Stepping out of the Ivory Tower: A Sociological Engagement in ‘The Cult Wars’

Abstract

The paper describes how the author's research into a new religious movement in the 1970s led to her finding herself a player in the ‘cult wars’, with a variety of different groups competing to have their constructions of images of the movements accepted by policy makers and the general public. The main players were the movements themselves, their opponents in the form of various ‘cult-watching groups’, and the media. Critical of the selective nature of the images, and concerned about the impact that these were having on ‘the cult scene’, the author founded Inform, an independent NGO that draws upon the methodology of the social sciences to provide information about minority religions that is as reliable and objective as possible. The paper describes some of the battles that ensued, focussing on methodological issues that have confronted her as she has pursued her research outside the Ivory Tower.

Understanding attendees’ transformative experiences following Tony Robbins’s Unleash the Power Within seminars

“…Generally, the popular notion of cult converts as involuntarily controlled has been widely discredited (Barker, 2011;Bromley & Shupe, 1986;Richardson, 2003;Snow & Machalek, 1984). Certainly, there are leaders who abuse power, such as Jim Jones, David Koresh and topically at the time of the research, the Maoist cult leader, Balakrishnan, but equally there are movements like AA that are positive, while often utilising similar methods.…”

Engaged Research in the Study of Religion

“…Whether or not one should undertake work as an expert witness is controversial, and I have known colleagues who consistently decline such involvement. Eileen Barker (2001) argues that, although the expert has control over the material in the report, barristers can cross-examine witnesses selectively, thus denying the expert the opportunity to present all the information they might consider to be relevant. Although one might think that one's expertise could have been used to better advantage in court, the solicitors' and barristers' proficiency lies in knowing how best to present the evidence, while the expert witness's task is to "tell it as it is", without taking sides, and without straying beyond one's expertise.…”

Doing sociology: confessions of a professional stranger

“…To take just one further illustration out of the numerous examples from which I could draw, 30 I have been a participant observer at Falun Gong gatherings and interviewed several of its practitioners at length, including those who have been granted asylum in the West after having been detained for "re-education" by the People's Republic of China, where the movement is consistently referred to as an "evil cult" (xiejiao); and I have stayed on the campus of the Chinese People's Public Security University in Beijing, where, on three separate occasions, I have given tenday-long courses on social science methodology to police cadets and staff. I have also interviewed former practitioners who are now responsible for "re-educating" practitioners in China, as well as a number of government officials and representatives of the official Chinese Anti-Cult Association.…”