Here is a translation of Dr. Bardavío Antón’s remarks:

1:06 – Thank you very much, Steven, for allowing me to be on your magnificent channel and especially for getting to know you. I am, as you explained, Carlos Bardavío Antón, lawyer for the Spanish Association of Victims of Jehovah’s Witnesses (AEVTJ). I have handled the procedures against the association, the procedures of the religious confession against the association, also against its board of directors, and I am a Doctor in Criminal Law and I did a thesis on sects in criminal law and in that doctoral thesis I made a reform proposal, or rather an inclusion proposal of the crime of coercive persuasion in the criminal codes, not only in Spain but also in other countries, such as Mexico, or any other country.

10:49 – There is one very important thing in this ruling and it is that it not only declares freedom of expression to say that it is a destructive sect, etc., etc., which we will now go into details, but it also declares freedom of information, which is another fundamental right. In Europe, in order to exercise that right of freedom of information, the information has to be truthful, which is not the same as truth. La verdad is the truth. Veraz is something that is close to the truth, that is, it is based on something. The judge from Torrejón de Ardoz says that all these manifestations of the Spanish Association of Victims of Jehovah’s Witnesses – destructive sect, social ostracism or social death, psychological disorders caused by social ostracism, cover-up of sexual abuse, discrimination to women, discrimination against the LGTBI group or homosexuals – this, which is the main part, the judge says is truthful, and therefore we have not only won for freedom of expression, but, even better, for freedom of information, because the the information is true, and it is true because it is based on the statements of the victims, on the statements of the media, and, most importantly, on the texts of the Jehovah’s Witnesses themselves.

16:04 – I understand, look, just to make one clarification, and that is that, as a result of what Steven is saying, the sentence declares something very important, it says that there is truth in that the JWs use excessive control over their members, and this, this phrase, these two words, “excessive control” over their members are what makes her conclude, among other things, that there is truth, truthfulness, in that it is a destructive sect/cult.

18:16 – One more nuance, you can tell him, there is another sentence, which is that of Gabriel Pedrero, which came out last week. It is against a member that we have also won 100%, and in that sentence the judge adds something very interesting to the excessive control, and the judge considers truthful, which is not the truth – the word verdad is the truth, but veraz is close to the truth, right? -. Well, it is considered true that the JWs, when they are baptized, when they enter, are unaware of all the compliance standards that they are going to have to follow and all the evaluation that is going to be done on them, the judge implying that they enter without knowing where they are entering. 

24:29 – One more thing, we are going to present – REDUNE obtained, together with Patricia Aguilar’s father, which is a very famous case in Spain and Peru, that the guru was convicted of human trafficking -, we are going to present, because we already have them,

300,000 signatures before the Congress of Deputies, before the Spanish Parliament, to reform the Spanish penal code in order to include a crime like the one I proposed in the doctoral thesis, a crime of coercive persuasion, let’s say, clear and obvious, that is understandable for judges and courts, because many times this problem that is understood by such expert psychologists as Steven Hassan and others, has to be transferred to legal terminology, which is a bit of the work that I have here in Spain.

33:05 – Of course, then I am going to make an assessment: I believe that one of the problems why this problem has not been clearly regulated worldwide in criminal codes or criminal laws is that they have usually been called anti-sect laws. This already creates a communicative problem with religious freedom. The proposal that I make is very similar, to explain it quickly, to gender violence laws, or domestic violence laws, where the abuser exercises control over the victim in a way that is sometimes initially subtle, imperceptible by the victim, which sometimes the victim even justifies or accepts the abuse or even understands it. It is a dynamic, as Steven knows well, cognitive persuasion, or undue influence, or continuous influence, as he says, is a dynamic very similar to the control or subtle psychological abuse that the abuser carries out on his partner.

35:30 – Ok, and add one more thing, this is a way of explaining to legislators what psychologists say about coercive persuasion. That is to say, obviously one violence is not similar to another, they resemble studies such as by Rodríguez Carballeira, who is a professor from Spain who endorses it, and other studies, but the key, for me, is that obviously when it takes place in a group, coercive persuasion can be more intense and is stronger, and is often a group problem, but the criminal germ, let’s say the starting point of the crime, is the coercive persuasion of one person to another through that dynamic. Then, if there is a group that reinforces that coercive persuasion, obviously that intensifies the attack much more, but that is something progressive, it is a plus for the group, but the criminal germ is the subtle control of one person over another person under this dynamic.

40:19 – Can you add one thing, Michel? That indeed, this misinformation that some lobby groups are creating, for example now with the JWs, one of them that Steven Hassan knows well, is Massimo Introvigne, who on his website, in his magazine, is distorting, is manipulating the information of the sentences we have won, okay? Anyone who wants to read the sentences, in Spanish and English, has them on my website, from my office, bardavioabogados, and can go to see the sentences in Spanish and English and really find out about the sentences. Mr. Massimo Introvigne is distorting the information.

43:24 – If I have understood correctly, Michel, we are now finishing the interview and you are asking me if I want to say a few words, right?

43:50 – I just want to say one last thing: This ruling that we have won says one last thing that seemed brilliant to me, and that is that the judge says: “No matter how sacred the dogmas of a religion are, be careful! they are applied by beings. Humans”. That is to say, it is implying that no matter how sacred religious freedom may be, there are human beings who can do harm through those principles, that is, there is, as the judge says, excessive control and ostracism or social death that they lead the judge to require public powers to protect the family, since this social ostracism or social death breaks families.

Additional video:

Jehovah’s Witnesses in Spain: a talk with Dr. Steven Hassan, Michel Gilbert, and Loida Fernández

Resources:

Asociación Española de víctimas de los testigos de Jehová

On Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube

Dr. Bardavío Antón’s YouTube channel and website

Dr. Bardavío Antón’s thesis on sect crimes and criminal law

Dr. Bardavío Antón’s book about criminal sects in Mexico and criminal law

La libertad de expresión ampara calificar a los Testigos de Jehová de “secta destructiva”, según una sentencia

Víctimas de los Testigos de Jehová piden que paguen «el desastre mental que están generando»

Los Testigos de Jehová son una “secta destructiva” y los exintegrantes, “víctimas”, según una sentencia

The post Special Discussion – Historic Decision in Spanish Courts Concerning Jehovah’s Witness Survivors appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.

Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) are well-known for their door-to-door solicitation and distributing literature, such as their Watchtower and AWAKE! magazines. However, most people do not know of the authoritarian BITE Model policies that affect JWs. Consequently, former JW elder Isaac Carmignani, a friend and colleague, shares critically important facts about this religious organization.  

Carmignani was raised a Jehovah’s Witness (JW) and was baptized at age 11. He experienced severe corporal punishment, a well-known cult practice as a child. From 1995 to 2006, he was an elder in the JW organization; however, in 2007, Carmignani formally disassociated himself. He disagreed with their interpretation of the Bible and the belief that only JWs were good Christians while all other Christians were evil. In fact, a member was not allowed to enter any church other than a Kingdom Hall; the name JWs call their meeting places.   

History of Jehovah’s Witnesses 

In 1879, Charles Taze Russell (later known as Pastor Russell), influenced by Millerite and Adventist teachings, published a religious journal in Pennsylvania. It was well received among people troubled by distressful world events, which were anticipating Jesus’s second coming that would result in a long-awaited 1,000-year Judgment Day. That fear can motivate people to give their time and money to recruit others. Soon an association of believers named “Bible Students” was organized in 1881. Russell named the association ZION’S WATCH TOWER TRACT SOCIETY. That association was legally incorporated in 1884 in Pennsylvania, known today as the WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PA, INC. Within a few years, another corporation was formed, known as the WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC., both of which are large and powerful religious entities used by JWs leaders to direct the “spiritual” lives of millions of believers. 

When C. T. Russell died in 1916, the organization, known by members as the Watchtower Society, was gradually taken control of by its legal counsel, (Judge) Joseph F. Rutherford. He ignored Russell’s legal will and became president of the Society in 1917 through means that the Bible Students saw as a hostile takeover. Rutherford moved the organization toward a centralized structure he termed a “theocracy,” and in 1931, changed the religion’s name to Jehovah’s Witnesses.    

JWs believe that when they die, only 144,000 of their members will go to heaven while the rest of JWs will live on a paradise earth. Carmignani notes that even though most of the members since this doctrine was introduced over 140 years ago, who claimed to be of the 144,000 heavenly number, have long since died, thousands more JWs are still claiming they are going to heaven too. In effect, the number never decreases when a head count is made. This is one of many confounding pieces of their doctrine.   Raymond Franz was born into the organization and rose to its highest power structure, The Governing Body. He realized that the leadership was not following God or the Scriptures and he resigned. he later wrote the book, Crisis of Conscience. Many members exited the cult as a result. Recently, Anthony Morris III left he governing body but no information is yet forthcoming if he was demoted or resigned. or what?

Rigidity and Constriction 

The patriarchal structure of the group is another issue. Males have the final say on spiritual matters in JW’s congregations and in the home. However, most JW men take this a step further, although it’s not an organizational policy, and demand final authority in secular matters, too, as it’s believed the husband is the head of the household. It is also decreed that people must marry within the group, and marrying someone outside means you’re not marrying in the Lord. There are so many do’s and don’ts connected with this religion that non-Jehovah’s Witnesses generally avoid discussions about the restrictions. 

Corporal punishment of children involved using belts, spoons, paddles, and hands.  Like many destructive cults, children are expected to behave like adults. Punishment is delivered to program children to be obedient to authority figures. Normal child play is frowned upon, especially when the family is at a meeting. It is well established that violence to discipline children creates trauma. 

JWs require members to follow a specific type of dress code. Their lives are filled with excessive Bible study and disproportionate meeting attendance. Because of believing that being a part of the world is unacceptable, they shun holidays such as Christmas, Mother’s Day, and birthdays which causes the group to fit well within my BITE Model of Authoritarian Control.  

No Blood Transfusions Allowed 

Did you know JWs believe that God forbids a lifesaving blood transfusion? Pastor Russell did not teach this. The earliest mention in JWs literature regarding the sacredness of the blood was in 1927. Initially, JWs used verses of dietary laws found in the Torah, known by Christians as the Old Testament, to bolster the teaching of blood sanctity. In 1944, a few years after Rutherford, the president of the JWs organization, died, blood transfusions were emphasized in The Watchtower. When transfusions became an issue confronting them, in 1945, JWs leaders explained at length the requirement to abstain from blood, although there was no penalty if the constraint was ignored. However, beginning in 1961, any member who accepted blood transfusions and was not sorry was excommunicated. Due to the Witnesses’ no-blood transfusion dogma, countless JWs in need of blood died.    

