into French and is available at: http://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_articles/kropveld_michael_perdusdanslacontroverse.htm.
Book Concentrating on Manipulation in Small Groups
Anne Edelstan, Sweden’s FECRIS representative, has published a book, Mon Voyage de la Vierge de l'Apocalypse, available at: www.publibook.com .
FECRIS Conference Presentations Available Online
Presentations from The October 2006 FECRIS conference in Brussels, as well as prior conferences, are now available online in English, French, German, and Italian at http://www.fecris.org/
North Korea Escalates Cult of Kim
Marquand, Robert. (2007, Jan. 3). “N. Korea escalates 'cult of Kim' to counter West's influence.” Christian Science Monitor. “North Koreans are taught to worship Kim Jong Il as a god. In a manner unique among nations, the North exerts extraordinary control through deification - a cult ideology of complete subservience - that goes beyond the "Stalinist" label often used to describe the newly nuclear North. . . . in a time of famine and poverty, government spending on Kim-family deification - now nearly 40 percent of the visible budget - is the only category in the North's budget to increase, according to a new white paper by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy in Seoul. . . In 1990, ideology was 19 percent of North Korea's budget; by 2004 it doubled to at least 38.5 percent of state spending, according to the white paper. . . ‘It isn't quite realized [in the West] how much a threat the penetration of ideas means. They [Kim's regime] see it as a social problem that could bring down the state,’ says Brian Myers, a North Korean expert at Dongseo University in Busan, South Korea. . . Yet rather than accept such penetration as an inexorable threat, Kim is putting up a serious fight to slow and counter it - by increasing his program of cult-worship. . . The scope of the current project outdoes even the cult of personality during Mao's Cultural Revolution, according to a 2005 doctoral dissertation by Lee Jong Heon at Chung-Ang University in Seoul. Mr. Lee visited North Korea several times for his research. . . Kim Jong Il has upgraded his deification strategies to strengthen the family cult system. Western reports often detail Korea's unique "juche ideology" - a theology of Kim worship, repeated hourly and daily, reminding Koreans they are insolubly bound to the Kim family and must erase foreign influence from their minds. Yet juche is a subcategory of a far more encompassing umbrella of deification known as woo sang hwa, or idol worship. In North Korea, woo sang hwa contains all the aspects of cult worship. Kim broke away from orthodox communism, for example, in a program called "our style socialism." While Marxism-Leninism demands fealty to "nation," "party," and "serving the people" - Kim's "our style [Korean] socialism" does no such thing. It makes "family loyalty," with Kim at the head, the supreme good - a major deflection from communism. . . Perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of the Korean cult project is its recent veering toward race and ethnic solidarity, say Kim watchers. His main appeal to his people today, a push that rarely gets attention outside the North, is to the racial superiority of a people whose isolation and stubborn xenophobia supposedly makes their bloodlines purer. Mr. Myers notes that festivals of 100,000 flag wavers is not a Stalinist exercise, but a celebration of "ethnic homogeneity." Since the 1990s Kim has more fervently claimed lineage to the first ancient rulers of Korea, a move intended to place him in a position of historical, if not divine, destiny as leader of the peninsula.”
Moon and the Washington Times
Journalist Robert Parry has written a detailed article entitled, “The GOP’s $3 Billion Dollar Propaganda Organ,” published in www.consortiumnews.com on December 27, 2006. “The American Right achieved its political dominance in Washington over the past quarter century with the help of more than $3 billion spent by Korean cult leader Sun Myung Moon on a daily propaganda organ, the Washington Times, according to a 21-year veteran of the newspaper. George Archibald, who describes himself ‘as the first reporter hired at the Washington Times outside the founding group’ and author of a commemorative book on the Times’ first two decades, has now joined a long line of disillusioned conservative writers who departed and warned the public about extremism within the newspaper. In an Internet essay on recent turmoil inside the Times, Archibald also confirmed claims by some former Moon insiders that the cult leader has continued to pour in $100 million a year or more to keep the newspaper afloat. Archibald put the price tag for the newspaper’s first 24 years at ‘more than $3 billion of cash.’”
Pacific Sun on Miracle of Love
Jill Kramer wrote an article, “Miracle of Love,” for Pacific Sun, March 17, 2006. The article begins: “It’s called meditation, but it looks like a scene out of Dante’s Inferno. People writhe on the floor, screaming and crying. Pop songs blare from the speakers—The Black Eyed Peas, Bruce Springsteen, Mike & the Mechanics. A woman speaks soothingly into a microphone, encouraging attendees to give their feelings free rein. It’s the fourth day of “The Intensive,” a six-day Miracle of Love seminar, and everyone is exhausted. They’ve been deprived of sleep, food has been limited. They’ve been probed, prodded and berated until they’ve all dredged up their deepest psychic pain and shared it with the others. Emotions are raw, souls laid bare.”
Jonestown Report
Fielding M. McGahee, III released the eighth edition of the Jonestown Report in November 2006. Go to http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/. This site “includes many primary source documents about Peoples Temple and Jonestown not available any other place on the Web. Among other features, the site has the largest collection of transcribed tapes from Jonestown, the biggest online gallery of photographs showing everyday life in Jonestown, and a growing collection of writings by former Temple members, Jonestown survivors, and relatives of those who died on 18 November 1978.”
