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International Cultic Studies Association |
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Madrid, Spain July 14-16, 2005
À Madrid en Espagne du 14 au 16 juillet 2005
Madrid, España 14-16 de Julio, 2005 The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) is an interdisciplinary network of academicians, professionals, former group members, and families who study and educate the public about social-psychological influence and control, authoritarianism, and zealotry in cultic groups, alternative movements, and other environments. Founded in 1979 as AFF (American Family Foundation), ICSA took on its current name in late 2004 to better reflect the organization's focus and increasingly international and scholarly dimensions. |
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| English Ω 1-Home Conference Ω 2-Program Ω 3-presenters/speakers Ω 4-Fees Ω 5-Ways to Register Ω 6-Facility and Lodging Ω 7-Travel Information Ω 8-Registration Fax/Mail Form Español Français Introduction to the Conference:Cults, Psychological Manipulation, Cultic Groups, andOther Alternative MovementsL'Universidad Autonoma de MadridJuly 14-16, 2005Abstract
What is the International Cultic Studies Association?The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) is an interdisciplinary network of academicians, professionals, former group members, and families who study and educate the public about social-psychological influence and control, authoritarianism, and zealotry in cultic groups, alternative movements, and other environments. Founded in 1979 as AFF (American Family Foundation), ICSA took on its current name in late 2004 to better reflect the organization's focus and increasingly international and scholarly dimensions. ICSA seeks to apply academic and professional research and analyses to the practical problems of families and individuals adversely affected by cultic experiences and to the professionals who seek to help them and/or forewarn those who might become involved in harmful group situations. A central component of ICSA’s mission is to study psychological manipulation and abuse, especially as it manifests in cultic and other groups. Different people, however, attach different and usually imprecise meanings to the term “cult”. Those who have sought information from ICSA have – properly or improperly –used “cult” to refer to a wide variety of phenomena. Although there is no agreed-upon definition of "cult," one proposed by Rutgers sociologist Benjamin Zablocki seems to highlight key elements of high-influence group situations: "An ideological organization held together by charismatic relationships and demanding total commitment." Charisma refers to a spiritual power or personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people. Hence, a cult is characterized by an ideology, strong demands issuing from that ideology, and powerful processes of social-psychological influence to induce group members to meet those demands. This high-demand, leader-centered social climate places such groups at risk of exploiting and injuring members, although they may remain benign if leadership doesn't abuse its power. The social-psychological manipulation and control associated with some cultic groups may sometimes be found in other organizations and movements, including those in the mainstream. However, unlike new groups usually focused on a living leader who may answer to nobody, leaders of movements within mainstream religions or professional associations, for example, may be restrained, corrected, or ejected by higher authorities to whom they are accountable. Thus, established organizations tend to have mechanisms by which they can be more responsive to public scrutiny and to correct abusive behaviors that may arise within their fold, although new movements may also be responsive. Some research studies suggest that one to two percent of the U.S. population (two to five million persons) have been involved in cultic groups and perhaps as many as one-hundred-thousand people enter and leave cultic groups each year (Langone; Rosedale & Langone). Similar percentages have been found in a study in Spain (A.I.S., 2005). ICSA has information in its files on over 4000 groups, many of which have been the object of critical news reports. However, the percentage of these groups that could be categorized as "cults" is unknown. Moreover, as explained above, definitional ambiguity of the term "cult" limits the utility of categorization decisions. Hence, ICSA does not maintain a list of "cults." Each case associated with concern about a particular group should be evaluated individually. ICSA's research indicates that cultic and other high control groups vary enormously in their potential for harm. Harm may be physical, psychological, economic, social, and/or spiritual. Different people will respond in varied ways to the same intense group environment, some remaining unscathed, while others are devastated. Although scholars may dispute the level, causes, and effects of harmful practices in particular groups, a common-sense assumption underlies ICSA's work: "Some groups may harm some people sometimes, and some groups may be more likely to harm people than other groups" (Langone, 2001, p. 3). Whether or not harm results depends upon the interactions among the members of the group, including leadership. ICSA is interested in the causes, nature, prevalence, and remediation of such group-related harm. What ICSA Offers· Websites