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Aspects of Recovery

Jan

2013

Recovery from cults is a multifaceted process; initially it is the separation from the group, group practices, and meetings that bound us to the group. Therapy helps address the emotional aspects of group involvement – feelings of betrayal, abuse and vulnerability to recruitment. It helps to develop and understanding of how the group’s doctrine ...

“Cults” and Globalization: Reflections and Questions

Jan

2013

Mike Kropveld Revised from a presentation at the International Symposium on Cultic Studies (Bangkok, Thailand), organized by Graduate School of Philosophy and Religion, Assumption University, Thailand and the Institute of Religious Studies, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, China, December 15–16, 2011. In my presentation today, I will give an overview of definitions for cult. Then I will ...

Characteristics Associated with Cultic Groups – Revised

Jan

2013

Michael D. Langone, Ph.D. & Janja Lalich, Ph.D. Concerted efforts at influence and control lie at the core of cultic groups, programs, and relationships. Many members, former members, and supporters of cults are not fully aware of the extent to which members may have been manipulated, exploited, even abused. The following list of social-structural, social-psychological, and ...

On Using the Term "Cult"

Oct

2012

Herbert L. Rosedale, Esq.Michael D. Langone, Ph.D. Even though we have each studied cults and educated people about this subject for more than 20 years, neither of us has ever felt completely comfortable with the term “cult.” No other term, however, serves more effectively the linked educational and research aims of ICSA (International Cultic Studies ...

The Definitional Ambiguity of “Cult” and ICSA’s Mission

Oct

2012

Michael D. Langone, Ph.D. (This essay is a follow-up to “On Using the Term Cult.”) A central component of ICSA’s mission is to study psychological manipulation and abuse, especially as it manifests in cultic and other groups. Different people, however, attach different and usually imprecise meanings to the term “cult” (On Using the Term Cult). Those ...

