As the world seems to grow smaller every day through ever-expanding communication and the global sharing of information, we have come to collectively realize that the problems posed by destructive cults aren’t restricted to any one country or continent. Cult tragedies have occurred on every region of the globe and caused many governments concern. History has proved that the cult phenomenon isn’t somehow restricted to a particular country, continent, race, or ethnic group. Instead it is a reality that can potentially affect anyone around the world. For this reason sharing what we now know about this problem is an important tool in beginning to solve it or at least to lessen the damage destructive cults do.
As the world faces the continuing problems of fanaticism and terrorism, we often see the same mind-set. That is, extremists in groups can be manipulated and motivated through a process of recruitment and retention not unlike cult brainwashing. Many of the common characteristics found in destructive cults parallel the structure and dynamics of terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda or ISIS. The same state-of-mind that prompted the tragedy at Jonestown is essentially the same mindset that brought down the World Trade Center towers, ending thousands of lives and now threatens whatever hope there is for stability and peace in the Middle East. Understanding this mind-set and potentially learning how to deprogram it is a meaningful tool in combatting some of the radicalization that produces global terrorism.
International conferences sponsored by organizations in Europe, Asia, and the United States have historically allowed for the exchange and sharing of meaningful information about destructive cults. These exchanges can stimulate and facilitate further research and study. Law enforcement personnel around the world can also potentially use the knowledge coalesced from this networking about destructive cults, enhancing their ability to monitor the criminal activities of cults.
Some in academia and the media generally defend cults and often seem to apologize for their bad behavior. These apologists have often characterized any critical examination of such groups as “persecution” or a “human rights” violation. It is not persecution or a human rights issue, however, to hold cults and their leaders accountable to the same laws and ordinances as everyone else. And of course if groups called “cults” behaved better and ceased doing harm, such critical analysis wouldn’t be necessary.
The key means of responding to destructive cults has always been education. This is the basis for effective intervention work, and it is the basis for protecting the general public from destructive cults. People who are aware of destructive cults and how they work are much better prepared to avoid their recruitment tactics and exploitation. This is why some groups called “cults” have ranted against the Internet, the media, and former members who disclose their secrets—they don’t want the public educated about their behavior and history. We can persuade cults to change and hold them accountable not only through law enforcement but also through public education by sharing the information about them to increase cult awareness.
Over the decades some cults have frequently targeted me for harassment. They have hired people to go through my garbage, illegally review my private bank and phone records, post diatribes about me online, and threaten my life. Knowing that the impact of my work has warranted such attention from cults is heartening. Otherwise why would they bother to harass me?
What began for me as a personal effort to protect my grandmother from fanatics during the early 1980s evolved into a journey spanning decades—first as an anticult activist and community organizer and now as a cult-intervention specialist, court expert witness, and lecturer.
Hopefully this book will make a difference and stimulate more critical analysis, research, and education about destructive cults. Others may also find this work compelling and begin a journey of their own. That is the purpose of this book—to build on the information we have and share it in such a way that others may continue the ongoing educational process. Educating and thus helping people to be free of cults can be both a personally fulfilling experience and a purposeful, professional life.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’m deeply grateful for the many people who have made my journey of exploration concerning the world of cults and this book possible.
Rabbi Albert Plotkin, the first community leader who responded to my questions about cults, was a tireless, ecumenical organizer. He inspired my earliest efforts as an anticult activist and community organizer.
Annette Daum was the director of the department of interreligious affairs for the Union for Reform Judaism. She brought me to New York, and her pioneering work in the field of cult education further informed my understanding of the cult phenomenon.
Lois Tuchler, executive director of Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Phoenix, provided me the opportunity to professionally coordinate community programs. She impressed on me that success is measured not just by direct results but also by contributions to change.
Priscilla Coates, executive director of the Cult Awareness Network, was an icon of information about cults. Her focus on the importance of recalling and archiving historical facts about destructive cults was a key inspiration in my work. Priscilla’s piercing insights provided the basis for a better understanding of cult tragedies.
Aaron Scholar, executive director of the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Phoenix, urged me to create and teach classes about cults to better prepare young people. He understood that education is the best hope of protecting young people from cults that frequently recruit on college campuses across the United States.
Margaret Singer, eminent cult expert and psychologist, was required reading and a friend. Her dry wit and sage advice were indispensable. She was there at the very beginning of the modern cult era and served as a member of the advisory board of the Cult Education Institute, formerly known as the Ross Institute of New Jersey. Margaret understood the educational potential and importance of the Internet. She foresaw that it would become a key component of cultic studies.
Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman, authors of Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change and Holy Terror: The Fundamentalist War on America’s Freedoms in Religion, Politics, and Our Private Lives, first inspired me through their books and public appearances and later as good friends. I’m deeply grateful for their help regarding this book. Flo and Jim were a pivotal influence in sorting through and organizing the structure of the book. They also helpfully reviewed the chapters concerning the definition of a destructive cult and cult brainwashing. Their feedback made this a better book. Thanks so much, Flo and Jim, for always being there.
Psychologist Paul Martin, his wife, Barbara Martin, and the staff at Wellspring Retreat, a licensed mental health facility devoted to assisting cult victims, helped me to better understand the shared problems of former cult members and their recovery process.
I could never have survived professionally without the pro bono help numerous lawyers and law firms provided over the years. They protected not only me personally but also the online archives of the Cult Education Institute.
In Arizona, law firms like Lewis and Roca and Brown and Bain of Phoenix helped me through litigation when I lived in Phoenix. I want to specifically thank Arizona attorneys William Wolf, Bret Maidman, Paul Eckstein, and Daniel Barr for their successful work.
Since my move to New Jersey, the law firm Lowenstein Sandler has generously provided me with much needed legal help. Peter Skolnik, a partner at Lowenstein Sandler, diligently persevered through two harassment lawsuits—first, defending me in a lawsuit filed by Landmark Education and later defending me against a particularly vexatious litigant NXIVM in a lawsuit that dragged on for more than a decade.
I also want to thank attorneys Robert Rivas of Florida, Douglas Brooks of Massachusetts, Michael Norwick and Thomas Dolan of New Jersey, and Thomas Gleason of New York for their tireless work and dedication to protecting the principle of free speech.
The organizations Public Citizen and the Berkman Center for Interne
t and Society at Harvard University were also quite helpful regarding ongoing litigation concerns.
I want to thank Drs. Guy S. Alitto, Paul Morris, and Udo Schuklenk for their feedback and comments at an international symposium on cultic studies in Thailand during 2011. One night after a day of presentations, I had a friendly and private debate with Drs. Morris and Shuklenk about the core definition of a destructive cult. That discussion became much of the impetus for forming an understanding of the nucleus for a definition of a destructive cult in this book.
I want to thank Dr. Monica Pignotti and journalist Tony Ortega for reviewing chapters about Scientology and offering their invaluable feedback.
Most of all, I am deeply grateful to Dr. Cathleen Mann, who contributed substantially to the process of writing this book through her ongoing critique of chapters. Dr. Mann was extremely generous and pushed me to write a better book through her always-constructive criticism. Thanks, Cathleen, for being so patient and precise. Your commitment and consistent ethical professionalism exemplify how anyone seriously addressing the issue of destructive cuts and helping cult victims should behave and conduct his or her work.
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