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A Workshop for People Born or Raised in Cultic Groups
Kelley McCabe
Lorna Goldberg, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.
Michael Langone, Ph.D.
Kristen DeVoe, M.S.W.
Abstract
Researchers estimate that at least 2,500,000 Americans have joined cultic groups
during the past 30-40 years. Some who joined groups during the 1960s, 1970s,
and 1980s had children who were raised in highly controlling cultic
environments. Today thousands of these “SGAs” (Second Generation Adults) leave
cultic groups every year. These adults struggle with a variety of problems
stemming from the childhood abuse and neglect that they suffered, ranging from
the aftereffects of childhood sexual abuse to gross educational neglect that
impacts their mental health, self-esteem, and ability to earn a living. Because
the common support networks of family and friends are often still in their
cultic groups, SGAs have limited means and ability to obtain the professional
help they need. We expect SGAs to need this kind of help for the foreseeable
future. International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) developed a weekend
workshop in order to provide SGAs with an efficient and affordable way to begin
the recovery process.
Rutgers sociologist Benjamin
Zablocki defines a cult as "an ideological organization held together by
charismatic relationships and demanding total commitment." According to
Zablocki, cults are at high risk of becoming abusive to members in part because
members' adulation of charismatic leaders contributes to their becoming
corrupted by the power they seek and are accorded.
A conspicuous upsurge in cultic
activity occurred in the 1960s and has continued to the present. Usually,
cultic group recruitment focuses on young people, although many older persons
and even entire families are also recruited. Most cult members ultimately leave
their groups, but a substantial minority remains long enough to bear children,
who spend their childhood and adolescence in the group. Many such children were
born in the 1970’s and 1980’s and are now leaving the groups in which they were
raised. Commonly called “second generation” former members or SGAs (second
generation adults), increasing numbers of these individuals are seeking
psychological, educational, and social assistance. A recently completed
dissertation that investigated this population concluded:
In the samples studied in this thesis, second generation
former members were found to have experienced significantly more psychological
maltreatment and physical victimisation in childhood compared to those not
raised in sects. The second generation also had significantly higher levels of
psychological distress after leaving their sect than those not raised in a sect.
(Kendall, 2006)
Why Cultic Groups Can Harm Children
Cultic groups foster unhealthy
forms of dependency by focusing on submission and obedience to those in
authority. Research studies, most notably the work of Dr. Paul Martin and
associates (Martin et al., 1992), demonstrate that psychologically abusive
groups tend to create a state of anxious dependency in their members. Such a
state maximizes the leadership’s capacity to control members in a variety of
ways. The leadership’s subtle manipulations and/or forceful demands are
reinforced by a system of rewards or punishments that always are changing,
sometimes with different reactions to the same “offense.” This constant need to
serve the leadership in the face of changing doctrine prevents members from
becoming complacent and fosters a sense of anxious dependency. Hence, they are
always trying to please while never feeling that they measure up.
Such a state of affairs can
have serious consequences for children. Children are raised in an environment
in which dire threats (for example: the “devil”), and regular criticism of their
failings make them feel insecure, self-hating, and dependent upon leadership for
whatever intermittent reinforcement leadership provides. Such an environment is
the opposite of what the psychological community would recommend for the rearing
of children.
A second detrimental
consequence of such psychologically abusive environments results from the
tendency for leadership to treat parents as “middle management” with regard to
their own children. Parents are seduced and/or pressured into relinquishing
primary responsibility for making decisions that impinge upon their children’s
welfare. Cult parents are made to feel that they are being “selfish” when they
have a normal desire for a special, loving, or exclusive relationship with their
children, and their belief in the leader’s worldview leaves them unable to
nurture and protect their own offspring. Thus, educational decisions,
disciplinary measures, medical decisions, etc., will frequently issue from the
group’s leader, directly or indirectly. If the leader does not value children or
subscribes to a belief in corporal punishment, severe harm can be inflicted upon
the children. A growing body of research indicates that early childhood trauma
can adversely alter brain development and place such children at high risk of
being severely troubled adults.
The “black or white” attitudes
of cultic groups place children in a position of either submitting totally or
risking severe psychological, and sometimes physical, punishment. Neither of
these options—suppression of natural tendencies to test limits and assert
individuality vs. exposure to possibly severe and persistent punishments—is
conducive to the growth of self-esteem and a secure sense of belonging to a
caring community.
