“There is No Place for Us to Go but Up”: New Religious Movements and Violence

Abstract

While the “cult wars” of the 1970s-1980s largely ended in the USA with the Fishman decision (1990), between 1994 and 2000 mass suicides and homicides perpetrated respectively by the Solar Temple, Aum Shinri-kyo, Heaven's Gate and the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God revived anti-cult feelings which eventually led to administrative and legislative action in several European countries. The author criticizes two anti-cult explanations of the incidents, one based on brainwashing and the other on psychopathology and fraud, and suggests that scholars of new religious movements and critics of “cults” may both learn from these cases and start a fruitful dialogue by revisiting the original literature on thought reform and the works of Robert Jay Lifton and Edgar H. Schein. Ultimately, and without denying that “cults” may carry out illegal activities other than those involving the actual loss of human lives, as far as “critical incidents” are concerned content-neutral models of persuasions and influence should be supplemented by an examination of which ideologies may be more conductive to suicide and violence.

Analysing non‐doctrinal socialization: re‐assessing the role of cognition to account for social cohesion in the Religious Society of Friends1

“…6 6 Recent research emphasizes that in voluntary organizations, coercion hardly ever occurs without some degree of consent from novices (Robbins 2001; Walsh 2001; Introvigne 2002). …”

Exploring Religious Conflict

“…One close examination of a number of these movements, such as Solar Temple and Heaven's Gate, found that "not only did they react to perceived threats from outside, but they also propagated a theology that encouraged group members to regard themselves as 'not of this world.'" 27 It was also observed that cult members feel a "deep estrangement from the world, perceived opposition by former members well acquainted with the inner dealings of the group, threats from outside agencies (real or imaginary) and the feeling that there was no possible way to escape 'but up.'" 28 The Christian Identity Movement illustrates both the process of incorporation into a NRM and its motivations for violence.…”

“…"The role (and mental condition) of the leader of the group seems to be decisive in persuading followers either to choose the radical option, or to adjust as well as possible to adverse circumstances. "24 There is a discernible expansion of NRMs across the global landscape, and this trend has been evident since the end of the SecondWorld War. In the 1980s, "it burst upon the popular consciousness as the New Age Movement.…”

The Order of the Solar Temple

“…Finally (or, at least one assumes so), in March 1997, fi ve more bodies were discovered in a house in Saint Casimir, Quebec. One of the deceased had been suffocated with a plastic bag while the others had died in the fi re that engulfed the property (Introvigne 2002).…”

“…It is, of course, impossible to determine how many of "the Immortals" were simply aware of what was happening and were "assisted" in their deaths, and how many were simply tricked and murdered. For a discussion, see Palmer (1996), Introvigne (2002), Mayer (2003).…”