Cult News

A mother in Vermont says her daughter was “brainwashed” by her Internet “boyfriend.” The girl initially met him through a chat room set up for teenagers, reports the Brattleboro Reformer.

However, the New England mother eventually found out that her daughter’s supposed teenage steady was actually a California man in his 30s serving parole for a sex crime.

But by the time this came out it was too late. Her child refused to listen. The parent said, “It’s very obvious that this guy has brainwashed her.”

When the girl turned 18 she abruptly left home to move in with the man and there is now nothing the family can do about it. They can only hope that some day she will become disenchanted and return.

This is neither a unique or new story. Sinister cults and pedophiles on the Internet have recruited many young people.

In Florida one man combined both cult control and sexual exploitation. Ricardo Romero also known as Jefferson deSouza, recruited teenage boys through sci-fi chat rooms into the “Order of Bios.” The FBI ultimately arrested him for kidnapping a minor he met on the Internet, reported the St. Petersburg Times.

Most “cults” in the United States maintain websites. Through such Internet sites they often recruit new members, sell literature and generally promote themselves.

Parents should carefully monitor the Internet time of their minor children. It is possible for a destructive cult or sexual predator to literally come into a family’s home through their on-line connection.

In Germany Scientology doesn’t have the same power or privilege it enjoys in the United States. Most Germans regard the organization as a business scheme, not a “church.”

The Interior Minister of Bavaria has now called upon the federal government to ban the group, reports the Frankfurter Allgemeine.

Bavaria currently has an assistance program for the victims of Scientology and police monitor the group’s activities in that area.

Scientology calls such treatment “persecution” and has used Hollywood celebrities through lobbying efforts and various publicity ploys to attack Germany, most notably Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

But that spin fell flat when a German girl won a settlement of 35,000 Euros from her parents for sending her to a Scientology school that she said ruined her health.

The girl was raised as a Scientologist, but later fled her family. Scientology lawyers failed to suppress the story in court and the sensational case was reported within the German press.

It seems that rather than being the victim of “persecution” in Germany, Scientology has victimized its own members and appears to be a health hazard.

During August CultNews.com broke a story about IRS employees in Seattle taking controversial training seminars from Landmark Education and it seemed taxpayers were picking up the tab.

IRS never denied the allegations and refused to comment.

A “Freedom of Information Act” (FOIA) request was promptly submitted in August.

Specifically, that request was for information about an admitted investigation of the matter that was conducted by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

According to a recent response just received from the Treasury Department dated November 6th there are “three documents,” which are “responsive” that include “two hundred pages.”

However, the Department of Treasury decided to withhold 198 pages.

The two pages they released contained the CultNews.com report run in August.

The reason Treasury Disclosure Officer Melissa D. Stuart gave for withholding information about the matter was that such a “disclosure of information…could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of a third party or parties’ personal privacy.”

Right.

What is in those 198 pages? It appears that they are the work product of the investigation conducted by TIGTA, regarding the IRS employees and their involvement with Landmark Education.

Why is it “an unwarranted…invasion of…privacy” when taxpayers want to find out how the government spends money? Apparently, the IRS thinks such matters are “personal.”

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh also called “Osho” by his devotees was thrown out of the United States in 1985 after spending time in jail and paying a $400,000 fine for immigration fraud. He then wandered around the world trying to find some country that would allow him entry. Finally, after repeated rejections he returned to his native India where he died in 1990.

Rajneesh became infamous for his personal excesses and villainy in the United States. He collected 90 Rolls Royces and numerous women devoted to his sexual pleasure. Thousands of followers joined him in an effort to create a supposed spiritual utopia amidst 64,000 acres in Oregon called “Rancho Rajneesh.”

Eventually, Rajneesh tried to impose his rule over the nearby town of Antelope. His effort ultimately led to criminal acts and then later the convictions and imprisonment of many devoted followers. More than 20 cult members were indicted on criminal charges including a plot to murder a prosecutor.

But back in Pune India the old “guru” is fondly remembered by his remaining followers called “sanyasin.” The old ashram he founded is still standing and is now being renovated, reports the Times of India.

Memories associated with the dead cult leader are so sacred to some sanyasin that an effort to replace his old crumbling meeting hall was met with opposition. One devotee said, “The podium and the floor should not be allowed to be demolished at any cost.” And insisted, “Something must be done to protect it.”