This is where a blood transfusion issue can arise with a JW and a non-JW spouse. If a JW marries a non-JW and the JW woman becomes pregnant, subsequently requires blood transfusions, and refuses blood, it could mean death for the mother, the baby, or both. I’ve had clients who were in this situation with traumatic outcomes. 

Carmignani explains that the religion’s rules regarding blood transfusions and blood products are convoluted and difficult to understand. Although JWs’ position is religious, a complicated organizational directive suggests Witnesses learn about medical treatments to be used other than blood if such a need arises. Erythropoietin, a hormone that causes the body to make red blood cells, is a treatment JWs are told to ask for. Most JWs can’t pronounce the drug when well, let alone if they are sick. Rather than discuss the medical treatment that is complicated and confusing to them, many JWs refuse transfusions and let it go at that. This can have catastrophic consequences in cases of injuries from car accidents, complicated births, and diseases such as cancer.  

Thousands of Names of Reported JWs Child Molesters in a Database at JW Headquarters  

Former JW member, Barbara Anderson, became a whistleblower after she found out during the time she was a staff member at JWs Watchtower corporate world headquarters in New York that JWs child molesters were not being reported to the police by JWs appointed ministers. Consequently, children were not being protected. The religion has a bizarre doctrine that requires the testimony of two material witnesses against a purported child sex abuser to prove an accusation of child abuse. In recent years there have been countless lawsuits by women and men who had been sexually traumatized by someone in the cult. Since the group moved its headquarters from Brooklyn to Upstate New York, a state law was passed enabling child sexual abuse victims to file a civil lawsuit, even though the abuse happened many years previously. Anderson chronicles her story about this on her website.  

Lost in Translation 

JWs recognize their own version of the Bible, the New World Translation (NWT), which has been criticized as inaccurate by virtually every Jewish and Christian theologian. Therefore, when JWs offer to study the Bible with people but fail to disclose that the NWT is not a legitimate translation, it violates everyone’s informed consent. It’s a deceptive practice! People believe they are actually studying the actual real Bible. The group then indoctrinates members to believe they can’t understand the Bible without studying their interpretations of it.

Discrimination Against Former Members 

 As a religious organization, JWs are entitled to have religious tax exemption status or other subsidies in the United States and other countries. However, currently, in Norway, there is a case where the Norwegian Government is considering stripping them of this exemption. This is due to a human rights infraction, that of disfellowshipping members and their subsequent shunning by JW’s relatives and friends. This is especially problematic for children not being allowed to associate with a disfellowshipped parent or other disfellowshipped relatives. The group was deregistered because of violations of adult members’ freedom of expression and right to freedom of religion. A timeline of events and English translations of the documents between the Watchtower Society and the Norwegian Government can be found here.   

Australia investigated the Watchtower Society via The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which published its case study in October 2016.  

Digging Deep    

Religious organizations such as JWs don’t appear to be cults on the surface. But through investigation, digging deep into their history and into their doctrines to try to understand if what they assert is factual is extremely important. The time spent to do this can prevent us from falling prey to cult indoctrination and will also make it possible for us to help others break free from falsehood.   

RESOURCES: 

Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse – Report on Case #29: Jehovah’s Witnesse

Isaac’s blog: Beyond Jehovah’s Witnesses 

The BITE Model of Authoritarian Control and the Watchtower Society 

From Growing up in the Jehovah’s Witnesses to Counseling people who wish to Exit it with Frances Peters 

Advocate for Awareness of Watchtower Abuses 

Facts About Jehovah’s Witnesses 

Barbara Anderson’s Watchtower Documents 

Advocates for Jehovah’s Witness Reform on Blood 

Jehovah’s Witnesses Blood Transfusions and the Tort of Misrepresentation 

Isaac’s New York City Social group 

Twitter: @isaaccarmignani  Protonmail: exjwelder@proton.me

The post Watchtower Society: Understanding the Jehovah’s Witnesses with Isaac Carmignani  appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.

When we think of cults, we think of being recruited into them. It’s easy to forget some people are born into them like my guest today, Frances Peters, who was born and raised in the Jehovah’s Witnesses before leaving in 2004 with her husband and two children. As soon as she realized how controlling and harmful the group was, she decided to leave. Since then, she’s been researching the workings of undue influence and what people can do to (re)gain their identity.  She experienced how challenging it is to become a thriver instead of remaining a victim of institutionalized undue influence. 

Peters lives in Holland and is a self-employed coach/counselor with her practice called Free Choice Recovery. Since 2010 she counsels former cult members and individuals who experienced harmful control from a person or group. She supports these individuals on their journey to autonomy.  Her special interest is in identity development and supporting the born-in former members to take back control. She is also the co-founder of Stronger After, which provides online free support for former members of authoritarian controlling groups. 

Born Into a Cult 

When Peters was just an infant, her mother became a Jehovah’s Witness, though her father never did, and this caused a fracture within the family. Peters talks about her father not wanting her mother to go to the meetings, but she did so and this meant Peters was living in two worlds. Her mother took her to the meetings and at 15 she was baptized, though the Jehovah’s Witnesses deny they baptize anyone under the age of 18, one of the many lies they tell. 

Peters discusses with us her mother’s difficulty with the Dutch language as her mother is English, this was another way for the group to maintain control because it provided her mother with a social network given that some of the members spoke English. 

In addition to her mother, both of her sisters were in the cult as well, which meant they had a built-in support system for staying within the bounds of the cult. Peters discusses how they were trying to be “good girls,” devoted to the religion and preaching as much as they could. Preaching was a necessity because of the instilled belief that she “would have blood on my hands if I wouldn’t preach as much as I could.” Preaching became a duty to avoid this.  

When Peters was 13, her parents separated and this gave the Jehovah’s Witnesses another way to control her mother because the elders stepped in under the guise of support, which allowed her mother to become even more attached to the group. Peters talks about how her brothers, much like her father, did not become Jehovah’s Witnesses, but the girls in the family did. 

The doctrine of the cult was harsh and included believing every other church was evil and blood transfusions were prohibited. The latter led to the children being consistently told to be very careful so as not to get into an accident or situation that might require one. They were also led to believe in Armageddon and told the world was ending several times, which meant they didn’t need to do things like go to college because the world as they knew it would soon be over and they would live eternal life.  

Divorcing the Cult 

Peters married her husband at the age of 20, they knew each other from the time they were young children having grown up in the same congregation. His parents were more fanatical than other devoted members. 

Because Peters was born into the cult, she did not have an identity or value system to return to when she left. A lot of her friends and family members were also members of the authoritarian group, which meant losing everyone when she left. Still, Peters had the courage and fortitude to leave the group, though it was a complicated process.  

After 11 years of marriage, she and her husband had their first child, which changed the way she viewed the world. She discusses previously working only to get by and have enough for food and basics so she and her husband could devote the majority of their time to preaching. However, once her daughter and then son were born, she found herself having to explain the concepts of the religion and in hearing herself do so, she began to realize it sounded ridiculous.  

From the Mouths of Babes 

Her daughter asked straightforward questions and while trying to answer those, Peters began to understand how unexplainable these concepts were. Her husband was coming to the same conclusions after considering what they would do if one of their children needed a blood transfusion. He found himself unable to endorse the beliefs he grew up with. 

Peters recalls the first time her husband raised doubts with her about the Jehovah’s Witnesses, discussing his findings with her about the organization having NGOs, which is not allowed. Upon finding out they lied about having those, it was a starting point for questioning other things. Peters remembers feeling as though it couldn’t be true, but her husband was able to prove it, and that began the journey to freedom for their family.  

We talk about being disfellowshipped, which is a feature of a lot of extreme cults, though it’s often called other things depending on the cult. Jehovah’s Witnesses will exclude a person completely, not allowing them to talk with their friends and family members who are still in the group because they believe them to be dangerous. This includes parents, siblings, and children.  

These cults need to be able to control their members and information control as seen in the BITE Model of Authoritarian Control is one way to do it. Questioning and thinking for one’s self is not allowed, people must stay within the confines of the belief system. They cannot allow nonbelievers or questioners to influence the members as this would destroy their ability to control them. The consequences of disfellowshipping are enormous as people lose their entire social network, including their family members, and are cast out alone in a world that is very different from the one they were told about within the cult.  

When Peters was beginning to make her way out, though was not yet disfellowshipped, she read my book, Combating Mind Control, which was an eye-opener for her to begin understanding that she was in a cult. At that time, she was not speaking up because she feared the loss of family connections for her children. Once she did speak up, she was disfellowshipped.  

Gaps in Professional and Personal Knowledge

At this time, she started to realize there was a gap in the knowledge base of professionals around growing up in cults and how harmful this can be to identity development. Peters talks about being in her 40s, but still being emotionally immature and having difficulty making hard choices. She talks about the identity crisis this caused her, but also how spending time with people outside of the cult helped her grow, stating “I was just flabbergasted about all the things that were there.” 

Peters started participating in forums with ex-members and reading a lot. She attended the Academy of Coaching and Counseling to gain the counseling skills she felt she needed to help others. She went abroad and studied at the International Cultic Studies Association as well as attended the Second Generation Adults (SGA)Workshop. She wanted to understand what happens to people who grow up in these cults and made use of metaphors to assist others. She discusses, for example, an elephant trained in a camp to do work with methods of abuse and control to get the elephant to submit. Elephants are strong, but with this kind of cruel training, they can be made to submit to humans and be afraid of them, much as cult members are trained. Growing up in this environment with nothing else to compare it to creates a lot of difficulty in understanding it’s possible to get out and live a different, healthy life.  

Peters talks about compassion being key for the ex-member to move through the shame and pain, it’s also key for those who work with or know someone who is processing the emotions, pain, and trauma of being in a cult and exiting it. I launched a new nine-hour online course for anyone who wants a deep dive into issues related to recovering from undue influence in all forms. While this course is designed for clinicians, everyone can benefit.

Resources:

Free Choice Recovery

Stronger After

ICSA’s Second Generation Adults SGA Workshop

The BITE model and Jehovah’s Witnesses

How Jehovah’s Witness Teachings Can Damage Brain Development in Children

Freedom of Mind Resource Center page on Jehovah’s Witnesses

Shunning and the BITE Model of Mind Control in the Jehovah’s Witnesses

The post From Growing Up in the Jehovah’s Witnesses to Counseling People Who Wish to Exit it with Frances Peters appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.

The psychological state of fervor and the emotion of awe might not come to mind when thinking about how cults recruit and control their members. However, cult indoctrination and control depend on the exploit of emotions, particularly in the initial stages. Emotions are the drivers for all human behavior, such as attraction or aversion. This new model is particularly needed in this moment of strategizing how to amplify cooperation and trust but understanding how people’s minds can get hacked.

