All posts tagged: Cult

People of Praise Covenant Community: BITE Model of Authoritarian Control Evaluation

Since Judge Amy Coney Barrett was nominated to the Supreme Court to fill the seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Republicans are seeking to fast track her confirmation before the end of October. The Trump administration and its Senators are trying to frame some of the opposition to her nomination as religious intolerance.

Steven Hassan, October 10, 2020

The Cult of Trump Book 2020

  The Democratic and Republican conventions have now ended. The differences between the two events were so clear for anyone watching them both. By looking at the Influence Continuum, one party was emphasizing love, compassion, science, diversity and coming together as Americans.  The other was about Donald Trump and how great, kind, empathetic, and compassionate

Steven Hassan, September 1, 2020

Human Trafficking: Learn to Recognize the Signs and Help Save a Life

Danielle Bastien, Henry Ford Health System Trafficking is a Large-Scale Issue of Undue Influence Meet Emergency Room nurse, Danielle Jordan Bastein. Kudos to her! Danielle has pioneered the development of a new protocol to more systematically identify warning factors for the ER that a patient might be a trafficking victim. Trafficking victims almost always suffer a

Steven Hassan, February 7, 2019
UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Errant Belief #5: “He Has the Right to Believe What He Wants to Believe”

The Right to Believe Anything vs. Reality-Testing Freedom to believe is only a real freedom if you also have the freedom not to believe. Having the right to believe something carries with it a presupposition of the right to not believe it, too. When recruiters deceptively ensnare people into a closed belief system, it violates

Steven Hassan, March 15, 2018

The Moonies and TM Attempt to Reinvent Themselves

*blog updated March 2, 2018* Both Have Missions to Recruit True Believers to Take Over the World Having exited the Moonies in 1976, following an intervention performed at the request of my family, I have been so grateful to regain my life. I refer to the group as “the Moonies,” because when I was a

Steven Hassan, February 8, 2018
Group of people from the back

How Can I Rescue My Child From a Cult?

How Can I Rescue My Child From a Cult? Whether you are looking for help for your son or daughter, your brother or sister, mother or father, or husband or wife, my advice is to do your homework, first. In the coming weeks, I plan to share the errant beliefs I wrote about in my

Steven Hassan, January 18, 2018

Harvey Weinstein: Like Cult Leaders, He Abused People Using Power, Money and Sex

Harvey Weinstein in Paris at the César Awards ceremony 2014 Sexual Assault by Men Abusing Power I am heartened by all of the women coming forward, sharing the grizzly details of sexual assault against them by Harvey Weinstein. With hindsight, this unwelcomed harassment was happening for decades, and many were too afraid or paralyzed by

Steven Hassan, October 17, 2017

Recovery from Spiritual Abuse and Healing Oneself to Trust Again

This past weekend, I attended and spoke at a conference at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. This one-day event was sponsored by MeadowHaven, The Protestant Chaplaincy of the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, Dartmouth Bible Church, and International Cultic Studies Association. The title of my talk was “Spiritual Abuse: Strategies to Help Someone to Exit, Heal

Steven Hassan, August 9, 2017

The Need to Educate Judges, Attorneys, Citizens, and Governments About Undue Influence

The knowledge base of the hard sciences including medicine and social psychological research is developing rapidly all over the world. The legal system is constantly being updated to incorporate new information and research. For the law to change, it often is up to diligent attorneys who represent clients who have suffered a harm and expert

Steven Hassan, August 3, 2017