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The Finders came to wider public attention when two members of the movement were arrested in Tallahassee, Florida in 1987 and charged with misdemeanor child abuse of the six children accompanying them, the two men having remained silent when, in a public park, the police inquired as to their identity and relationship to the children. [2]
The report included a list of purported cults based upon information which may have been provided by former members, the general information division of the French National Police (Renseignements généraux — the French secret police service) and cult-watching groups. [14]
To combat destructive mind control, he has developed the Strategic Interaction Approach. This approach is designed to free the cult member from the group's control over his or her life." [109] New York Magazine characterized Hassan as, "one of the country's leading experts on cults and mind control."
[b] Groups labelled "cults" are found around the world and range in size from local groups with a few members to international organizations with millions. [61] While these documents utilize similar terminology, they do not necessarily include the same groups nor is their assessment of these groups based on agreed criteria. [59]
The concept of "cult" has lagged behind in refining the terms used in analyzing the other forms of religious origination. Bruce Campbell discusses Troeltsch's concept in defining cults as non-traditional religious groups that are based on belief in a divine element within the individual. [30] He gives three types of cults:
Most have only a few members, some have thousands, and only very few have more than a million. [5] The word cult in current usage is a pejorative term for a new religious movement [6] or other group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre by the larger society, often without a clear or consistent definition. [7] [8]
Heaven's Gate was an American new religious movement known primarily for the mass suicides committed by its members in 1997. Commonly designated a cult, it was founded in 1974 and led by Marshall Applewhite (1931–1997) and Bonnie Nettles (1927–1985), known within the movement as Do and Ti.
The anti-cult movement, abbreviated ACM and also known as the countercult movement, [1] consists of various governmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals that seek to raise awareness of religious groups that they consider to be "cults", uncover coercive practices used to attract and retain members, and help those who have become involved with harmful cult practices.