My colleague, Dr. Yuval Laor, has a background in evolutionary biology, history and philosophy. We met at the Getting Clear conference on Scientology in Toronto (2015) and crossed paths again at the 2019 ICSA Conference in Manchester, England where I attended his presentation on this model. In his PhD thesis, The Religious Ape: Love, Fervor, and the Evolution of Religion, Dr. Laor presents an evolutionary approach for explaining the human phenomenon of religiosity.

Expanding Emotional States, Including Fervor and Awe, In the BITE Model of Authoritarian Control

After delving into Dr. Laor’s explorations of the role of emotion in both religion and cults, I came to realize that the development of my BITE model of Authoritarian Control has a cognitive-bias, and more emphasis on importance of emotional states is needed. Most of the emotional states that I use to describe cult control tactics in the BITE Model are what could be characterized as negative emotions such as guilt, fear, self-doubt, phobia programming, etc.. Dr. Laor’s work has prompted me to think more deeply about the role of emotions in cult recruitment and control and to expand the information on emotional control used by cults. Adding awe and fervor to the Influence Continuum assessment tool is important. These two emotions can fall anywhere along the Influence Continuum.

Fervor is a psychological state similar to what is referred to as “being in love.” This is a state in which the object of fervor is seen with “rose-colored glasses,” and high sensitivity to any criticism of the love object is present. This state can be induced quickly and can easily overcome any rational decision-making ability. Honey trapping is a common tactic used by criminals and authoritarian cult recruiters.

On the other hand, fervor and awe can be extremely positive emotional states. Traditional religious experiences, for example, often involve awe and induce fervent devotion. When experienced within a framework that is not designed to manipulate believers, awe can provide a great deal of spiritual and emotional support. Unfortunately, numerous authoritarian cults (Scientology and Jehovah’s Witnesses are two major examples) use awe and fervor as a way to recruit as well as control their members.

Dr. Laor uses the numerous documentaries and stories of ex-members of Scientology to highlight the lack of attention to the role that fervor and awe play in cult indoctrination. Awe is rarely mentioned in the material relating to Scientology. However, the training routines (TRs) of Scientology, which induce strong awe experiences, are very informative. One routine involves staring into someone else’s eyes for very long times, perhaps several hours. This experience is hypnotic. It can produce feelings of floating and vastness and can even induce hallucinations, all of which reflect traditional religious expression.

Another method of cult recruitment that depends on an emotional response is the use of flirtation as an inducement. The cult hopes the recruit falls in love and becomes “blinded” to what’s going on. That is what happened to me when I was recruited into the Moonies. Three females approached me and began flirting with me. I was in a vulnerable emotional state, having just been dumped by my girlfriend. I was attracted to them, and it was that initial attraction that led me to be willing to find out more about the Moonies.

These feelings introduced early in the recruitment and indoctrination process create an intense attachment to the group. The experience can be compared to a conversion experience that leads to the state of fervor. Fervor generally lasts no more than a few years, but it gives the cult a “window” within which to enact other forms of control, such as separation from family, isolation, and instillation of negative emotions such as guilt. Fervor may eventually lessen significantly, but it is too late if the cult has successfully isolated the member from any supports or belief systems, and conditioned them to rely only on the group itself.

Charisma as an Element of Celebrity

Different types of love (parental, romantic) have different triggers, and so does the emotion of awe. Dr. Laor’s current thinking is that awe is triggered by something that is seen as anomalous (abnormal or unexpected, something that cannot be easily classified). What is seen as an anomaly depends on what is considered “normal.” Normal is sometimes a construct of nature (humans have one head, two would be an anomaly), but sometimes it is established through social mores or shared beliefs.

Rainbows are generally singular, but sometimes a double rainbow appears. To some, this might be an unusual occurrence, but not out of the realm of scientific possibility. Others, however, might interpret this as a miracle. When something is considered “miraculous,” it can induce feelings of vastness and other somatic reactions. When cult recruiters manipulate experiences of awe, it can lead to an intense feeling of “love” for the group.

This phenomenon also contributes to perceptions of celebrities. We live in a celebrity-obsessed society. There are genuine celebrities whose status has been earned legitimately through hard work and commitment to a particular ideal or craft. But so many who are considered celebrities are essentially famous for being famous. Charisma and celebrity are closely related. It is crucial to understand that charisma and celebrity are not inherent qualities of the person they are attributed to. They are, rather, an emotional perception in the brains of people who consider them a celebrity.

The rise of Donald Trump to the presidency is an example of celebrity being used to create false perceptions in order to recruit and control followers through bluster and manipulation of emotion. Dr. Laor’s work provides a fascinating look into the ways that positive emotions can be manipulated and used for negative purposes. His work is an important contribution to understanding how even the most rational person can be seduced into authoritarian cults.

Video Discussion: Dr. Steven Hassan and Dr. Yuval Laor

Additional Resources

Video interview with ex Scientologist Jon Atack and Yuval Laor on Belief and Fervor

The post How Cults Exploit Fervor and Awe to Recruit and Control Members: An Interview With Dr. Yuval Laor appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.

Oprah’s interview with Meghan Markle, watched by tens of millions worldwide, was riveting and upsetting. The topic of racism in the Royal Family (“The Firm”) needs further in-depth discussion. However, in this blog, I want to focus on Meghan’s disclosure that she felt such high levels of stress and isolation that she became suicidal. Meghan reported that she repeatedly requested help, including that she needed to see a qualified mental health professional. She said her requests were denied. According to Markle, the decision to prohibit her from getting the help she desperately needed was based on protecting the Royal Family and its image, no matter the cost to a individual’s health.

Whether or not there is an actual policy of the “institution” overseeing the Royal Family does not matter for the purpose of this blog. What is critical is that someone of her fame and accomplishment was sending an invaluable message to everyone to get help when it is needed. This is especially true if you are being told that you aren’t allowed to do so or directed to an “in-house” person who might have an obligation to protect the organization or institution. Licensed therapists know this is an explicit violation of ethical guidelines regarding “dual relationships.” Unfortunately, authoritarian groups regularly do this to keep people under their control. When anyone pleads for help, states they are feeling hopeless and expresses thoughts of suicide, there is only one appropriate response. Do whatever you need to do to get professional help and keep them safe.  Immediately.

Asking for help when experiencing mental health issues takes a great deal of courage. When thoughts of suicide are involved, a dismissive response can easily result in tragedy. Any organization willing to maintain its public image by sacrificing the well-being of its members relies on many of the same psychological theories and tactics used by authoritarian cults.

Dispensing of Existence   

Authoritarian cults use deceptive recruitment tactics and a variety of psychological and emotional tactics to maintain psychological control thereafter. One of the most comprehensive studies of such techniques was written by my mentor, Dr. Robert Jay Lifton, in his 1961 book, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of Brainwashing in China. I first encountered Dr. Lifton’s work during my deprogramming from the Moonies. Afterward, I studied the book and many others seeking to understand how I could have been manipulated and controlled by such a destructive cult. Although Dr. Lifton’s study specifically involved a study of Chinese brainwashing techniques in the 1950s, most of what he described resonated with me and reflected my experience in the Moonies cult. 

Dr. Lifton identified eight criteria important for thought reform. Dispensing of existence is one of the essential criteria. It says that if a person is part of the group, they have a right to exist, and if they leave or refuse to join, they lose that right. Authoritarian cults have an absolutist vision of truth, and followers must believe that “truth“ completely. Great emphasis is placed on this, reinforcing the idea that there is no legitimate existence outside the cult. Internalization of this idea makes threats of shunning or ex-communication very powerful tools of control. When a person is subjected to shunning and isolation from the group, along with the guilt from not being able to live up to the group’s standards, and there are no resources to cope, unfortunately, some people opt to commit suicide. 

While dispensing of existence is generally understood as metaphorical, it has been implemented literally. When understood literally, it can lead not only to suicide but also to the murder of perceived enemies. History is full of examples of its use—in Rwanda, Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union, just to name a few. Suicide and genocide are the ultimate acts of dispensing of existence. 

Mental Health Issues Inside an Authoritarian Cult 

Destructive cults promote the idea that their leader, doctrine, and policies are perfect. Although policies and leadership may change over time, the authority that they are the “one and only“ is pervasive and consistently used to maintain power over people. Therefore, mental health issues among their adherents cannot be attributed to the cult, as that would call this institution into question. Therefore, any mental health problems must be the individual’s fault, rather than involvement in the cult.   

If someone dares to exit the cult and criticize, the tactical response is typically an “ad hominem,“ attack. The critic or former member’s character is attacked rather than addressing the factual issue itself. If the cult offers help to a member, they will undoubtedly be referred to someone who will support the cult’s position. Some cults completely reject the idea of mental illness and provide “treatments“ of their own. (See the section below on Scientology.)  

Whatever attitudes a particular cult may have toward mental health per se, the culture of authoritarian cults itself contributes to severe mental distress. Members of cults are commonly required to work long hours. I slept an average of 3-4 hours nightly with no days off. Schedules are always packed–recruiting, fundraising, doing political demonstrations, as well as frequent and lengthy study sessions. When I was in the Moonies, I was told that if North Korea invaded South Korea, American members would be ordered to the front line to die in order to try to force the United States to enter the war. The constant pressure and intense time commitment lead to serious sleep and relaxation deficits, conditions that greatly impact personal mental health. 

Leaving a Cult Without Support Can Result in a Suicide Attempt 

The goal of dispensing of existence is to make a person totally dependent on the cult to provide meaning and support in their life. Contact with any family members and friends who question the legitimacy of the cult is severely restricted or completely severed. Therefore, leaving a cult can feel like a kind of psychic death. Passage of time, competent professional help, and social support help promote a successful transition from unthinking obedience back to exercising freedom of thought and action. 

When a person is born into a cult or brought in as a child by their parents, the difficulty of leaving, even by personal choice, is compounded significantly. There may be no “outsiders“ to provide support, and the isolation may become overwhelming. Sometimes that becomes unbearable, and suicide is often the result. Stories such as the following illustrate this tragic result. 

In 2018, Lauren Stuart of Keego Harbor, Michigan, killed her husband and two adult children, and then herself. The Stuarts had left their Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall ten years earlier because of disagreement with many doctrines, including their desire to send their children to college. Members are told that higher education is considered dangerous because colleges and universities supposedly expose young adults to immoral behaviors, such as drug abuse, immorality, and cheating.  

