International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 8, 2017 43
intertwined and are difficult to separate.
Counselors can help clients cope with anger,
pain, and the grief of leaving parents behind, and
also negotiate new parental relationships. Boeri
and Boeri (2009) noted that cult survivors
leaving their parents in the cult may never come
to terms with their parents’ cult involvement.
Counselors can help clients work through
residual anger, grief, and resentment of children
toward parents who choose the cult over them.
Theme 6: Religiosity and Spirituality
While in the cult, participants considered both
spirituality and religiosity as synonymous terms.
To be spiritual meant to be religious and obey all
cult rules and regulations. One participant stated,
“It was more about how early did you get up?
How much time did you spend in the word?”
and another stated, “It was all about the rules
instead of a relationship with Christ.” The cult
was considered the only way to heaven, nirvana,
or enlightenment, and the organization of the
cult was considered perfect. One participant
stated, “We were taught that no other church had
the right message.” Some left their cult because
they questioned the doctrine or the behavior of
the leaders when the behavior was not in tandem
with the doctrine. Some were able to find
outside sources, books, Internet blogs, chats, and
groups that provided support and information for
them to leave. One participant stated that, once
the Internet information had been found, “I read
and read and read. I read websites. I was pretty
addicted to several of the [anticult] websites.”
Another related, “I started to find holes in the
doctrine that I couldn’t fix in my brain to make
this religion still be true. There were long-
standing issues like racism and polygamy. It just
didn’t make sense.” Several participants
questioned their relationship with God while
they were leaving, afraid that it would mean they
had been cut off from God.
Today, most participants consider religiosity and
spirituality as completely different entities, with
spirituality meaning connection with a higher
power or nature, and religiosity meaning
dedication to a specific religious denomination.
Most participants agreed with the statement
from one participant that
I consider myself spiritual. I believe in a
Creator, Being, or Nature, but I don’t
call it God. I find in religion that men
get in the way, religion is about men.
Spirituality is about the Creator, being a
holistic person.
Almost all participants discussed a lack of trust
toward any church organization. Only two had
gone back to any kind of church attendance, and
that was after they had extensively checked out
the religious organization, its clergy, and its
members.
Counselors can help clients normalize their
spiritual and religious anger and confusion after
the have left a cult (Boeri, 2002 Moyers, 1994).
Educating clients regarding cult thought reform
and manipulation can help clients see through
tactics used to control spiritual/religious life.
Counselors can encourage spiritual growth and
questioning, and encourage SGAs to ask
questions of religious leaders before they join
religious congregations. SGAs do not have the
option to return to religious roots as first-
generation cult survivors do (Lalich &Tobias,
2006). Study participants tended to be skeptical
of and distrustful toward religious organizations,
searching for a new religious home, and finding
new spiritual practices that did not include
religious organizations. Counselors would need
to look at their own religious biases and not
pathologize clients who find their spiritual path
leading toward scientific exploration and
atheism or other nontraditional forms of
spirituality (D’Andrea &Sprenger, 2007).
Theme 7: Abuse
All participants discussed psychological/
emotional, physical, spiritual, and sexual abuse
they suffered in their respective cults. One
participant stated, “It became this fear-based
religion if you didn’t do what was right you
were going to be punished.” All forms of abuse
in a cult could be classified as spiritual abuse
because it was done in the name of a higher
power or religious organization (Johnson &
VanVonderen, 1991). Physical abuse took the
form of hitting, spanking, isolation, and food
and sleep deprivation. Emotional abuse was the
most common form of abuse reported, such as
calling people out, public or private rebuke,
intertwined and are difficult to separate.
Counselors can help clients cope with anger,
pain, and the grief of leaving parents behind, and
also negotiate new parental relationships. Boeri
and Boeri (2009) noted that cult survivors
leaving their parents in the cult may never come
to terms with their parents’ cult involvement.
Counselors can help clients work through
residual anger, grief, and resentment of children
toward parents who choose the cult over them.
Theme 6: Religiosity and Spirituality
While in the cult, participants considered both
spirituality and religiosity as synonymous terms.
To be spiritual meant to be religious and obey all
cult rules and regulations. One participant stated,
“It was more about how early did you get up?
How much time did you spend in the word?”
and another stated, “It was all about the rules
instead of a relationship with Christ.” The cult
was considered the only way to heaven, nirvana,
or enlightenment, and the organization of the
cult was considered perfect. One participant
stated, “We were taught that no other church had
the right message.” Some left their cult because
they questioned the doctrine or the behavior of
the leaders when the behavior was not in tandem
with the doctrine. Some were able to find
outside sources, books, Internet blogs, chats, and
groups that provided support and information for
them to leave. One participant stated that, once
the Internet information had been found, “I read
and read and read. I read websites. I was pretty
addicted to several of the [anticult] websites.”
Another related, “I started to find holes in the
doctrine that I couldn’t fix in my brain to make
this religion still be true. There were long-
standing issues like racism and polygamy. It just
didn’t make sense.” Several participants
questioned their relationship with God while
they were leaving, afraid that it would mean they
had been cut off from God.
Today, most participants consider religiosity and
spirituality as completely different entities, with
spirituality meaning connection with a higher
power or nature, and religiosity meaning
dedication to a specific religious denomination.
Most participants agreed with the statement
from one participant that
I consider myself spiritual. I believe in a
Creator, Being, or Nature, but I don’t
call it God. I find in religion that men
get in the way, religion is about men.
Spirituality is about the Creator, being a
holistic person.
Almost all participants discussed a lack of trust
toward any church organization. Only two had
gone back to any kind of church attendance, and
that was after they had extensively checked out
the religious organization, its clergy, and its
members.
Counselors can help clients normalize their
spiritual and religious anger and confusion after
the have left a cult (Boeri, 2002 Moyers, 1994).
Educating clients regarding cult thought reform
and manipulation can help clients see through
tactics used to control spiritual/religious life.
Counselors can encourage spiritual growth and
questioning, and encourage SGAs to ask
questions of religious leaders before they join
religious congregations. SGAs do not have the
option to return to religious roots as first-
generation cult survivors do (Lalich &Tobias,
2006). Study participants tended to be skeptical
of and distrustful toward religious organizations,
searching for a new religious home, and finding
new spiritual practices that did not include
religious organizations. Counselors would need
to look at their own religious biases and not
pathologize clients who find their spiritual path
leading toward scientific exploration and
atheism or other nontraditional forms of
spirituality (D’Andrea &Sprenger, 2007).
Theme 7: Abuse
All participants discussed psychological/
emotional, physical, spiritual, and sexual abuse
they suffered in their respective cults. One
participant stated, “It became this fear-based
religion if you didn’t do what was right you
were going to be punished.” All forms of abuse
in a cult could be classified as spiritual abuse
because it was done in the name of a higher
power or religious organization (Johnson &
VanVonderen, 1991). Physical abuse took the
form of hitting, spanking, isolation, and food
and sleep deprivation. Emotional abuse was the
most common form of abuse reported, such as
calling people out, public or private rebuke,
