"Children's Rights are Human Rights" is the first thing you see when visiting the CHILD USA website. CHILD USA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit think tank dedicated to protecting kids and preventing abuse. Its two founders are law professor and author Marci Hamilton and Dr. Rita Swan. Both are dedicated to ensuring children receive proper medical treatment (but do [...]
The huge decline in membership due to critical information on the Internet, as well as lawsuits, are forcing leadership of older established clergy organizations, like the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons, to try to find ways to cope. In the case of Watchtower, documents listing predators have been leaked. Also, in the case of the LDS Church, documents are being leaked [...]
Donald Trump holds a “Make America Great Again” rally in Mississippi and mocks Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testimony. Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images On October 2nd, 2018, at a political rally, the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, mocked Christine Blasey Ford's testimony of her sexual assault while in high school. As I [...]
As the U.S. Senate has agreed to hear the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford about the alleged sexual assault incident that happened years ago with Judge Brett Kavanagh, people's attentions are back on women's rights, #WhyIDidn'tReport, and men's misuse of power and sex. Some Republican members act as if they will confirm Kavanagh as a new [...]
Rationalists under threat, Photo by NewsClick Indian Activists Advocate the Use of Scientific, Analytical Thinking, Not Just Superstition This week's blog features an interview with my friend Narendra Nayak who is the President of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations (FIRA). His organization consists of eighty constituent groups who together seek to promote scientific [...]
I previously wrote a blog about people who are still living inside high-control groups that no longer believe in the leader or group. They remain trapped inside due to a variety of reasons, but there are also practical reasons which include the high exit cost of losing family, money, and friends. Most people can and do leave the [...]
Freedom of religion does not give permission to traumatize and abuse kids! Last week, I blogged about some ways that children are harmed physically by destructive cults, including murder, suicide, medical neglect, trafficking, corporal punishment and sexual predation. Many children that are born or raised in a group are helpless and do not have the [...]
Freedom of religion does not give permission to traumatize and abuse kids! Last week, I blogged about adults in totalistic, destructive cults who are physically still in but psychologically out and sitting on the fence. This week I wanted to blog about children who are helpless and were born or raised in a group. [...]
Beginning to Doubt and Question There are moments when almost anybody can become disillusioned when in a totalistic, or rigid and intolerant, group (or controlling relationship). Losing one’s “faith” can happen for a wide variety of reasons. Maybe they become aware of some discrepancy or hypocrisy in the doctrine or in a leader’s behavior. Perhaps someone [...]
I recently gave my first TEDx talk on August 1, 2018. I decided to give this blog the funny title to make a point. There are, in fact, many definitions of the word "cult." Most of these have a strongly negative association. However, I wanted to try to help people expand their minds when they hear [...]
