Cults Inside Out: How People Get in and Can Get Out

by Rick Alan Ross

  548 Schein, Coercive Persuasion: A Socio-psychological Analysis of the ‘Brainwashing’ of American Civilian Prisoners by the Chinese Communists.

  549 Ofshe, “Coercive Persuasion and Attitude Change,” 212–224.

  550 Paul Morantz and Hal Lancaster, Escape (Los Angeles: Figueroa Press, 2012), 92.

  551 Ibid., 95.

  552 Lawrence Van Gelder, “Charles Dederich, 83, Synanon Founder, Dies,” New York Times, March 4, 1997.

  553 Morantz and Lancaster, Escape, 95.

  554 Singer, Cults in Our Midst, 62.

  555 Lifton, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, 419–437.

  556 Ibid., 420.

  557 Ofshe, “Coercive Persuasion and Attitude Change,” 212–224.

  558 Ibid.

  559 Lifton, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, 435.

  560 Zablocki, “Exit Cost Analysis: A New Approach to the Scientific Study of Brainwashing,” 222.

  561 Ibid., 231.

  562 Robbins and Zablocki, Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field, 181–193.

  563 Conway and Siegelman, Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change, 147.

  564 Sean Gordon, “Trial Highlights Canadian Cult Link,” Toronto Star, October 1, 2006.

  565 Conway and Siegelman, Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change, 189.

  566 Joe Schoenmann, “Unification Church ‘Means Business’ with Las Vegas facility,” Las Vegas Sun, August 30, 2011.

  567 Patricia Hurst and members of the Smart family, interview by Larry King, Larry King Live, CNN, March 13, 2003.

  568 Conway and Siegelman, Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change, 149–150.

  569 Harvey Milkman and Stanley Sunderwirth, Craving for Ecstasy: The Consciousness and Chemistry of Escape (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 1987), 6–7.

  570 Ibid., 173.

  571 Ibid., 150.

  572 Joshua Bearman, “Heaven’s Gate: The Sequel. Ten Years after the 39 Suicides, the Sole Survivor Is Back—and He Has Something Urgent to Tell Us,” LA Weekly, March 29, 2007.

  573 Conway and Siegelman, Holy Terror: The Fundamentalist War on America’s Freedoms in Religion, Politics and Our Private Lives, (New York: Doubleday; 1st edition June 1982), 216.

  574 Lifton, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, 429.

  575 Jay Schadler and Elissa Stohler, “Family Brainwashed by Dad Struggles to Heal,” ABC News, July 6, 2010.

  576 Cyndee Fontana, Barbara Anderson, and Donald E. Coleman, “The Many Portraits of Marcus Wesson,” Fresno Bee, April 18, 2004.

  577 Conway and Siegelman, Holy Terror, 206.

  578 H. Leuner, “Guided Affective Imagery (GAI): A Method of Intensive Psychotherapy,” American Journal of Psychotherapy 23, no. 1 (1969): 4–22.

  579 Singer, Cults in Our Midst, 157.

  580 “Glimpses into the Life of the Controversial Guru,” The Times of India (Haryana), December 21, 2003.

  581 “Escaping the Bhagwan,” The Age (Sydney), April 11, 2009.

  582 Margaret Singer, Cults in Our Midst (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1996), 160.

  583 Ibid., 167–168.

  584 Ibid., 168.

  585 Cialdini, Influence: Science and Practice.

  586 Singer, Cults in Our Midst, 170.

  587 Ibid.

  588 Ibid.

  589 Ibid.

  590 Ibid.

  591 Stanley Milgram, “Behavioral Study of Obedience,” Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 67, no. 4 (1963).

  592 Ibid.

  593 Stanley Milgram, “The Perils of Obedience,” Harper’s Magazine, 1974.

  594 S. E. Asch, “Studies of Independence and Conformity: A Minority of One against a Unanimous Majority.” Psychological Monographs 70, no. 416 (1956).

  593 The Stanford Prison Experiment website (1999–2013) http://www.prisonexp.org/psychology/41 (accessed May 19, 2014).

  594 Flavil R. Yeakley Jr., The Discipling Dilemma: A Study of the Discipling Movement among Churches of Christ (Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate, 1988).

  595 Ibid., 24.

  596 Ibid.

  597 Isabel Myers and Kathrine Briggs, “The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator” (Palo Alto, California: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1976).

  598 Yeakley, The Discipling Dilemma: A Study of the Discipling Movement among Churches of Christ, 26.

  599 T. L. Bess and R. J. Harvey, “Bimodal score distributions and the MBTI: Fact or artifact?” The Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (San Diego, 2001).

  600 K. Nowack, “Is the Myers Briggs Type Indicator the Right Tool to Use?” American Society of Training and Development, Fall 1996, 6.