After leaving the church, the Stuarts were excommunicated and shunned. Joyce Taylor, an ex-Witness and friend of Lauren’s, described her as never having been properly “deprogrammed.“ Left without an effective support system, she eventually was pushed over the edge. The doomsday fears that are promoted in the church had never been resolved, and Lauren may have been reacting to the Witness belief that if you die before Armageddon, you will be resurrected in paradise. Lauren’s suicide note said that she felt killing her family was the only way to save them. 

The media coverage of this event brought back terrible memories for Amber Sawyer, another ex-Jehovah’s Witness. When she was eight years old, Amber’s 21-year-old sister, Donna, killed herself with their father’s rifle—only weeks before Donna had been excommunicated from her church for becoming engaged to someone who was not a Jehovah’s Witness. As an adult, Amber became involved in an abusive marriage and sought a divorce. She was excommunicated, and her family cut all ties with her. 

QAnon and the Insurrection of January 6th 

Christopher Stanton Georgia, a 53-year-old regional manager for a North Carolina bank, participated in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was arrested the following day and criminally charged. Only days after he returned home to Alpharetta, Georgia, his wife found him in the basement of their home with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. While it may not be known what exactly drove Mr. Georgia to commit suicide, given the short time between his arrest in Washington and the day of his death, it is reasonable to conclude that there might be a connection between the two events.  

A former QAnon believer, Jitarth Jadeja of Sydney, Australia, spent several years following Q’s predictions and believed and promoted its conspiracy theories. Jadeja was fortunate to have realized he needed to withdraw from the influence of QAnon before he fell further down the rabbit hole. Jadeja told his story to The Washington Post to help others. He freely admitted that the struggle to regain control of his thinking and return to reality was painful, saying, “If I didn’t have a family that loved me, I probably would have committed suicide.“ 

Scientology – “WOG Medicine“ 

Scientology is another high-profile cult whose doctrines related to the mental health field can contribute to the risk of suicide. “WOG“ is a racial slur (worthy oriental gentleman) and used as a derogatory term that Ron Hubbard used to refer to anyone who was not a Scientologist. Hubbard taught that psychiatrists denied human spirituality and peddled fake cures, calling them unethical individuals who commit “extortion, mayhem, and murder.“  Scientology had a tremendous amount of bad publicity when they locked up Lisa McPherson, keeping her from medical and psychological help and she died.

Scientology claims regarding medical science, particularly in the mental health field, include: 

• Medical professionals are evil and responsible for all the bad in the world. 
• A chemical imbalance in the brain is a complete hoax. 
• Mind-altering medications should not be used, including those prescribed for depression or other mental issues. 
• Mental issues can only be cured through Scientology technology. 

I have blogged extensively about my dear friend and colleague, ex Scientologist Jon Atack who authored the definitive book on the cult, entitled Let’s Sell them a Piece of Blue Sky. Actress Leah Remini and Mike Rinder, two high-profile people, get kudos for focusing the public’s attention on Scientology abuses. Unlike Jon, who was recruited as an adult, both Leah and Mike grew up in Scientology. Remini wrote a book about her life in Scientology (Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology) and won 3 Emmys for their documentary series, Scientology and its Aftermath. Mike Rinder, who was a Scientology Board Member and a senior member of the Office of Special Affairs for many years, writes a blog (“Something Can Be Done About It“) to provide truthful information and expose abuses in Scientology as well as provide support for ex-members. Leah and Mike have invited me to be on their most recent effort, a podcast called “Scientology: Fair Game“ on iHeartRadio.

Lessening the Risk of Suicide 

According to the CDC, suicide is not caused by a single factor, but most suicide prevention efforts are directed specifically toward improving mental health conditions. (See Link to the full report below.) As was shown by many of the stories, other factors such as relationship problems, life stressors, loss of home, and recent or impending crises are also risk factors. Certainly, the cumulative effect of cult indoctrination and losing the (false) security of a cult could be counted among these factors. 

Mental health concerns, particularly when they involve suicidal ideation, should be met with compassionate understanding and professional help. Leaving any authoritarian organization that uses undue influence to maintain its power is a healthy act of self-preservation. Willingness to speak openly and publicly of one’s experience to help others struggling with similar issues should be supported and applauded. 

Vlog

Links

Suicide Prevention: 

• Preventingsuicide (cdc.gov)
• Vital Signs: Trends in State Suicide Rates — United States, 1999–2016 and Circumstances Contributing to Suicide — 27 States, 2015 | MMWR (cdc.gov)

QAnon:

• He’s a former QAnon believer. He doesn’t want to tell his story, but thinks it might help.
• Trump supporter dead in suspected suicide days after being arrested at Capitol riot | The Independent 

General Cult and Undue Influence: 

• Robert Jay Lifton’s Eight Criteria of Thought Reform (Brainwashing, Mind Control) – Freedom of Mind Resource Center 
• The Cult: the Meaning of Undue Influence – Freedom of Mind Resource Center 

Jehovah’s Witnesses: 

• The Secret Database of Child Molesters – The Atlantic 
• Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses say church’s shunning caused too many suicides (freep.com) 
• Woman shunned by Jehovah’s Witnesses kills entire family: cops (nypost.com) 

Scientology: 

• Jon Atack’s YouTube channel
• The Lisa McPherson Trust 
• Mike Rinder’s blog on Scientology Deaths and Suicides
• Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath | Netflix 
• Leah Remini and Mike Rinder’s podcast Scientology: Fair Game | iHeartRadio 

The post Mental Health Issues Including Suicidal Feelings and Authoritarianism appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.

Searching for spiritual meaning and connection with others is common when young adults enter their college years. There are many positive and ethical religious groups open to these young people, but, unfortunately, there are also destructive religious cults actively recruiting new members through deceptive and authoritarian means. I have recently been contacted by people from two separate university campuses where destructive cult members have set up active recruiting groups. University administrators are looking for advice and information on warning students and possibly even banning the groups from campus.

Tactics used for recruitment and retention of members by Bible-based cult groups are well known, and an excellent place to start in individual cases is with my Influence Continuum. I developed this tool to help assess the degree of destructive and unhealthy behaviors within a group as they manifest in individuals, group leaders, and organizations (or in personal relationships) as a whole.

My colleague, Chris Lee, was recruited into a Bible cult when he was a sophomore at MIT. We sat down to discuss his story and brainstorm ideas that might be particularly useful to the people who have recently contacted us, starting with his interview and this blog post. I asked Chris to share his background and explain how he came into contact with the Boston Church of Christ (BCC). This group has changed names many times and currently is on campuses as the International Church of Christ. Chris says he grew up believing in God, but not with a specific Christian orientation. He planned to go out into the world, get an education, establish himself, and then figure things out from a spiritual perspective. Chris spent his first year at MIT, concentrating on his studies and pursuing other music or sports interests.

In his sophomore year, a few of his friends who were also in the MIT Symphony Orchestra had gotten involved with the Boston Church of Christ. Before he had left home for MIT, Chris’s best friend from high school, who was a Christian, warned him about a notorious Boston area group that was “extremely aggressive” and had some “bad beliefs,” but Chris admits that he didn’t take their warning seriously. A friend who had recently joined the BCC invited Chris to see the new Kevin Costner film, “Dances with Wolves,” with some other friends of his. After the movie, the members engaged him in the discussion, framing it as someone discovering his real self and finding out what he wants most in life. Even though Chris was making straight A’s at MIT and had plenty of outside interests, he still had a nagging feeling there was something missing, and he was looking for someone to teach him more about what the Bible said. He told them he was open to studying the Bible and learning more about Christianity.

Right from the beginning, Chris felt rushed and pressured at the pace at which he was brought into the church activities – he studied at least an hour and a half every single day. This culminated in three hours on Sunday, November 17th and four-and-a-half hours on Monday, November 18th! He didn’t realize it at the time, but his instinct that something was not quite right was correct. His reaction was very similar to what I had experienced when being recruited by the Moonies and described in my first book, Combating Cult Mind Control. Unfortunately, we both ignored our instincts!

High-pressure recruitment and constant highly focused attention (sometimes referred to as “love bombing”) are signs of cult activity.

As he started associating himself with known members of the BCC, Chris’s other Christian friends became concerned. They showed him copies of news articles detailing serious concerns that many others had about the tactics of the cult. Chris had some momentary doubts but figured he could watch carefully and would be able to detect if any abusive tactics were being used. After Chris had become an assistant Bible Talk leader and Bible Talk co-leader, he made some suggestions that he thought would improve the practices of BCC but was shut down by the leaders (Chris’s grades began to suffer as he gave more and more of his schedule to various meetings of the Boston Church of Christ, such that his parents became highly concerned – he was about to be remanded a required/involuntary withdrawal from MIT. Chris calculated that the average non-leadership member averaged at least 12 hours a week in mandatory activities, excluding travel time. As a leader, it was easy to spend 30-40 hours a week or more.)

Authoritarian cults do not allow questions or suggestions for improvement and maintain the fiction that the leaders of the cult possess perfect and indisputable knowledge not available to the “rank and file.”

Chris recalls how any disagreement or questioning of the beliefs and practices at BCC was made into a personal problem, such as “you don’t have enough faith” or “you are not spiritual enough” or “who are YOU to question how we do things” rather than leading to an honest and open discussion. Chris tried to negotiate a collaborative effort with the other [what he believed to be] Christian groups at MIT but was told that the BCC did not consider them Christians and thus weren’t willing to work with other “Christians.” (The BCC did like to ‘sheep-steal’ or take their members.) One of the Boston Church leaders at that time was Jim Ryan, and he was very dismissive of any “outsiders,” calling into question the legitimacy of their baptisms and denying they were real Christians. (Jim Ryan later left the Boston Church and apologized to Chris for the way he was treated, acknowledging there had been abusive treatment and questionable financial practices.)

Cults operate under the principle of “ad hominem” argumentation, a tactic by which disagreement is directed against the person asking the questions rather than directly discussing the problem.

During our discussion, we touched on many points of similarity between my experience with the Unification Church (“Moonies”) and Chris’s with BCC, and particularly how both organizations employ methods of thought control, perhaps more familiarly known as brainwashing. In a previous post, I discussed the work of Robert Lifton, and Chris agreed that many of the same techniques Lifton describes as being used in China during the 1950s were used by the Boston Church of Christ and are common to all cult recruitment and control. One of the criteria, “dispensing of existence,” Lifton describes as

absolute or totalistic vision of truth, then those who have not seen the light—have not embraced that truth, are in some way in the shadows—are bound up with evil, tainted, and do not have the right to exist.

This concept is usually metaphorical, but it is understood in a literal sense and quickly leads to deadly violence under worst-case scenarios. ISIS is an excellent example of ideology that uses the concept of “dispensing of existence” in the literal sense.