Articles on Jehovah’s Witnesses
· Louderback-Wood, Kerry. (2005). Jehovah’s Witnesses, blood transfusions and the tort of misrepresentation. Journal of Church and State, 47, 783-822. “The Society’s main resource regarding its blood policy, ‘How Can Blood Save Your Life?’ (‘pamphlet’), teaches both Witnesses and interested persons about the religion’s blood prohibition. . . This essay will first discuss the pamphlet’s misrepresentations of these secular writers and the availability of private action suits for persons harmed when a religious organization misrepresents secular facts. . . this essay will also examine misrepresentations within the dissemination of the blood policy that could leave both Witnesses and medical staff ill-advised. This essay. . . is meant, however, to further legal theory regarding the use of tort law as a narrowly tailored means for affording harmed persons legal redress.”
· Guichon, J., & Mitchell, I. (2006). Medical emergencies in children of orthodox Jehovah’s Witness families: Three recent legal cases, ethical issues and proposals for management. Journal of the Canadian Paediatric Society, 11(10), 655-658. “Three recent Canadian legal cases have dealt with the proposed blood transfusion of adolescent members of Jehovah’s Witness (JW) families. In each case, the court permitted transfusions if medically necessary. Much critical analysis of the issue of forced treatment of decisionally competent adolescents focuses exclusively on competence and questions why mature minors may not decide for themselves. The authors argue that a focus on decision-making competence alone is too narrow. Before one may legally give or refuse consent to medical treatment, three conditions must be met: competence, adequate information and lack of coercion. In striving to find agreement on medical treatment, physicians, patients and JW family members seek and, in fact, often achieve mutual understanding and cooperation. Coercion by actual or threatened shunning and excommunication can occur, and these factors may affect adolescent decision-making. In this context, a court order authorizing medical treatment can, therefore, be seen as enhancing patient freedom. The authors suggest that, in addition to fulfilling existing statutory duties to report a child in need of protection, health care professionals caring for acute patients of JW families should actively look for evidence that the patient has accurate medical information and is acting without coercion. The authors also explore suggestions on how to deal with the unusual complexities of such cases.” http://www.pulsus.com/Paeds/11_10/guic_ed.htm
From Religion in the News
· Shipps, Jan. Polygamy Returns. (Vol. 9, No. 1, 2006): http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RINVol9No2/Polygamy%20Returns.htm .
· Dorman, Benjamin. Religious Politics, Japanese Style. (Vol. 9, No. 2, 2006): http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/Vol9No1/Religious%20Politics,%20Japanese%20Style.htm .
· Palmer, Susan. Cult Fighting in Middle Georgia. (Vol. 9, No. 1, 2006): http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/Vol9No1/Cult%20Fighting%20in%20Middle%20Georgia.htm .
From Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
· Bader, Christopher D., Mencken, F. Carson, & Parker, James. Review Essay: Where Have All the Communes Gone? Religion’s Effect on the Survival of Communes. (Vol. 45, No. 1, 2006, pp. 73-86).
· Olson, Paul J. The Public Perception of “Cults” and “New Religious Movements. (Vol. 45, No. 1, 2006, pp. 97-106).
· Goldman, Marion S. Cults, New Religions, and the Spiritual Landscape: A Review of Four Collections. (Vol. 45, No. 1, 2006, pp. 87-96).
From Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions
· Rochford, E. Burke, Jr., & Bailey, Kendra. Almost Heaven: Leadership, Decline and the Transformation of New Vrindaban. (Vol. 9, No. 3., 2006, pp. 6-23).
· Sitler, Robert K. The 2012 Phenomenon: New Age Appropriation of an Ancient Mayan Calendar. (Vol. 9, No. 3, 2006, pp. 24-38).
· Irwin, Lee. Walking the Line: Pipe and Sweat Ceremonies in Prison. (Vol. 9, No. 3, 2006, pp. 39-60).
· Vojtisek, Zdenek. Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement. (Vol. 9, No. 3., 2006, pp. 6-23).
· Petrov, Sergey. The Jehovists-Il’inites: A Russian Millenarian Movement. (Vol. 9, No. 3, 2006, pp. 80-91).
· Books reviewed in Vol. 9, No. 3, 2006: New Religious Movements: A Documentary Reader; Apocalyptic Trajectories: Millenarianism and Violence in the Contemporary World; Cyberhenge: Modern Pagans on the Internet; Coming Out in Christianity: Religion, Identity and Community; God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture; The Sound of Two Hands Clapping: The Education of a Tibetan Buddhist Monk; New Age and Neopagan Religions in America; Sports in Zion; Crossing Over: One Woman’s Escape from Amish Life; The Amish on the Iowa Prairie, 1840 to 1910.
· Homer, Michael W. Seeking Primitive Christianity in the Waldensian Valleys: Protestants, Mormons, Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses in Italy. (Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 5-33).
· Bacquet, Karen. When Principle and Authority Collide: Baha’I Responses to the Exclusion of Women from the Universal House of Justice. (Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 34-52).
· Ariel, Yaakov. Can Adam and Eve Reconcile? Gender and Sexuality in a New Jewish Religious Movement. (Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 53-78).
· Tishken, Joel E. Whose Nazareth Baptist Church? Prophecy, Power, and Schism in South Africa. (Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 79-97).