  601 Yeakley, The Discipling Dilemma: A Study of the Discipling Movement among Churches of Christ, 40.

  602 Ibid., 33–34, 42, 44.

  603 Ibid., 30.

  604 Edward L. Thorndike, “A Constant Error in Psychological Ratings,” Journal of Applied Psychology 4, no. 1 (March 1920): 25–29.

  605 Jerry Jones, “What Does the Boston Movement Teach?” Volume 1, (Bridgeton, MO: Mid-America Book and Tape Sales, 1990), 43.

  606 Ibid., 38.

  607 Yeakley, The Discipling Dilemma: A Study of the Discipling Movement among Churches of Christ, 39.

  608 Ibid., 33.

  609 Schein, Coercive Persuasion: A Socio-psychological Analysis of the ‘Brainwashing’ of American Civilian Prisoners by the Chinese Communists.

  610 Yeakley, The Discipling Dilemma: A Study of the Discipling Movement among Churches of Christ, 38.

  611 Lifton, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, 434.

  612 Yeakley, The Discipling Dilemma: A Study of the Discipling Movement among Churches of Christ, 84.

  613 “Charles Manson Cult Member Denied Parole for the 15th Time,” Channel News Asia CNA (Singapore), August 26, 2004.

  614 Linda Deutsch, “Charles Manson Follower Krenwinkle Denied Parole,” Associated Press, January 11, 2011.

  615 “Judge to Hear Parole Plea of Manson Follower,” Daily (LA) News, May 20, 2002.

  616 Lifton, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, 421.

  617 Leon Festinger, Henry W. Riecken, and Stanley Schachter, When Prophecy Fails (Minneapolis: Wilder, 2011).

  618 Ibid., 216.

  619 Zablocki, “Exit Cost Analysis: A New Approach to the Scientific Study of Brainwashing,” 219.

  620 Ashley Frantz, “18 Years after Waco, Davidians Believe Koresh Was God,” CNN, April 14, 2011.

  621 Singer, Cults in Our Midst, 59.

  622 Ibid., 64.

  623 Roger E. Mitchell and Christine A. Hodson, “Coping with Domestic Violence: Social Support and Psychological Health among Battered Women,” American Journal of Community Psychology 11, no. 6 (1983).

  624 Lifton, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, 423.

  625 Singer, Cults in Our Midst, 69.

  626 Robbins and Zablocki, Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field, 181–193.

  627 Zablocki, “Exit Cost Analysis: A New Approach to the Scientific Study of Brainwashing,” 219–220.

  628 Ibid., 228.

  629 Ibid., 228–229.

  632 Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman, Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change, 2nd ed. (New York: Stillpoint Press, 2005), 58.

  633 Ibid, 63.

  634 Ibid, 59.

  635 Matt Coker, “Child Custody Deal Favors ‘Escapee of Notorious Cult ‘The Family,’” Orange Country Weekly (Costa Mesa, CA),March 16, 2009.

  636 Conway and Siegelman, Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change, 58–60.

  637 Ibid.

  638 Ibid., 61, 69.

  639 Ibid., 62.

  640 Ibid., 67.

  641 Ibid., 69.

  642 Ibid., 69.

  643 Margaret Singer, Cults in Our Midst (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-B
ass, 1996), 285.

  644 John E. LeMoult, “Deprogramming Members of Religious Sects,” (New York: Fordham Law Review Volume 46, Issue 4, Article 1, 1978), http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2305&context=flr (accessed May 20, 2014), 629.

  645 Katz v. Superior Court (October 6, 1977) Court of Appeals of California, First Appellate District, Division One.

  646 LeMoult, Deprogramming Members of Religious Sects, 617.

  647 Conway and Siegelman, Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change, 70–72.

  648 Ibid., 62.

  649 Ibid., 61.

  650 Ibid.

  651 Steven Hassan, Combatting Cult Mind Control (Rochester, VT: Park Street Press, 1988), 113.

  652 Conway and Siegelman, Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change, 72.

  653 Hassan, Combatting Cult Mind Control, 113.

  654 Ibid., 114.

  655 Conway and Siegelman, Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change, 72.

  656 Singer, Cults in Our Midst, 286.

  657 Carol Giambalvo, “From Deprogramming to Thought Reform Consultation,” (lecture, American Family Foundation Conference, Chicago, IL, November 1998).

  658 Ibid.

  659 United States v. Patrick (December 11, 1974) Transcript of Proceedings appeal dismissed 9th Circuit (1976).

  660 Jack Jones, “Cult Deprogrammer Patrick Sentenced to Year in Kidnapping,” Los Angeles Times, September 28, 1980.

  661 “Amish Woman Asks Prosecutor to Drop Charges on Kidnapping,” Madison Courier, December 8, 1990.