Bible-based cults have some specific ways they use Scripture and religious ideas to indoctrinate and control their members. It is critical to study the Bible with an understanding of the historical and cultural context in which it was written, taking into consideration grammar, word-studies, the written context and even the flow of argument (exegesis) and avoid using the text to support any preconceived notions or even manipulating the text to support a foreign meaning (eisegesis). Any ethical, religious group would have some flexibility in looking at and interpreting the Bible and other related writings. Ethical and legitimate Christian groups also allow individuals to study the Scriptures on their own and to also do their own research – as well as allow for the Bible and the Holy Spirit to persuade individuals, in their own time. But cults do not. Cults often enforce a particular reading of certain passages.

Cults have already determined what they want their followers to believe and present Scripture in a way that will support those beliefs.

Leaving a cult is difficult, but fortunately, there are more resources available now than back when I was rescued from the Moonies, and even when Chris finally got out of the Boston Church of Christ in the 1990s. Chris is webmaster for a site called Reveal, an organization of former members of the International Churches of Christ (reveal.org). Chris also knows two former members of International Churches of Christ (the greater ‘movement’/umbrella of churches of the Boston Church of Christ), Janice, and Joe Franklin, who started Sparrow Ministries in order to provide support and resources to people recovering from their experiences as cult members (https://www.sparrowministry.com/).

As to the question of whether to ban such cult organizations from campus, we both agree this is not always an easy decision. Obviously, if there are any activities that are illegal or clearly violate the university’s charter, then banning the group would be a reasonable decision. On the other hand, banning a group from on-campus activities isn’t likely to stop their attempts at recruitment. They might create variations on the name of their organization – putting up “front-groups”, or as Chris puts it, “they’ll just go across the street and set up at Starbucks.”

Whatever decision is made about on-campus activities; however, it is indisputable that making objective information about cult tactics easily available to all students and staff within a university is crucial. This can be done through printed or online information, orientation programs, and periodic talks by invited experts. Former cult members who can speak directly to the experience of being recruited can be most effective in helping people understand how even someone who is otherwise intelligent and successful can be lured into a cult by the use of these destructive tactics.

Interview

Additional Resources

Starting to Question if You Are in a Controlling Group or Relationship? – Freedom of Mind Resource Center

Unanswered Prayers: The Story of One Woman Leaving the International Church of Christ

Following Jesus in the Age of Trump: A Discussion With Dr. Mary Theresa Webb

The Netflix Docuseries “The Family”: A Review by Steven Hassan

Christian Nationalism, Dominionism, the New Apostolic Reformation; A Discussion with Dr. André Gagné

International Churches of Christ (ICOC)

ABC (Australia) documentary on Opus Dei-run school

The post Authoritarian Bible Cults Actively Recruiting at College and Online: Interview With Former BCC Member Chris Lee appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.

The year leading up to the 2020 Presidential election has been extremely divisive and stressful for most Americans, as well as, for our world allies. The results are in and show decidedly Joe Biden has won both the popular and electoral votes and will be sworn into office on January 20, 2021. Unfortunately, as I predicted in The Cult of Trump, Trump will never voluntarily cede power and will attempt to create as much chaos and damage, as he has consistently demonstrated he exists in a solipsistic reality. For hardcore Trump supporters, including QAnon believers, these are especially troubling times. It was foretold that Trump would win the election by a landslide, even pointing to Bible prophecy to attempt to drive home their point.

Now, some are waking up and leaving the cult of Trump, realizing he is a liar and cannot be trusted. The COVID-19 pandemic is worse than ever, even affecting many White House staffers. I know what it feels like to realize the person you put all your faith in, is fundamentally uncaring and incapable of “Make America Great Again.” They will likely feel angry, ashamed, manipulated and deceived.

After I left and woke up out of the Moonies, I questioned how I could have ever trusted a liar, Sun Myung Moon. If I had stayed in another fifty years, what would the world look like?  Would the Kingdom of Heaven be established on Earth? Would Sun Myung Moon be running an “autocratic theocracy” as he prophesied? Or would nothing have changed at all? The truth is most likely I would be married to a total stranger, divorced, with no education, no savings, and not happy. The promises Moon made to members to take care of forever was nonsense.

Failed prophecy is a common theme in many cults. Take for instance the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Watchtower taught that Armageddon would come in 1975 which would usher in a Paradise for all believing JWs. Many sold their homes, donated savings, turned down advancements in their careers, and did not pursue education because the “End of this System” was imminent. Then, when 1975 came and went, there was a mass exodus from the group as they realized they were lied to.

Not surprisingly, many stayed, believing the explanations provided by the Governing Body, including the narrative where they did not provide the year but, rather, it was speculation from members that ran ahead of the organization.  Cognitive dissonance happens when reality doesn’t match your beliefs and, to fix the discomfort, believers follow the new beliefs and explanations provided.

The same will hold true for Trump followers, many will unfortunately double down and will need help from their family and friends. QAnon groups are already changing the narrative by saying Trump had to lose in order to expose the government corruption and that Trump did not actually lose to Biden but, rather, Biden won due to gross election fraud. We must follow the rule of law. To date there is no evidence of election fraud on any scale that would change the outcome. In fact, it is predicted the Electoral college vote will go up for Biden, as well as, add to the five million more votes.

With the hope that there will be a mass exodus from QAnon and the cult of Trump, how can we help? Please be respectful, compassionate and loving. Please reignite old positive memories. Focus on common issues that you both share-love of nature, children, animals, sports, whatever will help you to reconnect. As they change their stance, they may be cut off from their fellow believers’ support. We need to take the first step. Reach out to friends and family. Do not say, “I told you so” but “I miss you.”

Millions of us were a part of a destructive cult or relationship and successfully left. We need to normalize this experience. By doing so, we can provide an off-ramp for QAnon and Trump followers. They can begin to let go of phobias, understanding they are not legitimate fears. Ex-Followers need to understand they are not stupid. For most, they really wanted to make a difference and see a real change. Connect. Share. Go on social media and share how you got out. Connect with others who did the same. Amplify your voice. We don’t have to stay silent. Our stories of survival can resonate and inspire those still suffering from undue influence to get out and get free!

We are all Americans and need to work together to reboot the country. We can move forward to repair damage, promote science, and rebuild relationships. We must unify and not divide. 2021 is full of hope!

Vlog

The post How to Help Friends & Family Following Trump’s Election Loss: False Prophecy, Mass Exodus, & Cognitive Dissonance appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.

Update: Letter to the Senators on the Judiciary Committee Concerning the Confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett

In an AP article written about Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court and her involvement with the People of Praise, Vice President Mike Pence was quoted from a television interview as saying, “The intolerance expressed during her last confirmation about her Catholic faith I really think was a disservice to the process and a disappointment to millions of Americans.”

In this blog, I assert that the issue is really not about religion, or about Catholicism, or religious freedom, but rather a legal issue: undue influence. This is the subject of my doctoral research which is focused on offering a scientifically validated instrument to help ascertain if undue influence has been exerted.

The Encyclopedia of Elder Care (2018) offers five models for evaluating undue influence that takes place within the geriatric population. The fifth is brainwashing expert Margaret Singer’s model. Singer was an expert on undue influence and served as an expert witness many times. For some outstanding resources, including the Borchard Foundation’s comprehensive 2010 report on Undue Influence, as well as, details of California’s 2014 law in to protect elderly from undue influence, please see The California Elder Justice Coalition web page on undue influence. This page contains not only the California Welfare and Institutions Code §15610.70 law but other important documents, including a scientific screening tool developed to aid those empowered to ascertain undue influence and take steps to protect them.

The “Thought Reform” or “Cult” Model of Margaret Thaler Singer, Ph.D. (ABA Commission on Law and Aging & APA, 2008)–Dr. Singer’s model of thought reform was developed from her work on Chinese brainwashing programs of the 1950’s, as well as, the tactics used by cults and cult leaders. The model is based upon the following six stages: creating isolation, fostering a siege mentality, inducing dependency, promoting a sense of powerlessness, manipulating fears and vulnerabilities, and keeping the victim unaware and uninformed. The specific tactics are:

(a) to keep the person unaware of what is going on and what changes are taking place;

(b) to control the victim’s time and, if possible, physical environment;

(c) to create a sense of powerlessness, covert fear, and dependency;

(d) to suppress much of the person’s old behavior and attitudes;

(e) to instill new behavior and attitudes; and

(f) to put forth a closed system of logic, allowing no real input or criticism.”

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association Version 5 (DSM-V) has a category recognizing coercive persuasion or thought reform–Dissociative Disorders: Not Otherwise Specified 300.15 (F44.89) (American Psychiatric Association. (2013). It states that “Identity disturbance due to prolonged and intense coercive persuasion is recognized in the DSM-V for who have been subjected to intense coercive persuasion (e.g., brainwashing, thought reform, indoctrination while captive, torture, and long-term political imprisonment. It has also been applied to those who have been recruited by sects/cults or by terror organizations) and present with prolonged changes in, or conscious questioning of, their identity” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

This blog features video interviews with two former long-term members of the People of Praise, as well as, a Catholic attorney who also believes the issue is authoritarianism and not a religious one.

In my opinion, freedom of religion should never be used as an excuse to force beliefs and practices on individuals to make them dependent and obedient to a human institution of any kind. Back in 1974, at the age of 19, when approached by Moonie recruiters, I was told lies that later intruded upon my freedom of religion as a Jew. Cult recruiters sincerely and persuasively looked me straight in my eyes and said their group was not religious. But, before long, I was being recruited and indoctrinated into believing that Sun Myung Moon was the Messiah and far greater than Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha or anyone in history. Looking back, my human rights were infringed upon as there was a lack of what the law deems so essential–informed consent. It was a systematic social influence process by an authoritarian group. I was later told that Satan was the “god of this world” and God needed to lie in order to fulfill the mission of turning earth into the Garden of Eden- the way it was supposed to be. I had no idea Moon had been married before, nor that he had been arrested, nor that people accused him of sleeping with many women. Nor did I know Moon taught the Holocaust was necessary because the Jews did not accept Jesus. It was not until years later, after I nearly died after sleep deprivation and a terrible van crash, that I contacted my sister which led to a deprogramming. Learning about Chinese communist brainwashing criteria, as described in psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton’s book, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, helped me realize I had not been thinking for myself.