It seems the place where Rajneesh once held court still holds some mystical or sacred significance to those who choose to call him a “enlightened self-realized soul,” rather than a destructive cult leader.

However, back in Antelope, Oregon where Rajneesh tried to poison people with salmonella and sickened about 750 residents, the only remaining residue of his rule that still remains is a small plaque at the base of the post-office flagpole. It says, “Dedicated to those of this community who through the Rajneesh invasion and occupation of 1981-85 remained, resisted and remembered.”

This is the only fitting epitaph or legacy that the cult leader really deserves.

Many experts have noted that not only has the number of groups called “cults” has grown substantially in the past twenty years, they have also gained considerable momentum and influence within the United States.

A featured presentation about destructive cults at the 2002 annual convention for the American Psychological Association (APA) drew this comment from its President Dr. Philip G. Zimbardo, “When some organizations that promote religious or self-growth agendas become rich enough to wield power to suppress media exposés, influence legal judgments or publicly defame psychology, how can they be challenged?”

Zimbardo observations were published within the APA’s Monitor.

Groups that have often been called “cults” such as Scientology and Rev. Moon’s Unification Church have in fact become “rich enough” to “wield the power” Zimbardo talks about. Within the United States and internationally these two “cults” alone control billions of dollars.

Scientology and the Unification Church have acquired political power that reaches all the way to the White House. This was demonstrated by Scientology’s unprecedented access during the Clinton Administration and the special relationship Rev. Moon has with the Bush Family.

It remains to be seen how Moon’s influence may impact the so-called “Faith Based Initiative” proposed by President George W. Bush, which would fund religious programs with government money.

Rev. Moon’s influence on Capital Hill cannot be denied. He has become part of its establishment, largely through control of the Washington Times. And Moon also courts religious and political leaders through banquets, celebrations and conferences, which are well attended.

Groups like Scientology and the Unification Church also have funded efforts to “suppress media” and “influence legal judgements.”

Scientology has arguably turned litigation into something of a religious rite.

Time Magazine published the cover story, “Scientology: The Cult of Greed,” and was promptly sued for $400 million dollars. Even though Scientology lost, the litigation cost Time millions of dollars and took years to resolve. This produced a substantial chilling effect within the media, which served to suppress stories about the controversial church in the United States.

Likewise, Scientology has made a point of going after its critics personally. This has included defamation, libel and personal injury. The net result is that many that might expose the group don’t—due it seems largely to fear.

The Unification Church has frequently funded efforts to “influence legal judgements.” Notably an ongoing campaign through academic surrogates to discredit research about cults.

Some years ago the APA itself became involved through the filing of a “friend of the court brief.” That brief effectively would have helped the Unification Church in its defense regarding a personal injury lawsuit filed by a former member. However, the brief was later withdrawn.

Dr. Dick Anthony was the psychologist largely responsible for that effort. Anthony continues to work for groups called “cults” and is paid $3,500 per day for his efforts. One of his employers is Scientology, which also recommends him, through a front organization called the “reformed Cult Awareness Network.”

Defenders of “cults” such as Anthony are anxious to disprove the “theory of mind control.”

However, Zimbardo has acknowledged the existence of mind control. He stated, “Mind control is the process by which individual or collective freedom of choice and action is compromised by agents or agencies that modify or distort perception, motivation, affect, cognition and/or behavioral outcomes.”

But how does this ultimately affect the general public?

In a survey done in 1980 by Zimbardo of more than 1,000 high school students in the San Francisco Bay area 54% reported a cult had attempted to recruit them and 40% said they had experienced multiple attempts.

Certainly on college campuses groups like the “International Church of Christ” (ICC), which has often been called a “cult,” are very active. The ICC has been banned by many colleges and universities, due largely to its aggressive recruitment practices.

And cults are not restricted exclusively to large metropolitan areas or schools. They are increasingly active in small towns and rural areas. In some situations groups called “cults” eventually exercise considerable influence within the small communities they inhabit.

A recent example is the “Fellowship of Friends,” which has been called a “cult.” The group led by Robert Burton has a troubled history in Yuba County, a rural area in California. Likewise the group known as the “Twelve Tribes” has moved into small towns in upstate New York.