CultNews101.com

Bryan Co. man indicted for child sex crimes; Wife allegedly told victims they were ‘psychic visions’ November 13, 2019
WSAV StaffNovember 12, 2019SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Tuesday the U.S. Department of Justice announced federal charges against a Bryan County man and his wife.According to officials, Michael Wilson, 37, faces charges including Coercion and Enticement of a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity. Michael’s spouse, Lori Wilson, a/k/a “Loretta Lightningbolt,” 34, faces a separate federal […]
Tory-supporting church 'asks young members to hand over thousands' November 13, 2019
Alarmed parents say Spac Nation, which the Conservative party has embraced, operates ‘like a cult’Dan Sabbagh and Damien GayleThe GuardianNovember 12, 2019 Parents and former members have accused an evangelical church operating in south London linked to the Conservative party of forcing young members into handing over thousands of pounds and pressing them into debt.Spac […]
A candidate with Scientology roots is running for Clearwater mayor November 13, 2019
Morton Myers says he’s not an active member. But with family on Scientology’s staff, he says he’s uniquely positioned to find middle ground with the church. Tracey McManusTampa Bay TimesNovember 12, 2019CLEARWATER — When Morton Myers introduces himself as the latest mayoral hopeful, he fields questions about Scientology the same way he did as a […]
The anatomy of undue influence used by terrorist cults and traffickers to induce helplessness and trauma, so creating false identities November 8, 2019
Ethics, Medicine and Public Health (2019) 8, 97—107The anatomy of undue influence used by terrorist cults and traffickers to induce helplessness and trauma, so creating false identitiesAnatomie de l’influence indue utilisée par les sectes et les trafiquants terroristes pour induire l’impuissance et le traumatisme, créant ainsi de fausses identitésS.A. Hassan (MEd, LMHC, NCC) , M.J. […]
Five Best: Robert Jay Lifton on Worlds Destroyed November 8, 2019
The author, most recently, of ‘Losing Reality: On Cults, Cultism, and the Mindset of Political and Religious Zealotry’ selects books on the aftermath of cataclysm. Robert Jay Lifton Nov. 8, 2019 11:07 am ET Commandant of AuschwitzBy Rudolf Höss (1959) 1. Despite its lies, inaccuracies and self-serving distortions, Rudolf Höss’s book, written in 1947 during […]
I was an astrologer – here's how it really works, and why I had to stop November 7, 2019
Felicity Carter The GuardianNovember 7, 2019Customers marvelled at my psychic abilities but was that really what was going on when I told their fortune?The man was agitated, with red-rimmed eyes and clammy skin.“Help me,” he said. “I’m under a curse.”At first it was just flickering lights, he said. And then a figure, at the edge of […]
After the U.S. outlawed polygamy, thousands of Mormons fled to Mexico. Nine just died there. November 6, 2019
The killing of three women and six children is a brutal epilogue to a forgotten exodus.Washington PostMichael S. Rosenwald November 5, 2019 They refused to bend to the will of Congress. So the Mormons set off for Mexico by horse and wagon, their bags packed with dried fruit and baked goods, their belief in polygamy unshakable.It […]
CultNEWS101 Articles: 10/29/2019 October 29, 2019
Kosmic Fusion, Podcast, Universal Medicine, Australia, Solar Temple, Netherlands, YogaStuff: Bad Vibrations (Kosmic Fusion)"Followers of a woman living in suburban Auckland believe she is the reincarnation of an Indian deity, who can tune into people's souls through special frequencies. But two former volunteers for her group, Kosmic Fusion, have described a frightening experience where they […]
Children 'spanked 30 times a day' in secretive sect, ex-member says October 29, 2019
Alison Piotrowski9NewsOctober 29, 2019Eighteen years on from his time inside the Twelve Tribes religious sect, Matthew Klein is still scarred. "They not only control your medical care, they control your food, when you get to see your family, they try to control when you make love to your wife, they try and control your children," […]
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Appeal by Jehovah’s Witnesses of 2015 California Trial Court October 25, 2019
Press ReleasesThe Zalkin Law Firm PRESS RELEASEU.S. Supreme Court Rejects Appeal by Jehovah’s Witnesses of 2015 California Trial Court OrderThe Supreme Court rejected the Appeal of a 2015 Civil Lawsuit Filed by the Zalkin Law Firm on Behalf of their client who alleges they were sexually molested as a child by a JW church leader. […]
'Teen Mom' Leah Messer Joins Alleged Cult Accused of Sexual Violation, Brainwashing October 24, 2019
Danielle LongIBTOctober 24, 2019"Teen Mom 2" star Leah Messer has seemingly joined Mastery in Transformational Training, an organization that has been accused of being a cult. The California-based group characterizes itself as a self-help group and offers a series of workshops that are a "caring, inspirational, and educational environment for generating breakthroughs in the most crucial […]
MEDIA ALERT: Dutch Farm Group Are Not 'Unification Church' Members October 18, 2019
NEWS PROVIDED BYFamily Federation for World Peace and Unification Oct 17, 2019, 22:56 ETNEW YORK, Oct. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), commonly referred to as 'the Unification Church', was deeply alarmed to hear of the family being held in inhumane conditions on a farmhouse in the Netherlands. While we can confirm that […]
Dutch farm mystery: Father held as police unpick secret farm 'sect' October 18, 2019
BBC NewsOctober 18, 2019The 67-year-old father of a family found living in a secret room on an isolated Dutch farm has been arrested.His arrest came hours after an Austrian man who rented the property was remanded in custody.Six grown-up children apparently spent the past nine years in seclusion on the farm, near the village of […]
Solar Temple Massacre: Mystery endures 25 years later October 17, 2019
Brad HunterToronto SunOctober 5, 2019The cult members thought the baby boy was the anti-Christ.Emmanuel Dutoit was three months old and this tragic child was stabbed repeatedly. His killers used a wooden stake.That was October 1994.In a matter of days it would become clear to cops in Quebec and Switzerland the slain baby was the first […]
Dutch family 'waiting for end of time' discovered in basement October 17, 2019
BBC NewsOctober 15, 2019A family who spent nine years in a basement "waiting for the end of time" have been discovered by police in the Netherlands after the eldest son turned up at a local pub, reports say.A man, 58, and his six children - aged 16 to 25 - were living at a farm […]
Booze and cursing are at the center of a new yoga rage October 17, 2019
MEGAN DILLARD WDAFSTLtoday.comOctober 16, 2019KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Yoga is about finding your center. There's a new trend to track down tranquility, but it’s a more alternative twist to the usually peaceful exercise.Amanda Kauffman strolled into the back room at Cinder Block Brewery Monday night with a beer in one hand and a yoga mat […]
Family found at Dutch farm 'could have been held against their will' October 17, 2019
Police say family was in space that could be locked and may have been there nine yearsJon Henley Europe correspondent@jonhenleyThe GuardianOctober 16, 2019 Dutch police are questioning an Austrian man after a family of six were found in a secret room at a remote farmhouse in the Netherlands where they are believed to have been […]
CultNEWS101 Articles: 10/17/2019 October 17, 2019
LevTahor, Religion Research, Jordan Peterson, Cult Contradictions The Times of Israel: Leaders of fringe ultra-Orthodox cult Lev Tahor requested asylum in Iran"Documents presented last Thursday at a US federal court show that leaders of the fringe Hasidic cult Lev Tahor last year requested asylum from Iran and swore allegiance to its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali […]
Naval Academy Midshipmen Seeking Temple For Satanic Service on Campus October 17, 2019
Scott McDonaldNewsweekOctober 15, 2019Some midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy are looking for a place on campus to hold Satanic study services, the Military Times reported Tuesday.The group of students who study and train at the Academy requested a space where they can hold such study sessions while following the religion of the Satanic […]