Posted by Lone Wolf on July 26, 2006 at 19:56:59
In Reply to: Cultic Studies Review article Pt. 4 (conclusion) posted by Lone Wolf on July 26, 2006 at 19:55:42:
References
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Notes
[i] For example, most of the major news networks carried the story. In addition, magazines such as Rolling Stone published lengthy accounts of the group’s history in relation to Rodriguez’s death (see Wilkinson, 2005).
[ii] Flirty Fishing (FFing) was a practice whereby female members engaged in varying degrees of sexual contact with potential male recruits as a method of proselytization.
[iii] Academic research on the movement began in the 1970s; thus, a large body of literature precedes the works that this article discusses. See, for example, Davis and Richardson (1976), Enroth, Ericson, and Breckinridge (1972), Kent (1994a), Kent (1994b), Lewis and Melton Eds. (1994), Melton (1991), Wallis (1981), Wallis (1983), Van Zandt (1991), and Wangerin (1993).
[iv] Williams Boeri (2005) discusses the sexual socialization process in detail.
[v] Of course, one might agree with Melton that FFing simply was a form of “evangelicalistic outreach” (Melton 1994b:74, 2004:13), or with Millikan, who frames his discussion of FFing in terms of “Women as Heroes” (Millikan, 1994:215–217). Note that Williams also did not initially find problem with the practice (Williams, 1998:96) until the effects of FFing began to take a toll on her both psychologically and physically.
[vi] Berg termed contemporary society and the institutions that are a part of it the “System.” He named people who were a part of the System “Systemites.”
[vii] See Bromley (1998) for a discussion of apostasy.
[viii] Band homes housed the group’s musicians and dancers. Berg placed fewer restrictions on these homes because the members brought significant funds and positive attention to the movement. Williams provides a good account of one such home in France.
[ix] Note that Williams does apply a critical feminist perspective in her 2002 article.
[x] The GSS is a data-gathering tool designed to garner American public opinion on a variety of domains of social life.
[xi] For example, Bainbridge starts the book with an account of the raids on COG/The Family homes in Argentina, Australia, France, Spain, and Mexico. He raises some very important concerns about police brutality, criminal negligence, and the inappropriate separation of parents from their children. He does not discuss, however, COG/The Family’s abuses against children and adults in the movement; thus, we are left with a very unbalanced picture. A discussion of the events and circumstances that led up to the raids would have provided the uninformed reader with much-needed background information. Mishandling and mistreatment of adults and children are certainly not acceptable under any circumstances, but readers need to know the context of the raids, and that COG/The Family also has directed abuses at its own members. I return to a discussion of the raids in my review of J. Gordon Melton’s (2004) book. For Chancellor’s (2000) discussion of the raids, see pp. 195–204.
[xii] The book is most likely designed to be an introductory text to the group. The publication is one of many brief texts that the Centre for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR) has published in conjunction with Signature Books. It appears from the publication information that the book was first published in Italian. Melton (2000) has also produced a text on Scientology as part of this series.
[xiii] For an expansion of this discussion, see Melton (1994a).
[xiv] Note that Berg reviewed the topic of sexually transmitted diseases in the Mo Letter “Afflictions” (Berg, 1976a:4188–4219). In the letter, he claimed that he had considered stopping the practice of FFing because of the risks it posed to the women. As he contemplated the issue, however, he concluded that Jesus likely had contracted a venereal disease at some point, too; hence, there is no shame in it. He argued that just as Jesus suffered disease and, more importantly, crucifixion, the female disciples should continue to surrender their bodies, “even at the risk of afflictions!” (Berg, 1976a:4219). When the reality of venereal diseases became evident, Berg finally ordered an end to FFing.
[xv] Note that although Melton’s book first appeared in Italian in 1997, this edition is published in 2004; thus, opportunities for revisions existed.
[xvi] Noted sociologist Roy Wallis (who researched extensively both COG/The Family and Scientology) commented on his Scientology research, “Had I wished for an analysis of the content of the documents, I would have conducted a content analysis. But something said only once in a body of documentation may have as much influence on organizational and individual behaviour as something said a thousand times” (Wallis, 1977:vii).
[xvii] Other contemporary accounts comment also on the group’s countercultural appeal to idealistic youth when they discuss the group’s early history and conversion motifs (for example, Chancellor, 2002:38–39, 41, 54; Williams, 1998:25), as have others in the past (for example, Bromley and Newton, 1994:42; Davis with Davis, 1984, pp. 36–43; Wallis, 1981:98–100; Wangerin, 1993).
[xviii] Miriam Williams Boeri is Miriam Williams’ (1998) married name.
[xix] See Kent (1994b) for one perspective on Berg’s own sexuality.
[xx] Note that Stephen Kent (2001b) integrated components of this article in his contribution to Zablocki and Robbins’ edited volume, Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field (2001a).
[xxi] Prior research favourable to the brainwashing thesis includes Kent (2001a), Kent (2001b), Scheflin and Opton (1978), Singer and Lalich (1995), and Zablocki (2001). For research critical of the brainwashing model, see Anthony (1990), Anthony (2001), Bromley (2001), and Dawson (2001). For a brief history of some key court cases in which brainwashing theory has played a role, see Melton (2002).
[xxii] Note that Chancellor (2000:180) rejects the brainwashing hypothesis and instead uses the term “indoctrination” on several occasions (pp. 58, 210, and 244). He does not define indoctrination.
[xxiii] See http://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_topic_collections/tpcol_acadialog.htm and http://www.cesnur.org/testi/se_brainwash.htm for two different perspectives on the brainwashing disputes.
[xxiv] Note that The Love Charter still includes some controversial material in terms of child sexuality. For example, the Mo Letter “The Devil Hates Sex!” is still “priority reading” (The Family, 1995:205). This publication contains a dialogue between Berg and his mistress, Maria, in which they discuss societal taboos against incest. Maria states, “Well, we’ll just have to tell the kids that it’s not prohibited by God...” (Berg, 1980:7696). After a brief discussion, Berg adds, “I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE HELL AGE HAS GOT TO DO WITH IT” (Berg, 1980:7697).
[xxv] Likely a play on the word “Christianity,” Berg coined the term “Churchianity” as a derogative way to refer to mainstream, traditional religion.
[xxvi] For a discussion of COG/The Family’s early organizational structure, see Davis and Richardson (1976).
[xxvii] From the earlier body of academic scholarship, Van Zandt’s Living in The Children of God (1991) is a comprehensive and balanced account. Van Zant spent a month undercover as a member in the 1970s, then spent several more months researching the group, with its permission.
Acknowledgements
I would like to extend my thanks to Jeffrey Kaplan for his time, consideration, and guidance during the preparation of this article. I would like also to thank Paul Joose and Matt Unger for proofreading and suggestions.