  662 Conway and Siegelman, Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change, 72.

  663 Bill Moushey, “Hiding the Facts,” Pittsburg Post-Gazette, November 24, 1998.

  664 Conway and Siegelman, Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change, 72.

  665 Charles W. Hall, “U.S. Seeks to Fire Prosecutor in Virginia for Alleged Misconduct in Cult Kidnapping Case,” Washington Post, October 4, 1995.

  666 Melanie Threlkeld, “Jury Acquits Two in Deprogramming Case,” Idaho Statesman, April 24, 1993.

  667 Kim Sue Lia Perkes, “Cult Deprogrammer Acquitted,” Arizona Republic, January 21, 1994.

  668 Leslie Stahl, “The Cult Awareness Network,” 60 Minutes, CBS, December 28, 1997.

  669 Tony Ortega, “What’s $2.995 Million between Former Enemies?” Phoenix New Times, December 19, 1996.

  670 Laurie Goodstein, “Plaintiff Shifts Stance on Anti-Cult Group,” Washington Post, December 23, 1996.

  671 Susan Hansen, “Did Scientology Strike Back?” American Lawyer, June 1997.

  672 Paul Morse, “Woman Disappeared for 10 Days,” Hamilton Spectator, August 31, 2006.

  673 Ibid.

  674 Barbara Brown, “Crown Drops Charges in ‘Cult’ Kidnapping,” Hamilton Spectator, October 13, 2009.

  675 Threlkeld, “Jury Acquits Two in Deprogramming Case.”

  676 Conway and Siegelman, Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change, 63.

  677 Hassan, Combatting Cult Mind Control, 29.

  678 Conway and Siegelman, Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change, 72.

  679 Ibid.

  680 Steven Hassan, “Frequently Asked Questions,” Freedom of Mind website (2013). https://freedomofmind.com/Info/faq/sia.php (accessed May 20, 2014).

  681 M. D. Langone, ed., Recovery from Cults, 2nd ed. (New York: W. W. Norton, 1996), 174–175.

  682 Cathleen Mann, e-mail message to author, January 14, 2013.

  683 Hassan, Combatting Cult Mind Control, 123–124.

  684 Ibid.

  685 Ibid.

  686 Conway and Siegelman, Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change, 71.

  687 Giambalvo, “From Deprogramming to Thought Reform Consultation.”

  688 Carol Giambalvo et al., “Ethical Standards for Thought Reform Consultants,” Cultic Studies Journal Volume 1 13, No. 1 (1996), 95-106.

  689 Detomi v. Ryan (2005) Philadelphia Municipal Court First Judicial District of Pennsylvania (SC-04-09-23-6469).

  690 Giambalvo et al., “Ethical Standards for Thought Reform Consultants.”

  691 Detomi v. Ryan (2006) Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia, PA. (Case ID 050301175 2005).

  692 Steve Eichel, Prepared Statement (October 26, 2005).

  693 Ibid.

  694 Hassan, Combatting Cult Mind Control, 112.

  695 Singer, Cults in Our Midst, 291.

  696 John T. Brauchi and Louis J. West, Journal of the American Medical Association 171, no. 1 (1959): 11–14.

  697 Neille Illel, “Scientologists’ Stress Test in Jackson Heights Raise Questions,” Queens Chronicle (New York), February 3, 2005.

  698 Phillip Cunningham, “Sinister Motives May Lurk in Sect,” South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), October 8, 2000.

  699 Peter Carlson, “For Whom the Gong Tolls,” Washington Post, February 27, 2000.

  700 Ibid.

  701 Robert Cialdini, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, rev. ed. (New York: Quill, 1993).

  702 Ibid., 4.

  703 Lenore E. Walker, “Battered Woman Syndrome: Key Elements of a Diagnosis and Treatment Plan,” Psychiatric Times 26, no. 7 (July 7, 2009).

  704 Janet Reitman, Inside Scientology: The Story of America’s Most Secret Religion (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011).

  705 Nansook Hong, In the Shadow of the Moons: My Life in the Rev. Sun Myung Moon Family (New York: Little Brown, 1998).

  706 Joe Smith, Herding the Moo: Exploits of a Martial Arts Cult Legend of the Upside Down King (Bloomington, IN: Trafford, 2006).

  707 Brenda Lee, Out of the Cocoon: A Young Woman’s Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult (Brandon, OR: Robert D. Reed, 2006).

  708 Steven Pressman, Outrageous Betrayal: The Real Story of Werner Erhard from EST to Exile (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1993).

  709 Geoff Gilpin, The Maharishi Effect: A Personal Journey through the Movement That Transformed American Spirituality (New York: Tarcher, 2006).