My story is not unique. There are thousands of destructive authoritarian groups that use freedom of religion as an excuse to teach and control members however the leadership commands. Many require lifetime commitments or contracts and punish those that leave or break them. For example, the Jehovah’s Witnesses fit the BITE model of Authoritarian Control. This model is based on the work of Robert Jay Lifton, Margaret Singer, Edgar Schein and others. I have written about my concerns and published a BITE model analysis of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Watchtower organization presents their beliefs and practices to new members in a positive light and does not properly inform them of all of the rules and consequences. For instance, many that join are not aware that if you change your mind, you may be “disfellowshipped” or kicked out, resulting in being shunned by former members, including friends and family. They do not allow members to accept whole blood transfusions or RBC, WBC, platelets or plasma. But, again, this is not told to you before you are asked to commit your life. For those born into the group, they are pressured to get baptized at a young age, even as young as eight years old. Baptism is considered a dedicated commitment (a contract per se) that has consequences for breaking. And ex-members cannot legally sue the organization for damages because they are considered by the IRS to be a religion, and as such, is protected.

I wish to clarify my stance and my framework: Freedom of Mind is for religious freedom but to have real freedom of mind, you need informed consent and the freedom to question group leaders, talk to former members, learn new information, and change your mind and leave without fear, threats, or harassment. Families should not be torn apart, which is what exactly happens if shunning policies are in place. Needless to say, these practices are not Biblical in their application, according to theologians I have consulted.

The law needs to better understand undue influence. It is very concerning to me and others that Amy Coney Barrett has been nominated to the Supreme Court, the highest court of our land. She is reportedly a member of the People of Praise (POP) which employ specific behaviors and disturbing patterns of authoritarian mind control. I have spoken with former members, researchers, journalists, and attorneys about this organization. I will be publishing a follow-up article evaluating this group in terms of the BITE Model of Authoritarian Control, as ex-members are doing an analysis and I will have a panel discussion.

I was interviewed by the Associated Press for the article, “Barrett tied to faith group ex-members say subjugates women” and went on record stating that the culture within the People of Praise creates fear so that people remain obedient and dependent. “A person who is in one of these groups has to suppress their own thoughts, feelings, desires that doesn’t align with the dogma.”

This group reportedly requires a lifetime covenant commitment, requires wives and children to be submissive to their husbands, promotes fear of losing God’s grace and hellfire, allows and even encourages corporal punishment of children and wives, engages in forced exorcisms, shuns former members, and more. I am told they take advantage of single mothers and the disadvantaged and recruit them to join, after showering them with help and love. Again, comparing them to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, this is a well-known tactic of cults. JW’s are known for “love-bombing” new members. They “encourage” single-mothers and direct their message towards the uneducated and impoverished.

I have been told that if a wife is approached by her husband (her “head”) for sex, she does not have the right to refuse. (See later discussion for the concept of “heads” in this cult: all persons have a “head” who makes decisions for them, so a husband is the wife’s “head” and a senior member of the cult is the husband’s “head”.) This results in rape–a crime in the United States. And, sadly, there has even been reports of suicide. This is why there is such concern about Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court. While she is reportedly a brilliant legal scholar, and an excellent professor, there is a huge disconnect with how she could even affiliate with this conservative misogynistic group. It would be reassuring to hear her denounce the practices of the People of Praise. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought for women’s rights and equality. The rights of women that Judge Ginsburg fought for will not be served if Judge Barrett is confirmed. It is my hope that the media and members of the Judiciary committee will do their homework before their turn to question Judge Barrett begins on October 12th. To understand more about this group, it is important to talk to former members that have lived it.

Coral is a former member of the People of Praise, an author, advocate speaker and military reporter. She is also a domestic violence, rape, and ritual abuse victim and survivor and has spent the last couple decades writing and assisting trauma survivors and wounded warriors.

To Learn More About Coral:

• Visit Coral’s Website: https://www.coralanikatheill.com/
• She published a memoir, BONSHEA Making Light of the Dark. You can purchase it on Amazon: Excerpts of her personal experience in the PEOPLE OF PRAISE CULT is on pages 15 – 31, 319, 320.
• I Lived the Handmaid’s Tale in Independence, Oregon: Escaped OfMartin – Marty Warner in 1996 – by Coral Anika Theill
• Marks of a Cult & Spiritual Abuse – by Coral Anika Theill

Coral Anika Theill joined People of Praise’s branch in Corvallis, Oregon, in 1979, when she was a 24-year-old mother of 6-month-old twins.

“My husband at the time was very drawn to it because of the structure of the submission of women,” recounted Theill, who is now 65.

Theill, who converted to Catholicism after getting married, said in her People of Praise community women were expected to live in “total submission” not only to their husbands, but also the other male “heads” within the group.

In a book she wrote about her experience, Theill recounts that in People of Praise every consequential personal decision — whether to take a new job, buy a particular model car or choose where to live — went through the hierarchy of male leadership. Members of the group who worked outside the community had to turn over their paystubs to church leaders to confirm they were tithing correctly, she said.

Theill says her “handmaid,” to whom she was supposed to confide her innermost thoughts and emotions, then repeated what she said to the male heads, who would consult her husband on the proper correction.

“There’d be open meetings where you just have to stand for the group and they’d tell you all that was wrong with you,” Theill recounted to the AP last week. “And I would ask questions. I was a critical thinker.”

When she told her husband, she wanted to wait to have more children, Theill said, he accompanied her to gynecological appointments to ensure she couldn’t get birth control.

“I was basically treated like a broodmare,” she said, using the term for a female horse used for breeding. During her 20-year marriage, Theill had eight children from 11 pregnancies.

Theill, who says she declined to take the covenant, described being dominated and eventually shunned because of the doubts she expressed about the group.

Authoritarian groups control members and make it hard to leave. This was Coral’s experience. When asked why she just did not leave, she responded by saying the leaders did not let her. Instead, she was humiliated, publicly shamed, put on the floor outside of meetings. She was pushed into a car after suffering a miscarriage and a DNC surgical operation to be interrogated by cult leaders until the wee early hours of the morning when she was supposed to be on bed rest. She must not have answered correctly, because the next morning, her husband got a call and the entire community were ordered so shun her. They turned her own children against her. And changed the narrative to blame her by calling her crazy and mentally ill. This was classic parental alienation, where one parent leaves and the other indoctrinated parent in an authoritarian group turns their children against them.

Interview with Coral Annika Thiell

Interview with Lisa Williams

Interview with Frank L. Cocozzelli

Additional viewing:

ABC (Australia) documentary on Opus Dei-run school

The post Undue Influence, Judge Barrett and the People of Praise Covenantal Community appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.

Q is a high-security level clearance given to Intelligence operatives. Supposedly, QAnon was started by such a person. However, Gregg Housh (whom I met in the context of his organizing protests against Scientology all over the world), one of the original Anonymous founders, told me he knows the people who started QAnon! It was intended as a total joke. A goof on Trumpers. It was only when they realized they could sell merchandise and make money that they really expanded it. Then, the Russians got involved.

To QAnon true believers, they read and try to decipher Q-drops which are cryptic puzzles that need to be figured out. However, for those people, like Travis View who has been covering QAnon since the beginning, they have documented that most of the “drops” and prophecies have not come true. Experts in Alternate Reality Gaming (ARG) say that QAnon is just a sick and dangerous alternate reality game that people think is real! People are being deceptively recruited and programmed to become cult members by the millions on social media platforms. Jim Stewartson believes he has discovered a central Q figure and his name is Jim Watkins and there is ample evidence that the Russians are using him, in likely alliance with some former high-level intelligence and military intelligence figures like Michael Flynn and Michael Scheuer who have echoed Q propaganda publicly.

NBCNews reported how QAnon groups have millions of members on Facebook. The Facebook algorithm has been targeting Q ads towards those interested in alternative health. Facebook groups were growing by leaps and bounds until many were recently shut down. QAnon is gaining momentum. They are now planning to do actual IRL (In Real Life) rallies in 200 American cities under the hashtag #SavetheChildren. Until recently, it has been mainly been considered a small fringe American conspiracy online group but has expanded, and, quite quickly, worldwide. It has gone mainstream and many followers are becoming radicalized. Georgia Republican and QAnon believer, Marjorie Taylor Greene, is favored to win U.S. House seat. And there are at least eleven people seeking to become members of Congress that have espoused support for QAnon. On Wednesday, August 19th, at a press briefing President Trump was asked about QAnon and said that “QAnon followers were people who love our country.” According to researchers, there are individuals in QAnon accounts who are ramping up to be violent despite news reports of Twitter deleting accounts that advocate violence. It appears Portland Oregon is high on the target list. The Combating Terrorism Center has recently published an article that QAnon could be a real security threat! 

I recently watched the QAnon recruitment movie “Out of the Shadows” which never mentions QAnon overtly. It starts with a Hollywood stuntman, Michael Smith, a filmmaker who narrates. It rehashes well known and documented facts about the CIA including MKUltra, Operation Paperclip (bringing Nazi scientists after WW2 to America), and Operation Mockingbird which was the Agency’s influence over the content in the media. However, it morphs into a presumed exposure of Hollywood being influenced by Satanists, including for Intelligence official Michael Aquino, founder of a Satanic cult called the Temple of Set. The original edition of my first book,  Combatting Cult Mind Control told the story of an ex-member of this Satanic cult, in fact. (I later updated my book substantially and published it as Combating Cult Mind Control.)

The movie is very slick and, if one did not know better, could possibly be convinced that a number of the beliefs are about a Satanic international cabal of pedophiles. There are people in the documentary saying they are former CIA or news people who now know the truth. But you would never know this is a feeder movie to recruit people into the destructive cult known as QAnon. Are there factual things in this movie? Yes, of course. But it is a propaganda effort and people need to analyze and critique its claims and how they draw conclusions that are impossible. The ultimate impossibility is that Donald Trump is a Messiah or that he is going to erase an international conspiracy of traffickers and pedophile rings.

The other major issue is how this is affecting children who need real help. Qanon followers are hijacking the #SavetheChildren movement: Fans of the pro-Trump conspiracy theory are clogging anti-trafficking hotlines, infiltrating Facebook groups, and raising false fears about child exploitation. They believe and promote the idea that Trump is very close to exposing “Pedogate” or “Pizzagate” which they define as a worldwide conspiracy of a pedophile ring of Satan-worshipping, child-molesting criminals, led by important and prestigious Democrats. This false theory of human trafficking that targets Democrats is disinformation but amongst Q followers, it continues to be shared, promoted, and believed. A recent surge in concern about child sex trafficking has links to online conspiracy community QAnon. I write about pimps and traffickers exerting cult mind control to recruit and indoctrinate their victims. Please see a recent blog on the program I was part of to help sex trafficking survivors.