Internalization of “black or
white” attitudes is reinforced by the closed logical systems of such groups.
Belief systems are usually so structured that leadership is always right. If a
group advocates meditation or prayer to cure physical ills and a member who
meditates or prays remains sick, then leadership draws the conclusion that the
member is not meditating or praying enough, or not doing it correctly. Children
raised in such environments cannot develop confidence in themselves, or their
immediate environment, because they can be criticized even when they obey; for
they are obeying irrational belief systems that often have negative consequences
in the real world. But because the belief system by definition is unassailable,
the child will always be “wrong.”
It is almost self-evident that
groups that are isolationist, subjectivist, and logically closed will hinder
children’s attempts to learn the interpersonal, intellectual, and practical
skills that mainstream society puts so much effort into teaching children. If
reason is denigrated because reason threatens the irrational beliefs of
leadership, a child’s capacity to reason will be stunted. If the outside world
is viewed as evil, a child’s opportunity to interact with a variety of people
and to learn practical skills in the world will be restricted.
The adoption of “black or
white” attitudes, anxious dependency, a closed system of logic, and the
isolationism of psychologically abusive groups lead to rigidity, not
flexibility. Moreover, the tendency to demonize those who disagree or disobey
will come into conflict with normal developmental changes, such as teenagers’
tendency to test limits by breaking rules. Parents of adolescents must learn to
let go of their control as their children learn to behave independently and
responsibly. In addition, parents must be flexible; otherwise their children
will have much difficulty in learning the skills required to be a responsible
and self-sufficient adult. The rigidity of psychologically abusive environments
make the teenage years, a developmental challenge for flexible and understanding
parents in the mainstream world, even more stressful for cult-member parents and
their offspring. Adolescents who are raised in cults and who test out new
behaviors and attempt to openly or, more likely, secretly act against the
group’s doctrine experience themselves as evil.
Problems of Second-Generation Ex-members
Growing up in abusive
authoritarian environments leaves SGAs with a difficult set of cognitive,
emotional, social, and educational problems impairing their ability to become
independently functioning adults. They may lack the educational and social
skills required to succeed in the work world. Their repeated experiences with
interpersonal manipulation and control cause them to fear and distrust other
people; hence, in addition to leaving family and/or friends behind in the cult,
they often lack new friendship networks, to lean on in difficult times. SGAs
frequently suffer from low self-esteem and depression, which further interfere
with their ability to cope with life’s challenges.
Lacking the educational and
social skills required to make a good living, combined with a lack of
confidence, emotional stability, and social support, SGAs have little they can
leverage in order to obtain the professional assistance required to break out of
a circular problem.
Scope of the Problem
To assess the scope of this
problem would require epidemiological studies that society has thus far not been
willing to fund. However, there are a handful of research studies that permit
us to make a rough estimate of the magnitude of the problem.
From his review of this
research, Langone (Langone, Internet) conservatively estimates prevalence as
follows:
Assuming a
lifetime incidence of 2,500,000 people having belonged to cultic groups, a
"lifetime" period of 30 years, and an average length of stay of six years,
Langone roughly estimates that approximately 500,000 people belong to cultic
groups at any one time and approximately 85,000 go in and out of cultic groups
each year.
Conservatively estimating that
5% of those passing through cultic groups remain long enough to raise children
in their groups, and that these individuals will have an average of one child
per person (two per couple), then we can estimate that approximately 125,000
people in the United States were born or raised in cultic groups.
How the ICSA SGA Workshop Helps Participants
The International Cultic
Studies Association (ICSA) Workshop for Second Generation (SGA) ex-members was
established to address the special difficulties experienced by this group and to
aid in their post-cult recovery. Since many in this population lived in rather
primitive and/or harsh surroundings while in their groups, often lacking privacy
and facing not only neglect, but abusive treatment; we believed that the setting
of the workshop was central to the recovery process. For this reason we chose a
rural retreat center with a serene wooded atmosphere and comfortable private
rooms.
The workshop begins prior to
dinnertime on Friday afternoon and ends on Sunday at 2:30 pm. Initially,
participants are welcomed to the workshop and told what to expect over the
course of the week-end. Questions are encouraged and answered. It is
emphasized that each program will begin with a presentation that will serve as
“food for thought” during the ample time for reflection, reaction, and
discussion that follows. Some participants arrive at the workshop with a
mixture of trepidation and suspicion (along with hopefulness) about what will
occur. The introduction emphasizes the importance of getting feedback from them
all along the way. The facilitators emphasize that, although we might have some
information to offer, we are here to learn from them about their experiences.