  710 Kristina Jones, Celeste Jones, and Juliana Buhring, Not Without My Sister (New York: Harper Collins Entertainment, 2007).

  711 Ruth Carter, Amway Motivational Organizations: Behind the Smoke and Mirrors (Winter Park, FL: Backstreet, 1999).

  712 Robert L. Fitzpatrick and Joyce K. Reynolds, False Profits: Seeking Financial and Spiritual Deliverance in Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Schemes (Harrisonberg, VA: Herald Press, 1997).

  713 “What Information Are We as a 501(c) (3) Required to Give Members?” World Law Direct, July 13, 2010 http://www.worldlawdirect.com/forum/nonprofit-lawissues/41003-what-information-we-503-c-3-required-give-members.html (accessed May 28, 2014).

  714 Charity Navigator website http://www.charitynavigator.org/ (accessed May 28, 2014).

  715 Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability website http://www.ecfa.org/ (accessed May 28, 2014).

  716 Ian Shapira, “Moon and Fired Executives buy Washington Times for $1,” Washington Post, November 3, 2010.

  717 Diane Hartman, “Ties to Falun Gong and Controversy to the Chinese New Year Spectacular,” Los Angeles Times, January 7, 2008.

  718 Stephen A. Kent and Theresa Krebs, “When Scholars Know Sin: Alternative Religions and Their Academic Supporters,” Skeptic Magazine 6, no. 3 (1998).

  719 Michael D. Langone, “Terrorism and Cultic Dynamics,” ICSA Today, Volume 6 No. 1, (2015) p. 15.

  720 P. Tosey and J. Mathison, “Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming,” Centre for Management Learning & Development, School of Management, University of Surrey, 2006, http://www.som.surrey.ac.uk/NLP/Resources/IntroducingNLP.pdf (accessed May 28, 2014).

  721 J. P. Green et al., “Forging Ahead: The 2003 APA Division 30 Definition of Hypnosis,” International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 53 (2005): 259–264.

  722 Robert Jay Lifton, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism (
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2012), 429.

  723 Participant Observation: Becoming a Part of the Research (About.com Sociology) M. L. Andersen and H. F. Taylor, Sociology: The Essentials (Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2009) http://sociology.about.com/od/Research/a/Participant-Observation.htm (accessed May 28, 2014).

  724 Benjamin D. Zablocki, “Exit Cost Analysis: A New Approach to the Scientific Study of Brainwashing,” Nova Religion 2, no. 1 (1998): 219–220.

  725 Lawrence Wright, “The Apostate: Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology,” New Yorker, February 14, 2011.

  726 Rick A. Ross, “Cults: An Educational Volume,” DVD, Trenton, NJ: Cult Education Institute, 2001.

  727 Rick A. Ross, “In The Name of Love: Abusive Controlling Relationships,” DVD, Trenton, NJ: Cult Education Institute, New Jersey, www.culteducation.com (2004).

  728 Robert Jay Lifton, “Cult Formation,” Harvard Mental Health Letter, February 1981.

  729 Robert Jay Lifton, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism (University of North Carolina Press, 2012), 419–437

  730 Richard Ofshe, “Coercive Persuasion and Attitude Change,” Encyclopedia of Sociology, vol. 1 (New York: McMillan, 1992), 212–224.

  731 Singer, Cults in Our Midst, 58–59.

  732 Robert B. Cialdini, Influence: Science and Practice (Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 2001).

  733 “Captive Minds: Hypnosis and Beyond.” Documentary. Directed by Pierre Lasry. Montreal: National Film Board of Canada, 1983. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQC0nFfp2nc&index=1&list=PL2D64B3CB3D593ACF (accessed May 22, 2014).

  734 Davison, Bruce, Lori Lethin and John Putch. “The Wave.” DVD. Directed by Alexander Grasshoff. Thousand Oaks, CA: BN Publishing, 1980.

  735 Lau, Frederick, Max Riemelt and Jennifer Ulrich. “Die Welle [The Wave].” DVD. Directed by Dennis Gansel. Munich, Germany: Constantin Video, 2008.

  736 Todd Srasser, “The Wave,” Ember, January 8, 2013.

  737 Maurice Davis,. “You Can Go Home Again.”DVD. Directed by Elliot Bernstein, New York: Union for Reform Judaism, 1982.

  738 M. D. Langone, Recovery from Cults, 2nd ed. (New York: W. W. Norton, 1996), 174–175.

  739 P. Tosey and J. Mathison, “Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming,” Centre for Management Learning & Development, School of Management, University of Surrey, 2006, http://www.som.surrey.ac.uk/NLP/Resources/IntroducingNLP.pdf (accessed May 28, 2014).