· Annus, Iren E. New Studies in Mormonism. (Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 98-111).
· Books reviewed in Vol. 9, No. 4, 2006: The Place of Enchantment: British Occultism and the Culture of the Modern; Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults; Becoming the Compassion Buddha: Tantric, Mahamudra for Everyday Life; The Sabbatean Prophets; On the Backroad to Heaven: Old Order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren; Religious Fundamentalism and Political Extremism; The New Inquisitors; Secrets, Gossip, and Gods: The Transformation of Brazilian Candomble; When Prophecy Never Fails: Myth and Reality in a Flying-Saucer Group; Mind Over Mind: The Anthropology and Psychology of Spirit Possession; Modern American Communes: A Dictionary.
· Kent, Stephen A. A Matter of Principle: Fundamentalist Mormon Polygamy, Children, and Human Rights Debates. (Vol. 10, No. 1, 2006, pp. 7-29).
· Bradley, Martha Sonntag. Response: Patriarchy, Intervention, and Prophetic Leadership Challenges in the Culture of Mormon Fundamentalism. (Vol. 10, No. 1, 2006, pp. 30-42).
· Beaman, Lori G. Response: Who Decides? Harm, Polygamy and Limits on Freedom. (Vol. 10, No. 1, 2006, pp. 43-51).
· Phillips, Rick. Rethinking the International Expansion of Mormonism. (Vol. 10, No. 1, 2006, pp. 52-68).
· Crovetto, Helen. Embodied Knowledge and Divinity: The Hohm Community as Western-style Bauls. (Vol. 10, No. 1, 2006, pp. 69-95).
· Palmer, Norris W. Negotiating Hindu Identity in an American Landscape. (Vol. 10, No. 1, 2006, pp. 96-108).
· Moore, Rebecca. Peoples Temple Revisited. (Vol. 10, No. 1, 2006, pp. 111-118).
· Books reviewed in Vol. 10, No. 1, 2006: Peoples Temple and Black Religion in America; The Unknown God: W. T. Smith and the Thelemites; The Re-Enchantment of the West: Volume 1. Alternative Spiritualities, Sacralization, Popular Culture and Occulture; The Dawn of the New Cycle: Point Loma Theosophists and American Culture; Nature’s Way: Native Wisdom for Living in Balance with the Earth; New Political Religions, or An Analysis of Modern Terrorism; Star in the East: Krishnamurti, the Invention of a Messiah; Action Dharma: New Studies in Engaged Buddhism; Continuity and Transformation: Religious Synthesis in East Asia; The Gods Drink Whiskey: Stumbling Toward Enlightenment in the Land of the Tattered Buddha; Zen Gifts to Christians; Muscular Christianity: Manhood and Sports in Protestant America, 1880-1920; Shaking the World for Jesus: Media and Conservative Evangelical Culture; Aleister Crowley and the Ouija Board.
Send information on noteworthy new books and articles to Dr. Langone at [email protected].
News Briefs
Virginia in July executed Michael Lenz, convicted of murdering a fellow prison inmate in 1990 during an Asatru religious ceremony. Lenz established a prison chapter of Asatru — an ancient religion with gods from Norse mythology — that he named Ironwood Kindred. The victim was allegedly involved in a struggle for power within the Kindred. A co-defendant, also sentenced to death, committed suicide while on death row in 2004. Stephen McNallen, director of the Asatru Folk Assembly, a leading Asatru group, believes there are 10,000–20,000 followers in the U.S. Experts say Asatru, which McNallen parallels to Native American religions, has become increasingly popular with white supremacist prison groups.
Aum Shinrikyo (Aleph) leader Fumihiro Joyu, saying it will be difficult to bridge the gap between Aum groups that are for and against him, has suggested splitting the organization’s financial assets and facilities with the opposition while he reviews religious principles and training systems as a prelude to launching a new group. . . Authorities see Joyu’s conjectured plan as a way to “evade application of the Group Control Law and survive as a new religious organization.” Some say his faction, which amounts to some twenty percent, or 1,600 members — another twenty percent make up the anti-Joyu faction — seeks to diminish the influence of founder Shoko Asahara, now jailed and appealing a death sentence. Joyu told followers, “If we make a new religious organization, we will never make a person into a god.” . . . Asahara’s lawyers have filed an appeal of his conviction and death sentence with the Supreme Court on the ground that he suffers from “pathological mental stress” caused by confinement and was unfit for the trial that found him guilty. The Tokyo High Court rejected a similar appeal on his behalf in March.
The Japanese Supreme Court has denied former Aum Shinrikyo (Aleph) member Noboru Nakamura’s appeal of his life sentence for murder in connection with the Aum gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1994. He was convicted in 2001, saying he was only a lookout and didn’t intend to kill anyone. . . Japanese security officers inspected 25 Aum Shinrikyo facilities across the country the day after leader Shoko Asahara’s death sentence was “finalized.” They were checking for “dangerous moves among cult members.” An official said the finalization may prompt some members to kill themselves when the sentence is carried out. Aum’s financial resources include: donations from followers who live in their own homes; wages earned by members who live communally; and payment for public lectures. . . Aum got away with numerous crimes between 1989 and 1995, even before the infamous attack on the Toyo subway, thanks to authorities’ failure to investigate or share information and to heed warning signs. The earlier crimes, which gave the group the sense that it could do whatever it liked, included: narcotics manufacture and sales; arms smuggling; medical fraud and malpractice; child abuse; forgery; copyright infringement; consumer fraud; land fraud; perjury; intimidation; harboring fugitives; extortion; burglary; assault; kidnapping; attempted murder; and murder. . . The Aum faction led by Fumahiro Joyu wants to stop payments to Asahara’s wife, now out of prison and living with their daughters, but this idea is opposed by a faction loyal to the imprisoned guru, known [more commonly now by his original name] as Chuzo Matsumoto.
