Do you know that cults are not just weird fringe groups from the 1970s but that many operate around the world today? Who joins them, leaves them, and suffers from their abuse?
Cult Info Today
I’ve been give permission to republish the following e-newsletter from the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA). Over the years, I’ve shared my cult story with ICSA members at conferences where I met many dedicated counselors, educators, and cult survivors raising awareness about the dangers of cults and helping heal the abused.
Prepare yourself. What you are about to read may disturb you.
ICSA E-Newsletter
7 June 2019
ICSA E-Newsletters share articles or other information of interest or importance to ICSA members . Content of e-newsletters is not necessarily endorsed by ICSA, its directors, staff, volunteers, or members. ICSA provides information from many points of view in order to promote dialogue among interested parties.
1979 – 2019: How the Population Entering the ICSA Network has Changed
Michael D. Langone, PhD
In the late 1970s and through most of the 1980s, a large majority (probably over 80%) of the people attending conferences or seeking help from ICSA (then known as American Family Foundation – AFF) were parents concerned about a young adult child involved in or formerly involved in a cultic group.
At the 2008 ICSA annual conference, 14% of attendees were parents, who themselves had never been in a cult and were concerned about a cult-involved loved one. 58% of attendees were former group members, and 41% of these (24% of total attendees) had been born or raised in cultic groups. The percentage of born-or-raised attending ICSA conferences has been steadily rising during the past 10 – 15 years.
Thus, whereas non-cult parents dominated the early years of this field, former members dominate today, with the born-or-raised being the fastest growing constituency within ICSA.
In 1978 journalists Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman conducted a survey (1986) of 426 former cult members from the emerging cult awareness movement. These 426 persons came from 40 different groups (10.65 subjects per group on average); 76% came from one of 5 groups; and 44% came from the Unification Church. 70% had been deprogrammed; the average age of joining was 21 and they spent an average of 2.7 years in their group.
In 1991 AFF’s Dr. Michael Langone conducted a survey from the same network of people. 308 subjects came from 101 different groups (3.05 subjects per group on average); 33% came from the top 5 with 16% coming from the largest group. Average age of joining was 24.8, and subjects spent an average of 6.7 years in their group.
Between August 2014 and December 2018, 1351 people completed an online survey designed by ICSA. 822 of these persons named a group. In total 435 groups were named, an average of 1.90 subjects per group).
Thus, former members entering the ICSA network today come from a much larger variety of groups (an average of 1.90 subjects per group compared to an average of 10.65 subjects per group in 1978).
Note: These figures apply only to those who enter the ICSA orbit. Reliable scientific data do not exist regarding the broad population of cult joiners and cult leavers.
References
Conway, F., Siegelman, J. H., & Coggins, J. (1986). Information disease: effects of covert induction and deprogramming. Update, 10(2), 45-57.
Langone, M. D. Questionnaire Study: Preliminary Report. icsahome.com/articles/questionnaire-study-preliminary-report-langone
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NOTE from Charlene: I owe many thanks to Michael D. Langone, PhD, Executive Director of ICSA, who is a shining example of dedication to helping cult victims and their families with support and education and with his many publications and books to educate the public. He generously provided a “blurb” that appears on the back cover of my memoir, Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International.
See you next time!
Your writer on the wing,
Charlene