To recruit, they say they are trying to save children, but in reality, they are not taking any real action towards accomplishing this. (I remember using the same words “Save the children” from 1974 – 1976 as a Moonie recruiter). Fortunately, there are real people that are actually helping children. I employ my readers, along with Q supporters, to join me in decrying institutions that hurt and traumatize children. We need to put the spotlight on those people and organizations that are actually involved in criminal behavior. For example, I have talked a few times on my channel about the child abuse issue amongst Jehovah’s Witnesses. Their doctrine and religious policy of requiring “two witnesses” and failing to report sex abuse is finally being exposed. In the UK, IICSA is holding hearings in order to examine the institutional response of religious organizations in regards to child abuse and the Watchtower Society is one of the groups being investigated. (Watch WTIF debrief the hearings.) Keith Raniere is currently in prison as a convicted trafficker. Former NXIVM member Sarah Edmondson talked to me about being recruited into and escaping Raniere’s cult and bringing charges that led to him being convicted of seven felony counts.

Why doesn’t pro-Trump and “Q” conspiracy theorists speak out against Donald Trump who recently wished former Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell ‘well’ as she faced charges of enticement of minors. Trump himself used to party with Jeffrey Epstein and has many accusations of sexual assault against him. E. Jean Carroll is one of over twenty women who made accusations against him in 2019. President Donald Trump was given a series of deadlines to produce his DNA and other evidence as part of mandatory discovery in this ongoing defamation lawsuit.

There are dozens of lawsuits filed against Trump alleging sexual assault and rape. While we wait on the court to proceed, it is clear that President Trump is a malignant narcissist and not this anti-assault, anti-trafficking crusader that “Q” followers are on social media promoting.

Please, if you care to protect children from institutional abuse, do something: contribute money to bona fide organizations like CHILDUSA.org, protest, and educate.

With such growth and reach, QAnon has likely affected someone we know, friends, or family. What can we do? For one thing, we can learn about conspiracy theories. Not too long ago, I interviewed debunker Mick West about his book and podcast, “Tales From the Rabbit Hole” where faces this topic head-on. You can read the blog here: Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and How to Help Friends and Loved Ones with Debunker Mick West.

This week, I interview Travis View for a second time about QAnon. You can read about it here: QAnon: What Is It About? A Discussion With Conspiracy Theory Researcher Travis View. This time, I wanted to add my thoughts on what can be done to help friends and family that are caught up. O course, my book, Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs offers detailed suggestions.

It is important to take an objective look at QAnon and use the BITE Model and Influence Continuum to identify how this group fits the definition of a destructive mind control cult. I have a separate page with an analysis of QAnon and the BITE Model.

With Travis’ help, we continue the analysis of the QAnon cult. We talk about the latest concerns and how worldwide it has spread. And we discuss how to help our friends and family members that have been persuaded to believe and follow this conspiracy. I offer advice on how to best help and will end by sharing a few pointers.

First, do not attack the leader, the doctrine, or the group directly at first. Find common areas where you both agree. You share a point, they share a point and really listen. Ask questions. If you have been cut off from them, get back in touch. Let them know you miss them. Reconnect and then find that common ground.

Next, talk about the psychology of influence or propaganda. Talk about Chinese Communist brainwashing or trafficking and how pimps use mind control on people. In that setting, in that frame, you are educating people to start reality testing. It is important to engage in respectful dialogue and to ask questions in a way that really encourages people to think for themselves.

It is important to get people to actually start questioning what they are believing. It needs to be proven and that rests on them to prove it and not on us to disprove. Don’t throw facts at them, which will not work. Make parallels with other mind control cults and point out all of the patterns and similarities. And get their opinion and viewpoint. (Read my previous blog about how to help people in the cult of Trump.)

Remember, falling for these types of groups happens to all types of people. It is a human experience to be taken advantage of, in many cases, and life goes on. You aren’t stupid or a bad person. We must continue to educate. While we need to ban social media groups and try to stop the media’s spread of disinformation, more is needed. We need intelligent education. We need to teach others about coercive influence and critical thinking.

Please take the time to watch my discussion with Travis View.  Read the BITE model analysis on QAnon. Together, we can help our friends and family that are ensnared by the QAnon.

Video Discussion

Additional Reading

• On Qanon, perhaps one should never say never   Former CIA Bin Laden Station Chief Michael Scheuer who espouses many of the Q beliefs.
• Lara Trump shared a video from one of the biggest QAnon accounts on the internet
• Trump embraces QAnon conspiracy because ‘they like me’
• Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia
• How QAnon rode the pandemic to new heights — and fueled the viral anti-mask phenomenon
• The QAnon Conspiracy Theory: A Security Threat in the Making?
• Episode 172 Scott Adams: How to Know the Truth About Q
• The Church of QAnon: Will conspiracy theories form the basis of a new religious movement?

The post What to Do About QAnon and Those Ensnared in It? Interview with Travis View appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.

This week, I interviewed Rachel Thomas, who is not only a survivor of human trafficking but an author, teacher, speaker, and mentor. I have known her for years. We met through Carissa Phelps (founder of runawaygirl.com) at a Joint Regional Intelligence Center training for approximately six hundred law enforcement, including members of Homeland Security, the CIA, Police Chiefs, and others. This was an opportunity to teach about trafficking and mind control, and promote a better understanding of how to treat those who’ve been recruited into trafficking by pimps and traffickers. We helped them realize trafficked people are victims of mind control and, as such, need to be treated with respect. They are someone’s child and their lives have value. They did not want to be enslaved, exploited, and abused. The average age of induction into sex trafficking is age 12. Also, they listened to Carissa, Rachel, D’Lita, and others speak and heard their stories. Carissa gained an MBA and law degree from UCLA, for example. Rachel got her Masters from UCLA. Counter to existing beliefs, trafficking survivors can and should be helped. As a result of the training, this article was published in an FBI bulletin: A Victim-Centered Approach to Sex Trafficking Cases by Larry Alvarez, M.S., and Jocelyn Cañas-Moreira

Rachel had previously read my book, Combating Cult Mind Control, during her recovery. (I tell Rachel Thomas’ story in the latest edition of Combating Cult Mind Control in chapter six.) From that time together preparing for and delivering the training, we decided (Carissa Phelps and D’Lita Miller too) to develop a program to help young women understand pimp mind control. We called the program Ending the Game.

What is Ending The Game?

Ending The Game© (ETG)  is a first-of-its-kind “coercion resiliency” curriculum that reduces feelings of attachment to traffickers and/or a lifestyle characterized by commercial sexual exploitation, thereby reducing the rate of recidivism among sex trafficking survivors.

Ending The Game is designed to educate and empower survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking by providing a structure and framework to uncover harmful psychological coercion (a.k.a. “The Game”) that victims may have been subjected to during or before their exploitation experience.

By revealing a sequence of commonly-used, yet seldom-explained, mind control techniques used by traffickers, sexual abusers, media, and other coercive agents, we aim to empower victims to acquire skills and end “The Game.”

Discussion

The topic of child abuse has recently been more prevalent in the news, the Internet, and social media. Not everyone is taking action, some are just talking about this online. But there are real people that are actually helping children, Rachel Thomas, myself and so many others. I implore my readers to join me in decrying institutions that hurt and traumatize children. We need to put the spotlight on those people and organizations that are actually involved in criminal behavior. For example, I have talked a few times on my channel about the child abuse issue amongst Jehovah’s Witnesses. Their doctrine and religious policy of requiring “two witnesses” and failing to report sex abuse is finally being exposed. In the UK, IICSA (Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse) is holding hearings in order to examine the institutional response of religious organizations in regards to child abuse and the Watchtower Society is one of the groups being investigated. (Watch WTIF debrief the hearings.) Keith Raniere is currently in prison as a convicted trafficker. Former NXIVM member Sarah Edmondson talked to me about being recruited into and escaping Raniere’s cult and bringing charges that led to him being convicted of 7 felony counts.

Please, if you care to protect children from institutional abuse, do something: contribute money to bona fide organizations like CHILDUSA.org, founded by law professor Marci Hamilton. Let’s work together to create positive change and save the children.

Sex and labor trafficking is a real issue that needs more exposure. Ending the Game is a commercial sexual exploitation intervention curriculum that is doing something tangible. It is training other agencies to work with survivors. It is in over 35 states with over a thousand trained facilitators reaching hundreds of survivors.

During our discussion (link below), we talk about how survivors must understand psychological coercion as a step towards really healing, along with why, even after being removed physically, the mental bonds to a trafficker and/or the trafficking lifestyle remain. Rachel shares her personal story.

• identity disturbance
• tactics of coercion and control
• the systematic indoctrination process
• how to empower survivors
• the need for more equitable human rights and justice, especially for the black community
• labor trafficking
• recruitment tactics
• musical and cultural influences that move young people to sexual deviance and trafficking
• increased prevalence of online exploitation of children
• human trafficking prevention which includes how to not get victimized by a pimp and why to not go into the sex industry

July 3oth was the United Nations World Day against Trafficking in Persons, established to raise awareness of the plight of human trafficking victims, and promote and protect their rights.  We must try to use every opportunity to give hope to trafficking victims, pledge to do our part, and help end this terrible crime.

Video Interview

About Rachel Thomas, M. Ed.

Rachel Thomas, M. Ed., is the Director of Sowers Education Group where she and a team of educators sow seeds of sex trafficking awareness and survivor empowerment.

A graduate of UCLA with a Masters in Education and a personal survivor of human trafficking, Rachel has over 12 years’ experience in teaching, mentoring, corporate training, curriculum writing and public speaking.  She has educated and inspired a wide range of audiences including teens, social service providers, churches, teachers, college students, and law enforcement.  In each presentation, Rachel makes sure to incorporate three important yet often overlooked topics relating to domestic sex trafficking: 1) mind control and psychological coercion in trafficking, 2) pop culture’s glorification of casual sex and pimping, and 3) the CEO Pimp, who in contrast to Romeo Pimps and Gorilla Pimps swindles his prey under the guise of legitimate business.  One of her organization’s proudest accomplishments is an intervention curriculum called Ending The Game; this curriculum is being used in over 100 facilities nationwide to help survivors break the bonds of attachment to traffickers and/or the lifestyle of commercial sexual exploitation.