Roland Robidoux, head of The Body, the Attleboro, MA, group whose teachings led to the starvation death of an infant — and the murder conviction of the child’s father — died at the group’s home in mid-May, apparently of natural causes.
The California parole board has refused, for the fifteenth time, to release Leslie Van Houten, convicted in two of the murders committed by Charles Manson’s cult in 1969. The two-member panel praised Van Houton’s spotless disciplinary record, and her work tutoring fellow inmates, adding that they would review her case once again next year.
A Shelby county Alabama judge in July sentenced Phillip J. Kronzer to 15 hours in jail for making derogatory statements, in violation of a court order, about the Caritas organization, led by Terry Colafrancesco. Kronzar is a California businessman who “declared war on cults” when his wife left him for Caritas, an organization dedicated to hosting a Bosnian Catholic visionary [and the pilgrims who come to see her.] Kronzer, who admitted posting derogatory material on his website about Colafrancesco and his lawyers, has been ordered to pay them $225,000 for breaching a settlement agreement not to discuss the case.
Jacqueline LeBaron, daughter of the late leader of the polygamous Church of the Lamb of God, has been put on the FBI’s “Most Wanted” list. She is suspected of involvement in a number of murders and suspicious deaths of persons on a hit list made up before the death of her father, who was convicted of murdering a rival and sentenced to prison, where he died in 1981. Renewed interest in her arose recently when Texas authorities received new information about her, reportedly from a half brother, who says he found Jesus in prison.
Former Colonia Dignidad leader Paul Schaefer, 84, extradited from Argentina, where he had fled with the fall of his cultic commune, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Chile for sexually abusing minors. He still faces charges of human rights abuses, including allegations he allowed the dictator Pinochet’s secret police to torture and kill prisoners at the remote Colonia Dignidad.
The population of Colonia Dignidad is dropping, down to 198 residents from a high of some 1,000 — mostly German immigrants — at its height, with 116 adults, 64 retirees, and 18 small children remaining. A spokesman said many have left for fear they’ll be prosecuted for the crimes committed by now-jailed leader Paul Schaefer. The spokesman added, “The residents of Villa Bavaria have to integrate themselves more with Chileans and stop being so racist.” Colony residents earlier this year sent a letter to the Chilean president detailing the crimes that took place over the years and how Schaefer maintained his control using brainwashing, electric shock, tranquilizers, and isolation.
The recently discovered recording of a 1985 phone conversation among leaders of Colonia Dignidad suggests that the group conspired with the Pinochet dictatorship in the detention and death of Penn State professor Boris Weisfeiler, a Russian-born U.S. citizen who disappeared while hiking in Chile. Weisfeiler’s sister, who has spent two decades trying to find out what happened to her brother, has been assisted lately by her Congressman, Barney Frank, of Massachusetts. The last lead in the case dates to 1987 when a Chilean military informant told U.S. embassy officials that he was part of a patrol that arrested a foreign hiker and decided he was a Russian spy. . . Chile’s Supreme Court has rejected a judge’s request that five former Colonia Dignidad officials be extradited from Argentina, whence they fled [with the fall of leader Paul Schaefer].
At least 22 dissidents who disappeared during the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile were killed at the Colonia Dignidad commune run by Paul Schaefer, according to Gerhard Mucke, a former commune leader testifying before a judge investigating human rights abuses. The colony has been accused for many years of allowing the Pinochet security service to use it for detention, torture, and execution of dissidents.
The Exclusive Brethren, said to have 18,000 members in Australia, is likely once again to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to influence a national election. Representatives of the organization led by “Elect Vessel” Bruce Hales — whose members don’t vote, believing that governments are chosen by God — often shares it’s views with conservative politicians it supports in elections. . . Prime Minister John Howard has refused to disclose what he said in talks with Brethren members on the grounds that such discussions are confidential. . . A 40-year member who fled the Brethren six years ago, with her children, has told TV reporters that she knows of many cases of sexual abuse that the Brethren have covered up and dealt with internally. . . Senator Bob Brown said the Prime Minister has criticized extreme Muslims for repressing women but not the Brethren for repressing women in the workplace, in church, and in the home.
China has told Australia that it must deal with Falun Gong protestors who are damaging the “dignity” of the Chinese mission in Canberra when they demonstrate against Chinese treatment of Falun Gong practitioners. Australia recently relaxed restrictions on protests but says it’s making sure the dignity of embassies is not violated. Australia has expressed concerns about allegations that Chinese authorities have arrested and executed thousands of dissidents and harvested their vital organs for sale. . . Former Canadian MP David Kilgore and his law partner David Matas say in their recent report that the Chinese government has, “in effect, murdered [Falun Gong dissidents] for their organs,” noting that the source of some 41,000 transplants in China between 2000 and 2005 remains unexplained. The Chinese, calling the report groundless and biased, recently announced a new law that would ban sales of human organs and require donors to give written permission for the transplants . . . Human rights activist Harry Wu agrees that organs taken from prisoners are being sold, but says there is no evidence that Falun Gong practitioners are being executed en masse to provide the organs.