Friday evening, the first
program focuses on the topic of “Critical Thinking.” Since participants have
left environments in which critical thinking was discouraged, the presenter’s
goal is to help participants recognize the value of a healthy skeptical attitude
towards information they are given. As with all the sessions to follow, the
presenter gives numerous anecdotes and concrete examples of the different ways
that particular situations might be handled. Further group discussion enables
the participants to observe how they were conditioned to be hyper-vigilant and
to give answers to the leaders that reinforced the leaders’ agendas.
On the second day of the
workshop, the program begins with two sessions by therapists who also are second
generation former cultists. The topics are on “The Second Generation’s Culture
of Submission and Hidden Rebellion with High Demand Groups” and “Dealing with
Culture Shock” of entering the wider world after having been raised in a cultic
group. As with all of the presentations, the purpose of these topics is to help
participants identify the issues with which they have been struggling. After
lunch, the topics include: “Evaluating Family Systems: What is Healthy? What
Behavior is Abusive?”, “What is Your Own Experience?,” “Child/Adolescent
Development: What is Normal?”, and “The Impact on Development in a High Demand
Group.” Finally, the concept of “Resiliency” is presented in order to focus on
the development of strengths in these former cult members.
After dinner there is free
time, including a social hour with an optional magic show and later games. A
night of fun allows the participants to “let off steam” after a day of
emotionally laden topics. (All of the programs are optional. If participants
wish to leave a particular session, they always are free to do so. Since the
participants were born into or raised in groups that were authoritarian
organizations, it is important to emphasize that they have choices throughout
the weekend.)
On Sunday the focus is on “The
Harsh Conscience of Second Generation Former Cult Members” and “Relationships
with Family Members and Others.” Along with gaining more awareness of punitive
attitudes towards themselves and others, former cultists are offered the
alternative of a more compassionate, forgiving way of relating. These
presentations are followed by a Wrap-Up and Feedback Session after lunch.
In entering the wider world
after growing up in a cultic group, second generation former cultists often feel
themselves to be immigrants in a new land. However, they usually have not
arrived in this new land with other members from their original country. They
usually are alone, often with limited educational, vocational, and social
skills. The purpose of this weekend is to offer fellowship and the knowledge
that they are not alone in experiencing their alienation from the wider world.
Although the doctrine of all of their groups is different, the manipulations,
exploitation, and deprivations are similar. To understand that the participants
are not unique, to begin to develop a common bond with others, and to identify
those experiences that continue to undermine their happiness and success in the
wider world is a truly therapeutic and transforming experience. Many of the
participants have continued to keep in touch with others through a listserv that
was developed after the workshop and, for some, by seeing others at ICSA
Conferences.
One participant
was on the brink of suicide when she attended the SGA workshop last Spring. At
the SGA workshop, she found a community of hope and information. She found
professionals who guided her and peers who understood her. She found that she
was not the only Second Generation Adult out there who had been stripped of her
innocence and denied a proper childhood. She found a reason to live.
There are twenty eight others who attended the workshop who also found comfort
and strength to face their pain and begin to heal their wounds. Several
attendees had lost siblings to suicide; several had tried to commit suicide
themselves. There are thousands, literally thousands, of Second Generation
Adults out there who are struggling; struggling to find their identities and
their true communities.
“The
harvest is great,” Jesus said, “and the laborers are few.” The SGA workshop
provides help for a handful of lucky cult survivors. It’s not enough, but it is
a start.
References
Kendall, Lois (2006). A
Psychological Exploration into the Effects of Former Membership of ‘Extremist
Authoritarian Sects.’ A dissertation submitted to Brunel University,
Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College; Department of Psychology, United
Kingdom.
Langone, Michael. (Internet).
Prevalence. http://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_articles/langone_michael_prevalence.htm
Martin, Paul, Michael D.
Langone, Arthur A. Dole, Jeffrey Wiltrout. (1992). Post-Cult Symptoms as
Measured by the MCMI Before and After Residential Treatment. Cultic Studies
Journal, 9(2), 219-250.
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