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Denouement of the Prophets’ Cult: The
Church Universal and Triumphant in Decline
Joseph P. Szimhart
Abstract
This material was originally prepared for a presentation at AFF’s annual
conference, June 14-15, 2002, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Orlando (FL) Airport.
This paper examines the historical background of Church Universal and Triumphant
(CUT), including Madame Blavatsky’s Theosophy and the Ballard’s I Am movement,
CUT’s considerable growth from its founding by Mark Prophet in the late 1950s to
its heyday in the 1980s, Elizabeth Claire Prophet’s leadership of the group,
controversies and lawsuits, the group’s move to Montana and allegations of
possession of illegal weapons, the reorganization of the movement in the late
1990s by which time the leader was suffering from dementia, and the development
of rival spin-off movements. The article concludes that the decline in
membership has no single cause. Devotees have defected for a variety of reasons,
most because of conflicts about the validity of the Messenger’s role and godlike
status. The author expects the organization to continue to sell books and tapes
and to settle in the American religious landscape with a relatively small number
of from 1,000 to 3,000 devoted supporters, although this might fall below 500
within a generation.
Full text available through
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