Wang Weyi, the woman representing the U.S. Falun Gong newspaper Epoch Times who heckled Chinese President Hu Jintao when he visited President Bush at the White House, has reached a deal with prosecutors to drop charges against her of intimidating and threatening the leaders during a press conference in April. Weyi had shouted, “President Bush, stop him [Hu Jintao] from killing [Falun Gong practitioners in China.]”
A former FLDS member confirms investigative reports that Warren Jeffs teaches the old Mormon doctrine of blood atonement — killing an apostate in order to save his soul through the shedding of his blood. Another former member says, “Warren has been teaching for a long time that those who are guilty of adultery must be blood-atoned.” Although it cannot be implemented now because the government won’t allow it, Jeffs allegedly says followers will be able to practice the policy in the future.
Kelly Fischer, 39, a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), has been found guilty — by a Kingman, AZ, jury — of engaging in sex with an underage girl whom he took as a plural wife. Prosecutors charged that he conspired with FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, and the girl’s mother, to arrange the courting and marriage. Fischer was the first of eight FLDS men to be charged in similar cases. The girl’s mother had been “re-assigned” by Jeffs to be Fischer’s second wife in 1997 or 1998. The daughter, who was then 13 or 14, would become Fischer’s third wife. Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith said: “This case is not about polygamy. It is about underage sex practices . . . I think the jury is speaking for the fact that that is not something that should be tolerated, no matter where it happens.” The jury’s decision was based on the testimony of two former FLDS members who spoke of the relationship they observed between Fischer and the girl, and about the nature of relations between the sexes in the polygamous community. Due to resistance in the FLDS community, neither the victim nor persons allegedly involved in setting up the relationship testified. Fischer faces four months to two years in prison on each of two counts, but he may be sentenced only to a year’s probation.
The judge who decided the case said he doesn’t see Fischer as a typical sexual predator and that the young woman does not consider herself a victim. He noted that the parent-approved relationship would have been legal if Fischer had not already been married and had legally wed her. The case was not about polygamy, he said. “My attitude and perception has been that polygamy in Colorado City is something that is perfectly acceptable to the government agencies in this area and the only reason these cases have become involved in the criminal justice system are the assertions and allegations that some of the plural wives were underage when they had sex.” He added that the case was not concerned with an attempt to “re-educate or brainwash these people and the church in Colorado City to get rid of their religious beliefs and give up the practice of polygamy. What this case is about is to discourage people in that community or any other community from having sex with girls that are underage.” The judge concluded by saying that while Fischer was motivated by “sincere religious belief,” he considered it “abominable” and “very hard to accept [that] someone can subscribe to a religion that allows them to have multiple wives at the same time.”
The State of Maine’s lawsuit against Gentle Wind, for falsely claiming that its products have healing qualities, also alleges, under the Unfair Trade Practices Act, that the organization falsely claimed that medical studies proved its healing instruments were effective. The suit also says Gentle Wind manipulated followers into sex rituals and disbursed more than $500,000 in so-called medical grants to patients who were asked to use the instruments and provide testimonials. A Connecticut physician who is also an associate professor at Yale University School of Nursing says, “My experience with the instruments is that they do help people . . . enough people that I don’t believe it’s a placebo.” Maine also alleges that Gentle Wind misused charitable funds by purchasing personal property (albeit these were declared in tax filings).
Maine has filed a 13-count complaint accusing the Gentle Wind Project of violating the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act. Earlier, the Attorney General entered into a consent decree with the Project that dissolved the organization and forbade the founders from making false claims about its healing instruments. The state became involved after former members published autobiographical essays comparing Gentle Wind to a “mind control cult” and the organization sued them for defamation (a suit the Project says it is still pursuing).
Having settled a lawsuit brought by the State of Maine that charged the group with defrauding the public by purveying “healing instruments” of unproved therapeutic effectiveness, the Gentle Wind Project is up and running again, despite agreeing to disband. The group, which also lost its non-profit status and says it no longer accepts donations or payments in any form, still presses a defamation suit against former followers who say, on their website, that Gentle Wind is cult-like and practices mind-control. . . Meanwhile, Gentle Wind’s lawyers have refused to continue to represent the group because it has not paid their legal fees.
