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Steven Hassan

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

2020-02-16T13:53:17-05:00February 16th, 2020|Blog|

This month, there have been quite a few developments in the Jehovah's Witness community including a recent documentary, a newspread in People magazine, major legal developments, and more. I invited Mark O'Donnell, former Jehovah's Witness turned writer, researcher, and activist, to discuss these events in detail. (You can read his story here.) Here are some of the high points we discuss, along with additional links for further explanation. People Magazine In the February 2020 issue of People magazine, there was a two-page article that featured former Jehovah's Witnesses as they discussed their alleged abuse within the organization. The article, "Sex [...]

Impeachment and the Do’s and Don’ts of Talking to Trump Supporters

2020-02-06T15:31:57-05:00February 6th, 2020|Blog|

These past two weeks, the historic impeachment of President Donald Trump reached the Senate, where Trump was tried (whoever heard of a fair trial with no witnesses?) and acquitted by a split partisan Senate. Republican Senators did not want to pursue the truth and call Bolton or Parnas because they feared the public would learn more facts that would bolster the evidence. If you did not listen to house impeachment manager Representative Adam B. Schiff's powerful closing comments, I encourage you to do so here. Only former Presidential candidate Senator Mitt Romney stood out as the lone GOP heroic resistor [...]

Announcing a New YouTube Channel: jon atack, family & friends

2020-01-30T12:55:59-05:00January 30th, 2020|Blog|

This week's video is a chat with my good friend, Jon Atack about his recently started YouTube channel: jon atack, family and friends. I told him that I wanted to let my readers know about the really interesting and important content he has been posting. I am excited to announce he now has over 500 subscribers! He has been covering so many important topics. Jon Atack is an independent scholar on manipulation and undue influence. His first major book was the best-selling, Let’s Sell These People a Piece of Blue Sky. In my opinion, it is the best book on [...]

Lev Parnas, Michael Cohen, Omarosa Manigault Newman, George Conway, Anthony Scaramucci, Rick Wilson and Others: Trump is a Cult Leader

2020-01-24T11:05:50-05:00January 23rd, 2020|Blog|

Lev Parnas, during his interview with Rachel Maddow on MSNBC, described himself as waking up from a cult and Donald Trump like a "cult leader." Michael Cohen, Trump's personal attorney for twelve years, expressed similar thoughts and feelings. Omarosa Manigault Newman, in her book Unhinged, described leaving the cult of Trumpworld. George Conway, Republican attorney and advisor to The Lincoln Project, has repeatedly described Trump as a mentally unfit narcissist and said his wife, Kellyanne Conway, was in a cult. Rick Wilson referred to the GOP as having been turned into a cult, lorded over by Trump. [...]

Robert Jay Lifton, M.D. Discusses Trump and His New Book, Losing Reality

2020-01-16T12:34:08-05:00January 16th, 2020|Blog|

I am excited to blog about and share my latest interview with my first mentor, Dr. Robert Jay Lifton, about his new book, Losing Reality: On Cults, Cultism, and the Mindset of Political and Religious Zealotry. In this unique and timely volume, Dr. Lifton proposes a radical idea: that the psychological relationship between extremist political movements and fanatical religious cults may be much closer than anyone thought. Exploring the most extreme manifestations of human zealotry, Lifton highlights an array of leaders—from Mao to Hitler to the Japanese apocalyptic cult leader Shōkō Asahara to Donald Trump—who have sought the control [...]

The Cult of Trump? What “Cult Rhetoric” Actually Reveals: A Response to Benjamin Zeller and Other Cult Apologists

2020-01-19T16:40:37-05:00January 9th, 2020|Blog|

In October 2019, Benjamin Zeller wrote an article in Religion & Politics critical of my new book, The Cult of Trump, which he had not even had the courtesy of reading. It was entitled, "The Cult of Trump? What “Cult Rhetoric” Actually Reveals." A response was thoughtfully written by independent scholar Jon Atack who is an expert on Scientology, author, and researcher and sent to Religion & Politics. The editor refused to publish it. When cult expert and sociologist Stephen Kent heard about the refusal to publish it, he emailed the editor the following: Dear Ms. Stanley, Although I [...]

Jim Heller and Steven Hassan Debate “The Cult of Trump”

2019-12-26T15:11:42-05:00December 26th, 2019|Blog|

This week, we have a blog about a civil discussion I had with Jim Heller, a Canadian criminal lawyer and Trump supporter. After the release of my book, The Cult of Trump, Jim wrote me explaining that he was a Trump supporter who found my argument that Trump was a cult leader untenable and insulting. He expressed his interest in challenging my thesis but offered to do so with civility and respect. Moreover, Jim felt that his opinion warranted extra weight given his own experience as a former cult member (a former follower of Guru Maharaji Ji, who now uses [...]

Infographic: How To Free Your Loved Ones from the Cult of Trump

2019-12-20T03:00:30-05:00December 19th, 2019|Blog|

The following infographic has been designed as a helpful guide. It includes effective techniques to help free the minds of  dedicated Trump supporters. The Cult of Trump is best thought of, first and foremost, as a cult of personality that involves other cult leaders and millions of true believers. Not all of his supporters follow him blindly. But people who believe he is a great man, worthy to follow without a willingness to look at any verifiable evidence against him are either corrupt, cowered in fear, or mind controlled. It is important to become well-informed about mind control and learn [...]

QAnon: What Is It About? A Discussion With Conspiracy Theory Researcher Travis View

2020-01-11T16:10:23-05:00December 12th, 2019|Blog|

In today's online, social media world, information can be spread quickly, in some cases without any critical evaluation or investigation into the credibility of its source. QAnon is an online pro-Trump conspiracy theory group that popped up in 2017 on 4Chan and went on to 8Chan. This supposed U.S. intelligence official, Q, does Q drops, anonymous internet posts, which give clues to supposed real-life events. QAnon believers essentially think Q is a real person who has a very high level of U.S. government security clearance and is working to expose corruption by posting obtuse posts that [...]

The Cult of Trump Book is Published!

2019-10-18T11:22:55-04:00October 17th, 2019|Blog|

My fourth book, The Cult of Trump, is finally out and on bookstore shelves everywhere. I have been receiving selfies from friends all over. If you are at a bookstore with the book, snap a selfie and share it! For those who prefer to listen to books, please be aware that I was able to read the audiobook. People who have been listening to the book say I did a really good job. After all this effort, it is truly gratifying to hear from people how important they think the book truly is. Many have told me that they never [...]