Since 2012, Rachel and the Sowers Team have reached over 100,000 live audience members and millions more through numerous media outlets including New Day Morning Show on CNN, Inside with Chris Cuomo: Anyone’s Daughter on HLN, The T.D. Jakes Show, The New York Times Upfront Magazine and ABC’s Newsmakers.  Rachel was also honored by Congressman Ed Royce of California’s 39th district and Los Angeles Supervisor Don Knabe for her leadership and trafficking prevention efforts.
Instagram: @RachelThomasWasHere
Facebook: RachelThomasSowersEducation
Resume: View Rachel’s Resume 

Additional Information

• Rachel came to an ICSA conference and we did the first-panel talk discussing trafficking as a commercial cult phenomenon. (The video of the talk is here.) On the panel, we had other incredible people including Christine Marie Katas, MBA, Ph.D. student, survivor/mentor, founder of voicesfordignity.com; Christina Arnold, Founder/Board President Preventhumantrafficking.org (2nd oldest anti-trafficking organization in the U.S.) born into the Children of God cult and escaped at age 20; Kim Meyer, PCC-S, LICDC-CS, Former director of services at Beechbrook, raised in Worldwide Church of God cult (a video of an interview with Kim and Bill Meyer is here); Halleh Seddighzadeh, Ph.D, JDc, Forensic Traumatologist, comment by Stephanie Spanos, MD, a child psychiatrist.
• Ending the Game: Explaining Coercion to Help People Heal
• Click here to watch Freedom of Mind’s YouTube playlist on Human Trafficking

The post Sex and Labor Trafficking Awareness, Survivor Empowerment, and Saving Children From Abuse: A Discussion With Rachel Thomas, M. Ed. appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.

With the recent pandemic, COVID-19, thousands, if not more, “doomsday” cults are using fear to ramp up their claims that the “end is near” and frighten members to stay in, recruit new and reactivate former members. The Watchtower has been saying Armageddon is imminent for over 100 years and falsely prophesied an actual date 4 times. Children are shown horrifying videos of all “non-believers” being destroyed and believers living forever on planet earth. (Yes, they are actually taught and continue to teach this.)

Jehovah’s Witness leadership recently released a video about COVID-19 on their website. Governing Body member, (one of several top elite leaders) Steven Lett, states, “We’re living in the final part of the last days, undoubtedly the final part of the final part of the last days, shortly before the LAST day of the last days.”

Former member turned activist, Mark O’Donnell (also known as John Redwood) posted a caution about how disturbing their recent video is.

The video released today is disturbing on so many levels, […].

Jehovah’s Witnesses are notorious for failure to comply with mandatory child abuse reporting laws, and they use every possible avenue to escape reporting. Yet when it comes to the Corona virus outbreak, Steven Lett tells the whole world that elders have been instructed to comply with their local authorities, WITHOUT the intervention of Watchtower headquarters!

Lett says:

“We’d like to say this: We TRUST you! And we’re confident that you’ll prayerfully evaluate the facts and local circumstances and follow the direction of the superior authorities.”

This video is a smoking gun of all that is wrong with this corrupt organization, which selectively chooses when they will obey the “Superior Authorities” and when they will not.

If they can trust local elders to comply with local laws for whether they can meet in groups or not, why can’t they trust those same elders to pick up the phone and contact the police whenever there is an allegation of child abuse?

Watchtower wants to monitor and closely control all sexual sins of congregants, even when it means covering up those crimes and withholding reports from law enforcement. And they go out of their way to ascertain every possible loophole to escape reporting by using clergy-penitent exceptions.

[…] this video makes me angry. Not just this small clip, but the entire Lett video, where there is not one shred of compassion or concern for any non-Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Everything is selfishly focused on the Witness organization and their followers and donors. They pray for themselves, but Jehovah is not stopping the deaths of those Witnesses in Italy or anywhere else, and the only way this virus will end will be through the incredible efforts of scientists, nurses, doctors, researchers, pharmaceutical makers, and the governments who are doing everything they can to save lives- including Jehovah’s Witness lives.

Instead of using their billions to contribute to society, Watchtower is instead using the Coronavirus epidemic to exploit even more people, by preaching that pestilence was prophesied in the Bible.

This is another shameless effort to self-promote a religion which is entirely self-centered, but operates under the cloak of a charity […].

Read the entire post and see the video clip HERE.

Watch the full video HERE.

If you are a former member and have a little “ping” going off that you need to go back, speak clearly and firmly to yourself that this is cult mind manipulation. Talk with other ex-JWs and follow posts from activists like Mark O’Donnell, Lloyd Evans, and Cliff Henderson. Make sure you connect with former members who understand cult mind control and who have done their “homework.” The fortunate thing is there are so many former members and leaders who are willing to help you.

Speaking of Cliff, last month while I was in California, I met with and interviewed him. (The video is shared at the end of this blog.) Cliff was raised as a JW and since leaving in 2016 has become a very vocal activist, bringing awareness to many of the harmful practices supported by Watchtower, including the practice of shunning. Additionally, he has recently recorded an album and his first two singles tell the story of what it is like for someone to leave this group. Please watch his excellent music videos which are below in this blog.

He was a very active Jehovah’s Witness his whole life. Cliff was baptized at the age of 9 and later served as a regular pioneer, ministerial servant, and Bethelite (headquarters), as well as in two foreign language congregations before coming to the startling conclusion that this religion was actually not “the truth” in 2016. As a result of his departure from the religion, he is currently being shunned by his family and the many friends he made within the Jehovah’s Witness religion.

When someone leaves the Jehovah’s Witnesses, they are silenced by this organization. Once the announcement “So-and-so is no longer one of Jehovah’s Witnesses” is made, no one from among the 8 million Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide is allowed to speak to this individual, even to ask them what happened. His Youtube channel allows individuals to share their honest experiences so as not to feel silenced. It also shares valuable information about the group to which rank-and-file JWs and the community, in general, are not privy.

Discussion

Video Interview

Mira con subtítulos en español aquí.

Watch “Cost of Doin’ Business”

Additional Reading:

Jehovah’s Witnesses, Child Abuse and the Child Victims Act: A Discussion with Mark O’Donnell

The BITE Model and Jehovah’s Witnesses

Shunning and the BITE Model of Mind Control in the Jehovah’s Witnesses

Ex-Jehovah’s Witness Mark O’Donnell on Latest Developments & How to Help and Heal

The post Watchtower Leadership Uses COVID-19 to Frighten and Recruit, Plus Interview With Former JW Member Cliff Henderson appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.

The Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a South Korean doomsday cult with hundreds of thousands of followers, has been all over the news at the center of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in that country.

What do we know about this cult? The Shincheonji Church of Jesus the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony was founded in 1984 in South Korea by its leader, Lee Man-hee. Citing former members, the Wall Street Journal reported that the cult communicates to its members that they will live forever, and Shincheonji followers are said to believe that Man-hee Lee is the second coming of Jesus Christ and the sole interpreter for secret codes they claim are contained in the Book of Revelation. While conservative Christians refer to the group as a cult because of its heretical teachings, as readers of my work, know, it is the authoritarian mind control factors explained in the BITE model that characterize a destructive cult. A short Whiteboard video explains Behavior control, Information control, Thought Control, and Emotional control. For a detailed pdf of the entire list, see this.

This group thrives on secrecy and is actively recruiting members here in America, especially in Southern California. For example, The Word And Life Theology School in California has a web site that is incredibly deceptive. The indoctrination is so subtle at first, that many attend Bible study classes and associate with members before being told their real identity. This mirrors how my former cult used to recruit when I was a leader back in the 1970s. Of course, cult members justify that the ends justify the means and feel justified to deceive and indoctrinate people into breaking up their families if others refuse to conform. Since nonbelievers, critics (especially Christians who actually know the Bible) and former members are viewed with fear and disdain. Like all cults, phobia programming is a powerful tool of mind control to make believers dependent and obedient.

Shincheonji is being blamed by South Korean officials for the worst outbreak of this virus outside of China.  It was recently announced that the sect’s leaders might be charged with homicide. They took no active measures to prevent this outbreak from spreading which caused the death of many. In fact, members are required to always attend services, even if they are sick. I suspect with the legal pressure, this rule has been altered. There are calls to dissolve Shincheonji as an organization in South Korea. When Russia banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Scientology, I wrote this blog explaining my rationale for being opposed to banning cults.

As reported by the New York Times:

South Korea has more 4,800 cases of the coronavirus, with at least 60 percent connected to Shincheonji’s branch in Daegu, a city in the southeast. As the government scrambles to contain the epidemic, Mr. Lee and the church have been blamed for contributing to the spread, by failing to provide a full list of its members to the government.

In the past week, hundreds of church members have remained incommunicado, baffling health officials trying to track them down for testing. Major cities, including the capital city of Seoul, have asked national prosecutors to investigate Mr. Lee for potential criminal charges, including “murder through willful negligence.”

[…] he blamed the epidemic on “the evil who got jealous of Shincheonji’s rapid growth.”

I, too, was recruited into a Korean cult, the Unification Church (also known as the Moonies). I was deceptively recruited by the Moonies while attending Queens College in 1974. They persuaded me to drop out and then sent me back to be the founder at Queens College for The Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles (C.A.R.P.). In other words, I was a college dropout who set up a student club that pressured people to quit college and join the cult. To my knowledge, CARP still actively recruits college students. Many people think the Moon cult is no more, but in fact, they continue to exist, recruit, and are involved with politics worldwide.

Moon is now deceased but his son, Hyung Jin Moon, has started an offshoot, the Sanctuary Church in Pennsylvania. They still believe their mission is to take over the world. Having and using guns figures is part of their plan. They own Kahr arms and have an actual gun factory. Moon’s new www.rodofironministry.org  hosted a “thank you” dinner in 2018 for Donald Trump, who they claim they helped to elect a U.S. President. And they continue to actively support Trump. (Learn more about the Moonies by reading the additional links listed at the end.)

With all of the exposure in the news about the Korean group, Shincheonji, I wanted to share my story of being recruited into, indoctrinated by, and deprogrammed out of the Moonies. Many may not be aware of how I became so passionate about exposing authoritarian cults and helping their victims. I truly understand because I have been there. If you are curious to learn more about my cult story, I have decided to put it online. So, here it is: Chapter 2: My Life in the Unification Church PDF republished from Combating Cult Mind Control,

Since being rescued by my family in 1976, I have dedicated my life, personally and professionally, to helping others leave and recover from all types of destructive cults and influences. (Learn more about the services I offer.)

Additional Reading

Website by former Shincheonji members

The Truth About Sun Myung Moon by Steven Hassan with actual quotes from “Master Speaks”, transcripts of Moon’s speeches to members.

Moon Organization

The Moonies and TM Attempt to Reinvent Themselves

Mooniverse (My Former Cult) is Attempting a Reboot

Why the Reported Sale of the Moonies Washington Times for $1 Requires Greater Scrutiny!

Exclusive 71 Page List of Entities Closely Associated with Sun Myung Moon

“Cults” Moonies and Trump: Seven Questions for Steve Hassan by Sansu the Cat August 6th, 2020

Video About the Moon Organization

The post Shincheonji Is a South Korean Cult Similar to the Moon Cult That Recruited Me, Steven Hassan appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.