“The Gentle Wind Project has agreed to drop a defamation lawsuit against two former members who wrote articles comparing the self-styled spiritual healing group to a ‘mind control cult.’ Under the agreement, Gentle Wind will drop its claims against Jim Bergin and Judy Garvey, a married couple from Blue Hill, and pay them an undisclosed amount of money to reimburse them for donations they made to the organization during their 17 years of membership. The agreement ends more than three years of litigation that began when Bergin and Garvey published online accounts of their years with the group, which they said dominated every aspect of their lives.” (Gregory Kesich, Portland Press Herald, November 10, 2006)
The Baltimore-based Greater Grace World Outreach — which claims 55 affiliated churches in the U.S. and hundreds worldwide — is being criticized by numerous former followers and cult observers for alleged mind control, sexual misconduct, child molestation, fraud, extortion, and family schisms. The organization is led by the Rev. Carl Henry Stevens, whose Massachusetts-based Bible Speaks — Greater Grace’s predecessor — was ordered by a court two decades ago to repay a woman whom he had persuaded to donate $5.5 million to his ministry. The head of Watchman Fellowship, a Christian research organizations, says Greater Grace is “a dysfunctional religious group . . . [that] teaches certain doctrines that empower the leadership, which also creates powerless followers. It leads to emotional or spiritual injury for people who question or step outside (the ministry).”
Nathalie Gettliff, 35, has been jailed in British Columbia for abducting her children and taking them to France to keep them from the influence of their father and his church, the International Churches of Christ. A French court ruled that Getliffe had breached the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. She was arrested when she returned to Vancouver to defend her doctoral dissertation at the University of British Columbia.
While in custody in Canada on charges of abduction for taking her children to France to keep them from her former husband and the influence of the International Churches of Christ, Nathalie Getliffe’s boyfriend — the French writer Francis Gruzelle — and other supporters continue to attack the French courts for ordering the children’s return. Gruzelle, who will run against the French Minister of Justice in the next election, says the children are being abused like the character Cosette, one of the “poor wretches” in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. French president Jacques Chirac has asked Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to ensure Canada gives “detailed attention” to Getliffe’s health as she prepares to give birth to her fourth child.
Scott Grant, who recently gained custody of their two children from his wife, Nathalie Getliffe, says she poisoned their minds against him, telling them he didn’t want them and that they’d be in danger if they returned to Canada because he is a member of the International Churches of Christ, which she calls a “cult.” Grant says that his calm explanation of the truth about him and the International Church dissipated the children’s high anxiety and now they are happy to be with him. In response to profound concerns about their mother’s imprisonment, he says he told them her case would be helped if they returned from France to Canada, thus putting an end to the “crime” she had committed in abducting them. He has also taken them to visit her in a Vancouver prison, where she is being held for trial.
The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench has dismissed Lawrence Hughes’s lawsuit accusing Jehovah’s Witnesses members of contributing to the death of his daughter, a teenager who refused blood transfusions. In reversing a previous ruling, the court said Hughes was not properly named administrator of the estate of his daughter, Bethany, 17, who died of leukemia in 2002. Hughes says he cannot afford a further appeal.
Kenneth Emmanuel Dyers, 84, co-founder of the spiritual healing group Kenja, was arrested last October in Sydney, allegedly for assaulting two twelve-year-old girls during “energy conversion sessions.” The girls’ family left the organization when the financial contributions Dyers demanded became too great.
Pope Benedict XVI has called clerical sex abuses “egregious crimes” that have damaged the Church and its clergy, and that in order “to rebuild confidence and trust," it is necessary to learn what had happened in the past and prevent it from happening again. In May, the Pope asked Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legion of Christ, to stop celebrating mass in public and take on a life of “prayer and penance.” The Vatican had investigated allegations that Maciel sexually abused seminarians many years ago.
A former Legionary testified that the organization is very secretive and abusive. Followers must take private vows not to criticize the actions of superiors and to report those who do. He also said the confidentiality of spiritual counseling is often violated. . . . The Hartford Courant says, “Justice was far too gentle” with Maciel, although his punishment “is an undeniable sign that, even at the highest levels, the Roman Catholic Church is no longer treating accusations of sexual abuse by priests with its traditional tolerance, secrecy, and denial.” . . . The Legionaries of Christ, founded in 1941, has 650 priests and 2,500 seminarians in 20 countries. The Regnum Christi Movement is its lay auxiliary.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that, despite the state’s anti-bigamy law, Stanley M. Shepp may teach his 13-year-old daughter about polygamy because it is a deeply held religious belief, unless doing so would harm the girl’s physical or mental health or safety or potentially create significant social burdens. Shepp, separated from his family, and calling himself a fundamentalist Mormon since his excommunication from the mainline Mormon Church because of his growing interest in polygamy, now lives in Utah. His ex-wife, with whom he shares custody of the girl, says, “My biggest fear is that she will be allowed to go to Utah with her father and go to a polygamist camp . . . and I’ll never see her again. Because by law, you only need one parent’s signature to marry off one of your children.” Shepp does not have the right, however, to take his daughter to Utah. . . The overwhelming majority of Canadians think polygamy should remain illegal and that the government should more aggressively move to protect children in polygamous communities, according to a poll conducted for the Institute of Canadian Values published in the Vancouver Sun.
The Raëlians have filed a complaint with the Québec Human Rights Commission claiming that the exclusion of their books from the provincial book expo amounts to religious discrimination. . . A Québec Superior Court judge has ruled that an Ottawa columnist did not libel Raël (Claude Vorhilon) when he called the group’s leader a “scatterbrained swindler” and a “clown.” The judge said, “It is strange, to say the least, that Raël should be offended by terms used about him when they are similar to those he uses when he judges . . . followers of the Jewish and Christian religions.” The jurist called Vorhilon’s testimony that he, Raël, had spoken with extra-terrestrials on another planet, “more like hallucinations and fantasies, unless he was fully aware that he lied in court [when he spoke about such things].”