with thousands of pages visited by more than 1,000,000 persons a year: · An information service that annually responds to more than 2,500 inquirers. · An E-Library with more than 4,500 news and scholarly articles and E-books, with thousands of items to be added in the future. · Free E-Newsletter, which enables you to keep abreast of events of note, new publications, news, popular articles, and research and educational activities of ICSA's volunteers and other experts and activists. · A Web-based scholarly journal (with an abridged print edition), Cultic Studies Review, which will keep you abreast of the latest advances in the field, including newspaper accounts and academic and professional reports · An annual conference where you can learn about new research and other developments, meet experts and others interested in the field, and attend practical sessions for families, former group members, and professionals. · Workshops and mini-conferences for former group members, families, and mental health professionals. · Volunteer professional committees · Educational resources · Scientific research How Does This Conference Relate to ICSA's Mission and Objectives?ICSA has conducted conferences for more than 20 years. Occasionally, those of us involved in conference planning talked about the possibility of running a conference in Europe, but the idea always seemed far-fetched. However, during the past six years large numbers of people from outside North America have attended our conferences; sometimes more than 25% of the attendees. Moreover, some of the most important research is being conducted in Europe, Japan, and other countries. During our October 2003 conference in Connecticut, the notion of a European conference came up again during informal meetings including European colleagues. For the first time, a European conference actually seemed possible. We discussed a number of possibilities and began an e-mail discussion adding several other colleagues in different countries to the planning. It became apparent that a conference at the Autonomous University of Madrid, which was one of the sites we considered, would be relatively low-cost and feasible to conduct in 2005. And so, after a great deal of input from many people in many countries, here we are. This conference is organized around five themes, or "tracks," which address general and specific areas of interest and concern to ICSA. Sessions may be in English, Spanish, or French; some sessions are repeated in a different language. Assistance TrackThe Assistance Track aims at providing practical information for families, former group members, and professionals. There are sessions to help families learn how to communicate more effectively with a loved one involved in a group, to help former group members deal with recovery issues, and to help the growing population of people born or raised in high-control groups understand and overcome the unique and challenging issues that confront them. Group/Topic TrackThe Group/Topic track includes sessions on specific groups or topics that have generated concern. As two key definitional essays on our main Web site make clear (Langone; Rosedale & Langone), the term "cult" is ambiguous (especially when considered in translation, i.e., secta, secte, setta, sekta) and the influence and control processes often associated with the term may occur in many mainstream as well as alternative groups or movements. This conference includes a series of sessions on movements currently or formerly within the religious mainstream (i.e., University Bible Fellowship and other Evangelical groups; Opus Dei; Legion of Christ; Tradition, Family, Property; Magnificat Meal Movement). These movements have generated concern mainly because of allegations that they are characterized or at least tarnished by what the Vatican report on cults (Vatican Secretariat for Non-Christians, 1986) calls "sectarian mentalities and attitudes" (this report, however, does not mention specific groups) The track also includes a session (in three languages) on the interesting reform movements within the controversial group, ISKCON known by many as the Hare Krishnas” (see http://www.culticstudiesreview.org/csr_idx/idx_report_group.htm for a detailed collection of articles on this movement; also see http://www.culticstudiesreview.org/csr_articles/anuttama_dasa.htm for a transcript of a 1999 conference discussion involving exit counselor Joseph Kelly, ICSA's Dr. Langone, and ISKCON's Anuttama Dasa [contributing also to this conference] and Radha-Devi Dasi). In addition, there are two sessions on Falun Gong, one critical of the group and one critical of the Chinese government's repression of the group. Because so much of the criticism directed at cultic and related groups focuses on subtle methods of manipulation, we have sessions that discuss the abuse and cultic misuse of hypnosis and undue influence in interrogations. Underlining ICSA's contention that the controversy surrounding cultic groups has to do with manipulative behavior rather than religious belief is a session, "12-Step Programs Out of Control," which describes the psychologically controlling and abusive practices of adolescent "treatment" programs. Research TrackThe varied research track constitutes a sampling of the growing body of cultic studies scholarship around the world. The agenda lists the many research sessions, which are impossible to summarize in an integrative way, so we can here present but a very brief sketch of the