I’ll bet none of you expected a post today about fundamentalists. I suspect you anticipated the continuation of The Wilderness Beyond series that I’ve promised to finish. Well, that will be the next post. Because …
I’m in the next phase of self-publishing my memoir (about 17 years I spent in a fundamentalist cult, The Way International) and the subject of fundamentalism is at the forefront of my thinking these days. Past issues are mixed in with my current life and this morning I have a confession. When I left The Way in 1987, I neglected to do something that could have helped me pull out of The Way’s undertow that had dragged me offshore.
Yes, that was a long time ago, but here’s some advice along the lines of “Do what I say, not what I do.” Or in my case, “Not what I did not do.”
What I didn’t do: seek help from former fundamentalists
In 1987 I made my escape from the headquarters of The Way International in New Knoxville, Ohio, (I think The Way is also a destructive cult, or at least it was during the time I was involved). Shortly afterwards, another Way escapee told me about a resource that might help me recover. The resource was a group called Fundamentalists Anonymous (F.A.). It was founded by a man named Richard Yao who had been damaged by the narrow-mindedness and religious bigotry spawned by Christian fundamentalism. He ran the group for a number of years, was sidelined by the Religious Right, and today F.A. is no longer up and running.
Back in ’87, my friend had given me a magazine article about F.A. and as I read it, I recall feeling a kinship with Yao, even though he was a Wall Street lawyer and Yale Divinity School graduate and I had no such credentials. But he was vocal about “the fundamentalist mindset,” which I had rejected without question, and I was glad he was trying to inform the public. Here’s a bit from the website about him (links are below):
“In 1985, Richard Yao, the founder of Fundamentalists Anonymous, started talking about “The Fundamentalist Mindset. In every media, at every stop, Yao defined The Fundamentalist Mindset as the “black-and-white, all-or-nothing, us-against-them” mindset. He argued that it is this mindset, not the different theologies it spawns, which is the core of Fundamentalism. And which makes it so intolerant and dangerous.”
When I left Ohio, I was in such turmoil that I didn’t make the effort to contact Yao. I was in the throes of putting together a new post-Way life, and for those of you who were or are now in that category (I know some subscribers of this blog are former Way followers), you know it’s hard to think straight after you jump off a cliff, which is what we did when we shed our Way identities.
What I did
I kept to myself pretty much, but I wish I had called Richard Yao. I’ll bet he could have given me some kindness and emotional support, specific understanding about fundamentalism. That was hard to find. I was nervous. Back then, The Way was breaking apart (more on this in my book) but I talked to only a few former Way followers. Most had flown like a flock of birds and landed in separate trees. I had returned to college but only shared my experience with a couple of trusted professors. An offshoot of The Way was the last place I would go. A church was … too churchy. A counselor’s office was out of the question. I trusted no one. I went into my default mode: writing and reading. I scribbled in journals. I read books from public and college libraries about cults, fundamentalism, the making of the Bible, world religions, etc.
What happened to Richard Yao?
Today, to the best of my knowledge Richard Yao is still living, but he no longer speaks about the topic, as you will see at the website I’ve linked to below (the two links take you to two pages about F.A. There has not been any evidence to tell me that F.A. as an organization still functions.) Read the pages and be warned. Even in 2016, the information is still relevant. I know from experience.
So in manner of speaking, this post is about a Wilderness Beyond – fundamentalism – to honor the good healing work Yao did and the awareness he raised. Today, many other former fundamentalists are speaking up, taking courage from Yao.
It’s up to us to inform ourselves. It’s time for us to step up to the plate of education about the dangers of fundamentalism of any kind. We can get much of it free, from many sources. We can gain understanding. We can grow in compassion. We can reject the misguided tenants of fundamentalism and challenge it with informed civil discourse.
Click: The Fundamentalist Mindset
For the second part, click: The FA Story
Care to share ideas? Comments are welcome.
See you next time for more about The Wilderness Beyond. I mean the one in Patagonia.
Cheers!
