The Comet and Its Tail:

1
The Comet and Its Tail

• Cultic Studies from Afar
• A Presentation to the October 15-16 2004
• AFF (Now ICSA) Conference in Atlanta, Georgia

2
Introduction

• In this paper I will look at the field of cultic
  studies from a distance, focusing on broad
  issues, rather than the details that usually
  occupy us. My thesis is that the field is mainly
  concerned with unethical influence, that is, how
  one person or a group tries to influenceto
  changeanother person or group in ways that
  warrant condemnation, or at least critical
  examination.
• Those of us in the field direct most of our
  attention toward extreme instances of unethical
  influence, toward what are often called, "cults,"
  although, as I have contended elsewhere, this
  term leaves much to be desired, even though we
  seem stuck with it.
• These extremesthe comet's head, so to speakgive
  the field its name. However, especially in
  recent years, inquirers, paper writers, and
  conference speakers have noted the connections
  between at least what some people see as
  unethical methods of influence and events,
  practices, and other phenomena in interpersonal
  settings that aren't extreme and that dont occur
  in groups typically thought to be "cults" or
  "cultic." These areas of attention are, to carry
  the metaphor forward, the "tail of the comet."
  Let us examine this comet and its tail.

3
What Are We About

• When AFF (American Family Foundation in
  December 2004 renamed "International Cultic
  Studies Association," ICSA) was founded in 1979,
  its name reflected the primary concern of the
  organization's first board of directorsto help
  families concerned about a relative (usually a
  son or daughter) committed to a group that the
  family perceived to be deceptive, controlling, or
  otherwise harmful to their loved one.
• These groups were typically called cults, and
  their methods were compared to the "brainwashing"
  notions that became popular after the Korean War.
• The original board sought to approach this
  problem scientifically, so research and
  professional training have always been important
  components of AFF's work.
• Obviously, successfully helping families meant
  that there would be former group members who
  needed help readjusting to mainstream society.
  This became AFF's second pillar and, during the
  past 15 years, the primary focus of our
  assistance efforts as more and more "walkaways"
  sought information from us ("walkaways" are
  people who come out of groupsthe vast
  majoritywithout a family-sponsored or other
  intervention).
• AFF has also devoted energy to preventive
  education, although the amount of effort has
  varied depending upon funding resources. The
  primary goal of preventive education efforts has
  been to make people more aware of the ways in
  which they can be manipulated to make choices
  they wouldn't ordinarily have made.

4
What are We About - II

• Even in the early days of AFF, some workers in
  the field were acutely aware of the far-reaching
  ethical, legal, and social ramifications of what
  we were observing. Dr. John Clark, for example,
  used to call cult conversions "the impermissible
  experiment." Certain groups, in his view, were
  trying to change personalities by using methods
  that no psychology department would condone as an
  experimental protocol. These attempts to
  restructure identity, though impressive on the
  surface, were more pseudo than real. However, the
  maintenance of the altered pseudo-identity
  created great psychological stress, which
  accounted in part for the high turnover in such
  groups and for the high distress level among
  those who left.
• The criticisms of these methods and the groups
  that employed them ran head-on into defenses
  based on notions of religious freedom. This
  collision draws our attention to fundamental
  questions affecting all democratic societies, for
  example

5
Legal/Social Implications

• How should society reconcile competing rights,
  obligations, and grievances?
• How should society respond to harm resulting from
  religiously based practices?
• How can society avoid negative backlash to
  extreme abuses make remedy proportionate to
  harm?
• How can society prevent abuses of the legal
  system by unfairly stifling criticism?

6
Key Terms

• unethical influence
• conversion
• manipulation
• mind-control - thought reform - brainwashing
• exploitation
• cult
• charismatic group
• new religious movement alternative movement
• psychological abuse
• harm

7
Overlapping Group Types
Harm
Psy abuse
8
Types of Concerns

• Psychological
• Ethical/Moral
• Theological
• Social

9
Method, Intent, Effects

• Choice-Respecting Methods

Self-Development
Invitation
Influencee-Centered Intent
Influencer-Centered Intent
Caretaker
Exploitation Comets Head
Compliance-Gaining Methods
10
Conclusions

• Complexity subjectivity of evaluations
• We should treat the word cult as a theoretical
  type or benchmark, NOT as an organizing structure
  that selects only information that confirms a
  stereotype."
• 4 areas of concern are distinct, though may
  overlap
• Appreciate extent of individual variation
• Extraction vs. Conflict Resolution
• Ethical bottom line Did A improperly influence
  B?
• Some things are wrong, regardless of whether or
  not they hurt none, a few, some, most, or all
  people.

11
Appendices
12
Singer's Six Conditions for Thought Reform

• Keep the person unaware of what is going on and
  how she or he is being changed a step at a time.
• Control the person's social and/or physical
  environment especially control the person's
  time.
• Systematically create a sense of powerlessness in
  the person.
• Manipulate a system of rewards, punishments and
  experiences in such a way as to inhibit behavior
  that reflects the person's former social
  identity.
• Manipulate a system of rewards, punishments, and
  experiences in order to promote learning the
  group's ideology or belief system and
  group-approved behaviors.
• Put forth a closed system of logic and an
  authoritarian structure that permits no feedback
  and refuses to be modified except by leadership
  approval or executive order.

13
Liftons Eight Themes for Thought Reform

• Milieu Control
• Mystical Manipulation
• Demand for Purity
• Confession
• Sacred Science
• Loading the Language
• Doctrine over person
• Dispensing of existence

14
Psychological Abuse

• Dishonoring MAID (opposite of Respect)
• Mind
• Autonomy
• Identity
• Dignity

15
Definitions

• An ideological organization held together by
  charismatic relationships and demanding total
  commitment. (Zablocki)
• Cult (totalist type) A group or movement
  exhibiting a great or excessive devotion or
  dedication to some person, idea, or thing and
  employing unethically manipulative techniques of
  persuasion and control designed to advance the
  goals of the group's leaders, to the actual or
  possible detriment of members, their families,
  or the community.