rich lode of research that will be discussed. An interesting example of the global nature of research is the Group Psychological Abuse Scale, a measure that ICSA developed in the United States, but that has been further developed and applied by researchers based in England, Spain, and Mexico. Several sessions discuss research with this instrument. We have a session on prevalence research (in English and Spanish), which is so vital to an objective evaluation of the impact of the cult phenomenon. We have sessions on the effects of involvement in cultic groups; case studies; the influence continuum, persuasion, the factors that place groups at risk of becoming harmful; definitional and cultural issues; Latin American research on Pentecostalism and the New Age Movement; psychological factors in violent youth groups; research into the experiences and needs of people born or raised in high-control groups; how cultic groups use the Internet; the feelings, values, and beliefs of young Spaniards; politicization of fundamentalist Christianity; human rights and break-away Mormon groups; testimonies of adolescents involved in Satanic cults; mistreatment of children in a Canadian cultic group; the psychobiology of child trauma; and psychological abuse in cults, domestic violence, and the workplace. Legal/Government TrackThe abuses associated with cultic and other high-control groups have motivated some people to push for legal and governmental actions to protect the well-being and religious liberties of individuals being pressured by groups. Others have countered by emphasizing the need to defend minority groups' religious liberties, which such action might curtail. Moreover, these goals of preventing harm to individuals and defending the religious liberty of groups have clashed in very diverse cultural and governmental contexts. This conference includes sessions that describe how various North American and European governments and cultures have approached the problem (as well as a session on human rights issues in the conflict between the Chinese government and Falun Gong). The matter of how to inform the public about cults and new religious movements is also discussed, including a special session on FECRIS (European Federation of Centres of Research and Information on Sectarianism), the umbrella European cult educational organization. The role of social and behavioral science in policy decisions is examined, and law professors from the U.S. and Spain comment on legal implications of the phenomenon. TerrorismThe horrific events of 9/11 in the U.S. and 3/11 in Spain have focused attention on terrorism. The similarities between terrorist groups and cultic dynamics, especially since the 1995 Aum Shinrikyo Sarin gas attack in Tokyo, have been apparent to many investigators. This conference includes a variety of sessions exploring various facets of terrorism and its relationship to cultic dynamics. Some sessions look directly at the connections between cultism and terrorism or compare cultic and terrorist organizations. Others focus on suicide bombers, demonization processes, or the role of Islamic fundamentalists. Still others examine social-psychological perspectives on terrorism, group pathology, the psychological roots of political fanaticism, political and ideological prisoners, discourses employed to legitimize terrorist actions, the impact healthy ex-members can have on terrorists, and collective reactions to 9/11 and 3/11. Plenary SessionThe conference closes with a plenary session by one of the world's leading social psychologists, Dr. Robert Cialdini, Regents’ Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University and author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, among many other books and articles. Dr. Cialdini's talk, "You Don't have to be a Fool to be Fooled," explains how an analysis of powerful social-psychological techniques, which can occur in ordinary life as well as cultic groups, makes clear that former cult members need not feel shame or embarrassment for having been "fooled." Moreover, beyond his scientific contribution, Cialdini’s work has proven to be useful to former members and professionals dealing with harm associated with membership in cultic groups. Important Points to Keep in MindThis introductory talk is designed to help you understand the connection between ICSA and the varied content of this conference. Your knowledge of this field will expand considerably as you listen to the experts who will present during the next few days. We believe, however, that it will be helpful for us to draw your attention to certain propositions that some students of this field tend to overlook. The Label "Cult" is Descriptive not ClassificatoryThose who work in this field are often asked, "Is such-and-such group a cult?" The inquirers often imply that if we tell them it is a cult, they will then know a lot about the group, while if we tell them it is not a cult, they won't have to worry. The fact is, however, that the term "cult" is vague and does not transmit a lot of reliable information. It is an ideal type, which different people define differently and which can prompt us to ask certain questions. It is not a diagnostic or classificatory category, such as "pneumonia," which functions as a short-hand description for a relatively discrete thing with known characteristics (symptoms), etiology, and treatment. In many ways, the label "cult" is similar to personality labels. Suppose, for example, I said, using the