Charlene
Marjorie
As the mother of a young woman who spent 6 years following “the Teacher”, I can tell all doubters that, as much as the experience affects the actual believer, the entire family is also deeply affected. We were called, among other things, agents of Satan because we wrote questioning letters. She came home once in six years for a two day visit to throw out all of her “old man” belongings,including pictures, Beatles records, etc. When she walked in the house she told us she could smell Satan, so she slept on the sofa near the front door. We spent those 6 years learning all we could about not only the Way, but all of the other high control groups, including Fundamentalist Christianity. There was a book published in 1983 by Flo Conway& Jim Siegleman called “Holy Terror”, which is still apropos today.
Charlene L. Edge
Thanks for sharing your story here, Marjorie.
Rob Ruff
Amazing and instructive that 50,000 people responded to Yao after his Donahue television appearance. From your post I gather that he passed away. Did anyone continue his work?
Charlene L. Edge
He did have a massive effect. No, he has not passed away to the best of my knowledge. I have revised the post to make that clear.
As for F.A., I have not seen any evidence to tell me it is in operation anymore.
Roz
To someone never involved in religious fundamentalism or cults, this is the wilderness and very interesting. Thanks for the informative post.
Charlene L. Edge
I appreciate your reading my work here, Roz.
Cheers!
Adam
I love this line:
“Most had flown like a flock of birds and landed in separate trees.”
Great stuff, Yao seemed like a real cool guy, thanks for the link! 🙂
John Butler
Charlene,
Thanks for the thought and wisdom you bring to this topic. I am one of those ex followers of The Way and find your take on the experience always informing.
Charlene L. Edge
John, I appreciate your adding to this post. Wouldn’t it be great if more people like Yao were around?
Daniel
I was raised in a “mainstream” fundamentalist mission organization supported by mainstream conservative christian churches, where I was sent to an abusive missionary boarding school at age five and then sent to 4 separate missionary foster homes during my high school years, all justified by my parents as simply God’s will. I understand the dualistic “all or nothing”, good or bad way of thinking and it is terribly dehumanizing and destructive to the human soul and spirit. The symptoms of growing up fundamentalist are very similar to extreme co-dependency where the children have difficulty creating a sense of autonomy and valuing the self. Dissociation is used very early to deal with the trauma created by this ideology. They belong nowhere and feel guilt and shame by partaking in “normal” behaviors in society. This is part of the “cult” programming that uses brainwashing, an extremely over sensitive sense of guilt and shame, as well as early “fear” programing that exposes very young children to the concept of eternal torture by a “loving” god if they don’t comply with “perfect” thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. They often live in fear, guilt and shame. Either you become isolated as part of the fundamentalist group and submit to the “rules” or you are demonized and exiled as a back slider that has chosen the way of Satan. These are very destructive organization as I know in my constant battle to overcome my fundamentalist christian background. These type of organizations have no idea what love and forgiveness and acceptance of humanness means. They love you unconditionally only if you are perfect according to their rules, which obviously is not unconditional.
Charlene L. Edge
Hi Daniel,
I appreciate your taking the time to share a bit of your story here. Healing takes time, doesn’t it? I wish you well!
All my best,
Charlene
John Santo
I have always had great regard for Richard Yao and the work he did. For awhile I was a counselor for Fundamentalists Anonymous, and I believe I was able to help at least a few people. There is no doubt the religious right sought to destroy the organization. However, with reluctance, I made a difficult decision to leave it before that was accomplished. My reason was that it appeared increasingly atheists were attracted to FA and assuming a greater role in its activities. This was not the case when it first started, and I do not think it was Yao’s intention. I respect atheists and their views. However, I did not feel FA was established to convert fundamentalists to atheistic thinking, and as a progressive or liberal Christian I wanted no part in that. In the future if a successor to FA should be born I hope it can avoid this direction.
Charlene L. Edge
Thank you, John, for this insight. It is very useful and helps me understand the history of FA.
Wishing you a happy holiday!
Charlene