|
Cult Information Bookstore
|
International Cultic Studies Association |
|
Vol. 4, No. 2, June 2005 |
||
Table of ContentsArticles and Conference Reports for ICSA E-Newsletter
Name Change Reminder: ICSA (Formerly AFF)ICSA 2005 Conference in Madrid, July 14-16Latest Issue of Cultic Studies ReviewEducation and Research News
Books, Articles, and Web Sites Brought to Our Attention
Group News
Remember to Refresh Your BrowserPlease DonateIn order to make it easier for you to peruse this document we have added bookmarks and hyperlinks. Click on a content area above that interests you and it will bring you to that section. Click on an up arrow in the text and it will bring you back to the contents list. If you see words in the text (not titles/headers) that are bold and in blue or teal (your browser may change the color), they are hyperlinks that you can click on to bring up other sites. Whenever possible, we try to make hyperlinks bring up another window, so this site will always be running in the background.
International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) is New Name for AFF (American Family Foundation)In December 2004 AFF (American Family Foundation) officially changed its name to International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA). The change of name had been discussed for many years. Until a few years ago, those who felt that "AFF" had established an identity and was "known" had prevailed. However, several factors tilted the name-change decision in favor of those wanting a new name. First of all, the constituency of the organization has changed over the past 25 years. Initially, nearly everybody who contacted AFF for help did so because he/she had a child involved in a cultic group. AFF's unique role was to bring these parents into contact with helping professionals, increasing numbers of whom became interested in and/or involved with AFF as time passed. By the early 1990s, however, the majority of people contacting the organization were former group members who had left their groups without an intervention ("walk-aways"). By the late 1990s, AFF and people associated with the organization had completed a sizeable body of research and an increasing number of researchers began to get involved with the organization. Moreover, at some recent conferences 25% of the attendees were from outside the U.S. Today, we speak of our four international constituencies of family members, former members, researchers, and helping professionals (including mental health, law, clergy, educators – some of whom are also former members of groups or family members of involved persons). Consequently, although "family" may have reflected the organization's focus in its early years, it no longer is THE focus, though it still remains a vital concern. Most people favored "cultic studies" because it expressed the organization's interest areas without being so narrow and precise as to exclude phenomena that might be similar but not equivalent to those associated with the admittedly vague concept "cult." Many high-control or abusive groups from which people leave are not necessarily "cults" in a strict sense, but they may nonetheless resemble "cults" in some ways. "Cultic studies" also gives us a link to the past, for our journal has used that term since 1984 and our main Web site has used the term for the past several years. The growth of the Web has also influenced the name change in that nearly everybody who contacts the organization today found out about us through a Web search. And these people rarely ever heard of "AFF" or "American Family Foundation." Therefore, a name that more accurately reflects what concerns the organization will more effectively "welcome" Web surfers than a name that many people associate with right wing political organizations, despite the fact that AFF/ICSA has always included people from across the political and religious spectrums. We have begun modifying our Web sites to reflect the name change, a project that will take some time to complete. We hope you will be patient About ICSA and Overview of the Issues
ICSA 2005 Conference in Madrid, July 14-16
International Cultic Studies Association (formerly AFF) and The Psychology Faculty, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Present Psychological Manipulation, Cultic Groups, and Other Alternative Movements July 14-16, 2005
The audience for this conference consists of researchers, helping professionals, former group members, families of group-involved persons, and others. The sessions are organized into five "tracks" or theme areas: (1) assistance, (2) research, (3) groups, (4) terrorism, and (5) legal/government. Some sessions are repeated in another language at another time. More than 100 speakers will give talks. For details, see the hyperlinks in the table below.
Where: Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain), Psychology Department When: July 14-16, 2005 (9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.) Accommodations: (1) University residences (very inexpensive; you may arrive early and depart late to build a vacation around the conference); (2) nearby hotels Meals: University cafeterias (about $6). In evening attendees are free to go to Madrid restaurants. Low-Cost Vacation Because of the low cost of the university residence rooms (which include kitchens), two people could spend two weeks in the beautiful city of Madrid for about $2400 ($1200 per person) plus meals and ground travel, given airfares current at the end of 2004. Most of Spain is within a day trip from Madrid, including Toledo, San Lorenzo del Escorial, Avila, and Segovia. Consult your tax advisor about possible tax-deductions related to attending the conference.