personality classification system of the Middle Ages (i.e., the "four humors"): "All phlegmatic people sit in the back left corner, all choleric people sit in the front left corner, all sanguine people sit in the back right corner, and all melancholy people sit in the front right corner." You probably wouldn't know where to go. We've all experienced at some point in our lives all four of these moods, but few of us would feel comfortable being classified by any one of these labels. Nonetheless, each of these adjectives remains active in common usage. They have, however, descriptive, not classificatory, meaning. A particular group, which some may call a "cult," may vary across time and, especially if it is a large group with centers in different geographic locations, on each of the variables used to define the term. Hence, some variables may apply to some controversial groups and not others, e.g., some groups may actively recruit members, while others may not; some groups may routinely lie, while others don't; some groups may be obsessed with collecting money, while others aren't; some groups may insist that members break all family ties, while others don't. In part, the name of our organization reflects the distinction we are here emphasizing. We intentionally did not call ourselves the "Association for the Study of Cults," despite the preference for nouns in such contexts, because of the ambiguity of the term "cult." The adjective "cultic" in our title is descriptive, not diagnostic or classificatory, and in a sense is honest about its ambiguity. It is an adjective implying "of, similar, related, suggestive of" not a noun specifying "is." Individual Variations Exist Even in High-Control EnvironmentsAt ICSA's 2004 conference in Edmonton Canada, Maureen Griffo talked about individual variations in the small Bible group to which she once belonged. She obtained narrative responses to an open-ended survey from 16 former members (a sample probably biased in favor of critical perspectives of the group). Based on her experience and research, one could reasonably infer that this group was indeed a high-control group. Yet even within this powerful environment, there was a surprising degree of individuality among members. Although about three-fourths described themselves as seekers prior to joining, one-fourth did not. Although about three-fourths were recruited through the group's preferred street-proselytizing, one-fourth were recruited in other ways. One ex-member still considered the experience to have been positive, while others described it as a "nightmare." The subtleties of interaction between leader and member are illustrated in the case of a woman who was effective in the leader's business and brought in a substantial amount of money. She was also more assertive than other members. As a result, she was able, for example, to get away with an action that other members deemed unimaginably rebellious: She told the leader's wife to tell her husband to stop listening in on her [the member's] phone conversations! Had her work not been so profitable, she might very well have been kicked out of the group for insubordination. Hence, Ms. Griffo says it is vital to look upon and treat cultic group members as individuals, not as "clones" based on somebody's written or spoken stereotype. Groups vary significantly on each of a multitude of dimensions, and individuals respond differently over time to each dimension within each group. The table below illustrates, in an admittedly simplified way, how different people can honestly describe a group or group leader in contradictory ways. The table, for purposes of explanation, looks at two hypothetical people, one generally high in self-esteem and assertive, one generally low in self-esteem and unassertive. The table speculates about how these two people might react to two different shepherds (immediate superior in some Bible groups), one who is respectful and one who is exploitatively manipulative. As the table shows, depending upon the interaction, one may get false and true positive reports as well as false and true negative reports.
Why Conflicting Reports Concerning Cults May Sometimes Be True: One Example
Concluding CommentAs we have tried to show, this field is not as simple as some accounts portray it to be. That is why research and dialogue are important—as means to increase understanding and as means to increase one's effectiveness in helping or educating others. The sessions and informal as well as formal discussions in this conference provide a broad range of subjects and perspectives that should contribute significantly towards a deeper understanding of this field. ReferencesA.I.S. (Atencion e Investigacion de Socioadicciones). (2005). Grupos de manipulacion psicologica in Cataluna situación y conceptos. Research report. Langone, Michael D. The Definitional Ambiguity of “Cult” and AFF’s Mission. http://www.csj.org/infoserv_articles/langone_michael_term_cult_definitional_ambiquity.htm Langone, Michael D. (2001). Cults, psychological manipulation, and society: International perspectives – an overview. Cultic Studies Journal, 18, 1-12. Rosedale, Herbert L. & Langone, Michael D. On Using the Term "Cult." http://www.csj.org/infoserv_articles/langone_michael_term_cult.htm. Vatican Secretariat for Non-Christians. (1986). Sects or New Religious Movements: A Pastoral Challenge. Cultic Studies Journal, 3(1), 93-116 (reprinted). |
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Last revised: July 11, 2005