The parallels between cults and terrorist groups cannot be ignored.

A charismatic and totalitarian leader who supposedly speaks for God dominates many terrorist groups, not unlike destructive cults.

What is the difference ultimately then, between suicide at Jonestown and the suicide bombers of al-Qaeda?

Each group had devoted followers willing to die for its cause. Jim Jones called this an act of “revolutionary suicide,” Osama bin-Laden said it was “Jihad.” But in the end the mindset is the same.

In the end the only practical difference between bin Laden and Jim Jones is the level of destruction wrought by their madness. The group dynamics that produce the tragedy are essentially the same.

Zimbardo concluded, “Understanding the dynamics and pervasiveness of situational power is essential to learning how to resist it and to weaken the dominance of the many agents of mind control who ply their trade daily on all of us behind many faces and fronts.”

It seems that “mind control” has become a modern mental health hazard. However, this illness unlike others, can potentially affect more than the personal lives of individuals.

This was first made clear through a horrific gas attack upon Tokyo’s subways by the cult Aum in 1995.

Today that realization is even more painful whenever we see the changed Manhattan skyline.

Jehovah’s Witness parents in South Africa would have allowed their baby to die if not for a doctor’s actions and the ruling of a judge, reports South Africa’s Sunday Times.

Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse blood transfusion for themselves and their children due to a policy proscribed by their Governing Body. This is based upon an idiosyncratic Witness understanding of scripture. Specifically, “Old Testament” injunctions regarding the “eating of blood” more commonly understood as dietary law.

However, increasingly the courts are interceding to save the lives of children threatened by extreme and dangerous religious beliefs. Many children have previously died due to medical neglect in such groups as Christian Science, Church of God Restoration, End Time Ministries and General Assembly Church of the First Born.

In some of these churches parents were charged criminally due to medical neglect and some were convicted and sentenced for manslaughter.

The Witness parents in Johannesburg, South Africa seemed relieved that the judge ultimately ordered the blood transfusion that saved their child’s life.

The baby’s mother hugged the treating doctor who initiated the action after the ruling. The father later said, “We thank God for placing our child in the care of such capable medical people and hope for a speedy and uncomplicated medical recovery.”

Their baby is now stable and doing well.

This is one Witness story about a near death medical emergency with a happy ending. But many others have ended in tragedy.

It is a scandal how many children needlessly die due to medical neglect as a direct result of the teachings of certain extreme religious groups.

Parents may believe whatever they wish, but a child’s right to life must supercede such freedom of religious expression.

Fans are often obsessive about their idols and some can develop into a kind of “cult following.”

Recently, one group of sports fans took their obsession so seriously they established a church to honor their hero Argentina football star Diego Maradona, reports Ananova.

According to the “First Maradonian Church” we are now living in 42 AD. That is, 42 years after the birth of Maradona. And of course “AD” stands for “after Diego.” The church’s 100 members celebrate Christmas in October on their icon’s birthday.

Not to be outdone Americans in the United States have long worshipped at the altar of Elvis. Portland, Oregon has its very own “Church of Elvis.”

Stars who die young like Elvis and another evolving rock legend Kurt Cobain, often develop enduring cult followings.

Cobain’s recently published diaries seem to have largely energized his loyal fans. The Nirvana star’s journals expose a tormented genius, ultimately overcome by self-loathing and drug addiction.

A new film titled “Frida” starring Selma Hyek, is sure to feed the flame that still burns brightly for the unconventional Mexican artist and feminist icon Frida Kahlo. Kahlo’s personal catharsis forged her own unique life, art and cult following.

What most often generates a “cult following” is a person who breaks with convention to establish something new. Such personalities are especially romanticized and their image empowered when they struggle to overcome adversity and/or personal obstacles, suffer and/or die young.

Some cult followings have developed into mass movements. Three historic examples are Nazism in Germany, Italian Fascism and Iran’s recent embrace of Islamic fundamentalism. Each of these mass movements was largely established and driven forward by a single charismatic personality.

However, cult followings that evolve into personality-driven movements are not always bad, such as Gandhi of India and Nelson Mandela of South Africa.

History also offers examples of mass movements intended for good that somehow went bad. Inititially created by an icon espousing idealism, but later evolving into abusive totalitarianism, like Communist Russia, China and North Korea.