Latest Issue of Cultic Studies ReviewArticles
Book Reviews
News Summaries
Education and Research NewsFECRIS Obtains Consultative Status with the Council of EuropeFAIR News (May 2005) printed "Recommendation 1697 (2005)[1]" of the Council of Europe. FECRIS (the European Federation of Research and Information Centres on Sectarism) applied for consultative status with the Council on December 13, 2001. Although the Secretary General of the Council of Europe initially made a favorable decision on the application, three parliamentarians subsequently challenged this decision, so the matter was referred to the Parliamentary Assembly for review. The report lists 11 allegations made against FECRIS, including human rights violations, supporting the French "About-Picard" law, "falsely creating situations of public panic or hysteria," inappropriate use of the word "sect," through a member organization calling for "the ground of religion to be excluded from European prohibitions on discrimination," through a member organization calling for "arbitrary detention of sect members," being involved with the allegedly "reprehensible" or "sinister" late Dr. L. J. West, AFF, and "individuals connected to its member group AIS," and attacks against the Council of Europe's principles of tolerance made by the FECRIS Vice-President and another member. The conclusion: On the basis of the above findings of fact, the Assembly considers that the evidentiary material put forward by the three parliamentarians who challenged the initial decision is insufficient to justify a conclusion different to that reached by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and consequently recommends that the Committee of Ministers grant FECRIS consultative or participatory status, as appropriate. Hal Mansfield Wins Award from the City of Fort Collins (Colorado) Human Relations CommissionOn May 8, 2005, Hal Mansfield won the Human Relations Award - Adult Category – of the City of Fort Collins Human Relations Commission: The award states: "The winner of the adult category is Hal Mansfield, founder and Director of the Religious Movement Resource Center. Hal was nominated by his wife, Linda Benefiel. He has dedicated 30 years of his life to combating hate groups and destructive organizations, and educating thousands of people about cults. Hal offers wise counsel and compassionate support to those involved in hate groups and their families. He continues to gather data about cultic impacts and has investigated excessive social and behavioral influence in non-mainstream religious groups, hate groups, sales organizations, and other groups since 1978. Just last year, he handled 756 calls and consultations and his website received over 4,000 hits. He is an experienced speaker and freely donates his time and expertise to educate university groups, church groups, and law enforcement officials. He single-handedly organized the successful 1998 Rocky Mountain State Conference on Cults, Gangs, and Hate Groups. In addition, he is a committed volunteer with reFOCUS, a support and referral network for former members of cults and ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association)." Janja Lalich, Ph.D. PromotionDr. Janja Lalich was recently awarded tenure and Associate Professor status (Department of Sociology) at California State University, Chico. Dr. Lalich was also interviewed on BBC Radio's "Thinking Allowed," which aired on January 26. The program was about charismatic cults and charismatic leaders, and this segment focused on Lalich's new book, Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults, in relation to the overall topic. An archive can be found under "Previous Programmes" at www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/thinkingallowed.shtml Minnesota ConferenceJay Howard, who has studied cults for 30 years, organized a three-day workshop on cults and the occult. The workshop took place May 12 to 14 at Brooklyn Park Evangelical Free Church. The workshop included presentations by Dr. Paul Martin, Director of Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center, and Rev. Robert Pardon, Director of the New England Institute of Religious Research and MeadowHaven. Daytona Beach News Journal Publishes Story on Carol GiambalvoDonna Callea, a staff writer for the Dayton Beach News Journal, published a story on February 12, 2005 describing Carol Giambalvo's work to help people adversely affected by cultic groups. Callea interviewed Giambalvo, Laura Weber, a professional who decided to leave a high-pressure group after talking with Giambalvo, and several experts in the field. The author describes Giambalvo's effort to promote ethical standards within the thought reform consultation, or exit counseling, field and her approach to helping people like Weber. Conference on Neopentecostal Groups in Saratov, RussiaThe Center of Religious Studies in Moscow conducted a conference on Neopentecostal groups May 10-11, 2005. Participants included Rev. Thomas Gandow of Germany and Dr. Per Swartling of Sweden, as well as several other noted specialists from Russia and other former USSR countries. INFORM Seminar in LondonThe British organization INFORM conducted its 34th seminar on May 14, 2005 at the New Theatre of the London School of Economics & Political Science. The theme of the seminar was New Religious Movements and 'Outside' Marriage. Conference: Society for the Scientific Study of Religion/Religious Research AssociationNovember 4-6, 2005, Hyatt Regency, Rochester, New York. Themes: Multiplying the Study of Religion (SSSR); Congregations, Denominations and Research on Religion: Promoting Cooperation (RRA). Linda Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D. ArticleDr. Linda Dubrow-Marshall of RETIRN/UK published a brief article in FAIR News, Issue 1, 2005 on emotional issues for former cultists. She discusses the manipulation of emotional states, emotional reactions upon exiting a cultic environment, and the utility of counseling and psychotherapy for former cult members. Douglas Agustin TalkDoug Agustin reports that on Tuesday February 8, 2005, he spoke to the psychology classes of Professor Gerald Mertens at St. Cloud State College on "Undue Influence and Comparisons of Influence in Cults and False Memory Syndrome." February News from Info-Cult/Info-SecteInfo-Cult and Volunteers Info-Cult benefits from the involvement of volunteers in many aspects of the organization’s operations. For instance: · Former members and families who have or have ha |