Old allegations of pedophilia against Guru Sathya Sai Baba, in Britain, have surfaced following an announcement that 200 boys are to visit India for a month-long humanitarian pilgrimage organized by the Sai Youth Movement. Former home office minister Tom Sackville, who runs a cult victim support group, said, “It is appallingly naïve for the award scheme to involve young people . . . with an organization whose leader is accused of pedophilia.” The U.S. State Department says citizens should be aware of “unconfirmed reports of inappropriate sexual behavior by a prominent local religious leader [apparently Sai Baba] at an ashram or religious retreat located in Andhra Pradesh.”
Today, more than three decades after it arrived to make the city its international headquarters, Scientology has become an “indelible, if still mysterious, part of Clearwater.” Some say the organization has cleaned up the once-decrepit downtown but others believe retail merchants who aren’t Scientologists, and people going through Clearwater, avoid downtown because of the church’s dominance there, where “masses of uniformed people [Scientologists] walk the streets, wearing belted green, navy, or russet pants and crisp white or pale blue shirts,” and move “in purposeful strides, with the quickened footsteps of people with a mission.”
Scientologists attached to the church’s Citizens Commission on Human Rights, carrying signs saying “Psychiatry Kills,” picketed the annual Comprehensive Review of Psychiatry meeting, in Niagara Falls, NY. The head of the University of Buffalo department of psychiatry said the picketers “have the same credibility as people who say they’ve been kidnapped by aliens in flying saucers.” . . . Narconon plans to open a 66-bed facility on 30 acres at a rural site in upper Bouquet Canyon that formerly housed a boarding school. Critics have questioned the efficacy of Scientology drug detoxification treatments. Scientology representatives say there will be no religious indoctrination. . . Scientology’s Citizens Commission on Human Rights in July protested a suicide prevention program at Littleton, MA, High School, saying it placed students on drugs unnecessarily and that drug companies stood to benefit from increased prescription drug use.
The British Value Added Tax (VAT) Tribunal has ruled, following a recent test case involving a car dealership, that the government Revenue and Customs department must pay £4.1 million to Scientology, money the group has overpaid since 1973. Scientology has fought for the last decade to gain charitable status, and therefore certain tax exemptions. The Charities Commission has always refused to recognize Scientology as a religion — it said it saw “no public benefit arising out of the practice of Scientology” — but tax authorities declared in 2000 that the church is a not-for-profit organization that does not have to pay the VAT. . . Scientology says that a pre-Katrina membership of 25 in its Lafayette, LA, church has more than doubled in the storm’s wake. Members, wearing trademark yellow T-shirts, helped victims with shelter, food, supplies, and counseling. . . A Scientologist accused of assaulting a church critic who was videotaping Scientologists on a sidewalk in Clearwater, FL, will not be prosecuted. The State Attorney says the evidence shows “pretty much mutual aggression.”
A federal judge in Nebraska has ruled constitutional the state’s law mandating newborn blood screening, thus denying a suit brought by a couple saying the test would violate their Scientology religious beliefs. Nebraska, Montana, Michigan, and South Dakota are the only states that do not allow a religious belief exemption. Nebraska says the test is needed to prevent several diseases that can cause severe mental retardation or death if undetected — and because treatment of the diseases would impose a great burden of care on taxpayers. Scientologists believe that babies should simply have seven days of silence following birth.
Narseal Batiste, 32, head of the Miami-based alleged terrorist cell Seas of David, which is accused of planning to blow up Chicago’s Sears Tower, has been described as a “Moses-like” figure who roamed his neighborhood wearing a robe and holding a cane while recruiting young men to embrace the tenets of the Moorish Science Temple of America, a group founded in 1913 by circus magician Noble Drew Ali. The Moorish Science Temple believes that all black people are born Muslims and descended from the nomadic Moors of North Africa. Clement Rodney Hampton-El, another Moorish Science adherent, was convicted in 1995 of taking part in a failed plot to blow up New York City transit tunnels. Lawyers for some of Batiste’s associates — mostly poor, young, Haitian-Americans — argue that the government had, through an informant who taped their oath of loyalty to Al Qaeda, entrapped them, luring them into doing more than they would otherwise have done. Critics say the case is typical of the Bush administration’s exaggeration of terrorist threats, especially since Batiste had no ability to carry out his proposed attacks. The government calls the case an example of the “pre-emptive” strategy needed to discover credible plots among those that are not likely to come to anything.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) has asked the media not to refer to Seas of David members, recently arrested for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks, as “Muslims.” The request [according to this report] is consistent with CAIR’s policy of apologizing for radical Islam and insisting, through disinformation, that the linkage of terrorist activities to Muslim militants is simply the product of prejudice.
Canadian Liberal Party MP Wajid Khan, a Muslim in whose constituency recently accused terrorist plotters resided, says, “The onus is on our community to address this problem. We’re talking about a cult, a small number of extremists. The majority of us are moderates. But these are the voices that haven’t been heard. This has to change. We can’t let these people get their roots down here.” He called for an end to certain local imams’ preaching hate of Canadian institutions and suggested setting standards for imam training. He also asked parents to stop ignoring changes in their teenagers’ behavior. “If a child is abused or falls victim to drugs or other crimes, we intercede and seek help. Why is this [recruiting youth into a terrorist group] any different? It’s a crime, too. A very dramatic one, maybe, but just a crime.”