Whose to say which “cult icon” today might be the impetus behind a new mass-movement or religion?

Could there be a “Church of Madonna”?

Probably not—this “Madonna” only claims she is “like a virgin” and hasn’t really established anything new. Nor does it seem likely that she will abrubtly depart anytime soon.

The so-called “King of the World,” as proclaimed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his cult following, lives in Beirut with his parents, reports the Lebanon’s Daily Star.

“His Majesty Raja Nader Raam” or Tony Nader to his family, was crowned king of a supposed “Global Country” invented by the aging Indian guru two years ago.

“His Majesty” Tony now says there can be “world peace” if people put up $1 billion dollars to finance various proposals made by his spiritual mentor. But Tony’s guru has a history of frequently bizarre schemes.

Sounds like Maharishi has hopes to somehow cash in on the increasing fear and instability around the world since September 11th.

Church Universal Triumphant (CUT), the creation of Elizabeth Clare Prophet, has now named the mother of Jesus to serve on its corporate board according to a recent church newsletter, reports the Billings Gazette.

Apparently the church often called a “cult,” seemingly adrift and withering since the “retirement” of its founder due to a “neurological disorder,” needs new guidance and now says Mary is helping out.

President of the group’s teaching center in LA Joe De La Garza discussed Mary’s new role in the church newsletter “Heart to Heart.”

CUT believes that its “ascended masters” can act as channels for many revered figures to communicate with the world, including Mary, St. Francis of Assisi and Jesus. St. Germain supposedly is a “co-chairperson” on its board with Mary.

CUT has gone through several organizational shake-ups in recent years. It has also had financial problems that have apparently forced the group to sell off some of its assets.

Cut’s decline appeared to begin when Prophet failed to live up to her name. She predicted a nuclear holocaust would occur in 1990. CUT even sold space in bomb shelters within its Montana compound. And when nothing happened, many disillusioned members packed up and left.

Prophet’s problems persisted when in the late 90s her daughter Erin began to publicly raise questions about what was really going on at CUT. She concluded that church practices could “be a detrimental thing.” And that following its dictates seemed to require ”putting aside your rational mind.”

It is doubtful that the proclaimed installment of Mary on CUT’s board will really change anything. With its founder first discredited and now incapacitated, diminishing membership, declining resources and repeated staff changes—Cut’s “ascended masters” look like they’re losing altitude.

Perhaps a better personage for CUT to claim for its board would be Saint Jude—the patron of lost causes.

The members of a political “cult” called the “Symbionese Liberation Army” once posed as “revolutionaries” in the 70s, but now most seem to prefer the American middle-class.

A remnant of the group gathered in a California courtroom to confess their past crimes as part of a deal for lighter sentencing. They were charged for the murder of a bank customer during a robbery.

Once anti-establishment they now looked prim, proper and “coifed,” reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

One former SLA member Kathleen Soliah lived for many years as a suburban soccer Mom before being caught. Certainly nothing revolutionary about that.

Once upon a time all these middle-aged and middle-class folk were followers of an escaped convict named Donald DeFreeze, who liked to call himself “Field Marshall Cinque.” And they taunted authorities while committing a series of violent crimes.

Their goal was supposedly “revolution” and a rejection of middle-class American values. But “revolution” under the guidance of felon DeFreeze, turned out to be bank robbery, kidnapping and murder.

The SLA reached its height of media attention by kidnapping and then “brainwashing” heiress Patty Hearst. She was converted into an SLA adherent largely through confinement and torture.

Hearst would have been the prosecution’s star witness, if her former captors had not chosen to make a deal rather than stand trial.

Until the SLA members cut that deal they mocked Hearst and ridiculed her version of events. But in the end through a required public matriculation, the former radicals essentially confirmed the accuracy of her recollections, which she later said gave her a sense of closure.

Some SLA members may serve as little as three years for murder due to the terms of their plea agreement.

Perhaps the final piece of the SLA saga fell into place yesterday when its last remaining fugitive James Kilgore 55 was apprehended in South Africa, reports Reuters.

And so it ends, not with another pipe bomb explosion, once the favored signature of these 70s radicals, but rather with a public confession and an apology in a courtroom.

Ironically, in the end all the surviving SLA members appeared to want was to somehow be part of the same society they once rejected.