The Chairman of the Transcendental Meditation Society in Israel has called on the government to recruit a group of 256 “Yogic Flyers” who, using an advanced TM technique, would create a shield of invincibility around the country and bring an immediate end to the violence with Hezbollah. He says the advanced meditation technique brings consciousness to a level where thinking is without content, where the Flyer connects with the “source of all energy and intelligence — beyond any thought and at the same time the source of all thought.”
A Marin Independent Journal editorial of 10/16/06 says parents of students in San Rafael, CA, have legitimate concerns about Terra Linda High School’s decision to offer Transcendental Medication (TM) as the stress management part of a new wellness program because TM has religious overtones. The proposed TM unit is made possible by a $175,000 grant from filmmaker David Lynch’s foundation. At a presentation on the benefits of TM, anti-cult lawyer Ford Greene asked pointed questions that dominated the session, and one parent, who said she’d taught TM for 35 years, called it a “destructive cult.” The AP on 10/19/06 reported: “Plans for a high school meditation club funded by filmmaker David Lynch evaporated this week after parents caught wind that students would be taught Transcendental Meditation, the method developed by a one-time spiritual teacher to The Beatles, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Amid protests that TM was a form of religious practice and therefore inappropriate for a public school, the David Lynch Foundation on Tuesday withdrew the $175,000 it had pledged to Terra Linda High School in San Rafael.”
Mogens Amdi Petersen, founder of the Danish charity Tvind, known worldwide as Humana People-to-People, has been found not guilty by a Danish court of orchestrating a tax fraud scheme, as alleged by former foundation members [who also accused the organization, which collects used clothing for sale in the underdeveloped world, of being cult-like].
The New York State Education Department has approved the Unification Church’s Unification Theological Seminary application to offer the doctorate degree at its Barrytown campus, in Red Hook. The degree will, according to the church, provide students with “the opportunity to enhance and expand their ministerial skills.”
The Unification Church (UC) has been ordered by the Tokyo District Court to pay over $2 million to a woman who said the UC made her feel insecure and frightened her, forced her to donate money and purchase expensive products from the church, and threatened her by saying her “family line” would fall and she would “fall into hell.”
Black supremacist cult leader Yahweh Ben Yahweh, 70, dying of cancer while living alone in Miami, has asked for his parole to be terminated in order to “be able to die with dignity.” His lawyers say that keeping him under constant supervision, even as death is immanent, is worsening his disease.
International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) is new name for AFF (American Family Foundation)
In December 2004 AFF (American Family Foundation) officially changed its name to International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA). The change of name had been discussed for many years. Until a few years ago, those who felt that "AFF" had established an identity and was "known" had prevailed. However, several factors tilted the name-change decision in favor of those wanting a new name.
First of all, the constituency of the organization has changed over the past 25 years. Initially, nearly everybody who contacted AFF for help did so because he/she had a child involved in a cultic group. AFF's unique role was to bring these parents into contact with helping professionals, increasing numbers of whom became interested in and/or involved with AFF as time passed. By the early 1990s, however, the majority of people contacting the organization were former group members who had left their groups without an intervention ("walk-aways"). By the late 1990s, AFF and people associated with the organization had completed a sizeable body of research and an increasing number of researchers began to get involved with the organization. Moreover, at some recent conferences 25% of the attendees were from outside the U.S. Today, we speak of our four international constituencies of family members, former members, researchers, and helping professionals (including mental health, law, clergy, educators – some of whom are also former members of groups or family members of involved persons). Consequently, although "family" may have reflected the organization's focus in its early years, it no longer is THE focus, though it still remains a vital concern.
Most people favored "cultic studies" because it expressed the organization's interest areas without being so narrow and precise as to exclude phenomena that might be similar but not equivalent to those associated with the admittedly vague concept "cult." Many high-control or abusive groups from which people leave are not necessarily "cults" in a strict sense, but they may nonetheless resemble "cults" in some ways. "Cultic studies" also gives us a link to the past, for our journal has used that term since 1984 and our main Web site has used the term for the past several years.
The growth of the Web has also influenced the name change in that nearly everybody who contacts the organization today found out about us through a Web search. And these people rarely ever heard of "AFF" or "American Family Foundation." Therefore, a name that more accurately reflects what concerns the organization will more effectively "welcome" Web surfers than a name that many people associate with right wing political organizations, despite the fact that AFF/ICSA has always included people from across the political and religious spectrums.
We have begun modifying our Web sites to reflect the name change, a project that will take some time to complete. We hope you will be patient.
Don’t Forget to Refresh Your Browser
When you visit a Web site, such as www.culticstudiesreview.org, you should refresh your browser because sometimes your Internet browser shows you the Web page from “memory,” so to speak. The browser may have to be told to show any changes that have been made to the page since your last visit. In Microsoft’s Internet Explorer you do this by clicking “View” at the top of your screen and then clicking “Refresh” in the drop-down menu that comes up. Hence, if we send you a notice that there are new postings on www.culticstudiesreview.org, you may have to hit “Refresh” before your browser will show you the changes.
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