Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002, Page 14
In 1996 AFF published The Boston Movement: Critical Perspectives on the International
Churches of Christ (second edition published in 1998). Edited by AFF‘s Carol Giambalvo and
Herbert Rosedale, this book provided historical background, personal accounts and
analytical chapters on the group about which AFF had received more inquiries than any
other during the 1990s.
Resource Guide
As the number of resources --books, articles, pamphlets, videos, lesson plans --available
through AFF grew, it became necessary to describe all of these resources in one document.
Thus, in 1998 AFF published Cults and Psychological Abuse: A Resource Guide (revised in
1999). This 119-page book provided brief suggestions for general inquirers, families, ex-
members, current members, mental health professional, legal professionals, educators,
students, clergy, and occult-ritual abuse inquirers. It also included 18 essays and checklists
on topics ranging from ―On Using the Term ‗Cult‘‖ to ―How Can Young People Protect
Themselves Against Cults.‖ The book also devoted 36 pages to describing AFF‘s books,
reports, information packets, videos, preventive education resources, CSJ reprint
collections, and individual CSJ article reprints. This resource guide demonstrates how far
AFF has come since its founding, when there were virtually no resources for people
concerned about cult involvements.
Conferences
AFF has organized conferences since its founding. In recent years AFF‘s conferences have
become increasingly international in scope and larger with respect to the number of
programs available to attendees. Until 1998 all AFF conferences took place in the Northeast
between Washington D.C. and Boston, which is where the bulk of AFF‘s supporters live. But
in 1998 AFF decided to move out of that geographical base by organizing a conference in
Chicago. In 1999 the annual conference took place in Minnesota in 2000 in Seattle. Then
in 2001 the conference returned to the Northeast, to Newark, New Jersey. In 2002 the
annual conference will head south for the first time and will take place in Orlando, Florida
from June 13-15th.
The 2001 conference had approximately 270 attendees and nearly 70 speakers. Attendees
came from two dozen countries, including China, South Africa, Russia, and Brazil.
Approximately 40 attendees came from foreign countries. A three-track organization was
employed so that during most periods attendees could choose from research, victim
assistance, and international/legal programs. As with other annual conferences during the
1990s, this year‘s conference included two preconference workshops, one for families and
one for ex-members. The 2002 conference, which will also have three tracks and family
and ex-member workshops, will also include a preconference workshop for mental health
professionals.
The Web: AFF’s Future
AFF‘s Web site was first posted on the Internet in 1995. Begun initially through the
volunteer efforts of Patrick Ryan, AFF‘s Web site, www.csj.org, grew considerably over the
years. It now has over 1000 pages of material. It won a number of awards, including:
A three-star rating by Mental Health Net, the largest catalog of mental health,
psychology, and psychiatry resources online.
A review in The Web Crawler, one of the main Internet indexes, which reviews very few
web pages.
Inclusion in the Britannica Internet Guide.
In 1996 AFF published The Boston Movement: Critical Perspectives on the International
Churches of Christ (second edition published in 1998). Edited by AFF‘s Carol Giambalvo and
Herbert Rosedale, this book provided historical background, personal accounts and
analytical chapters on the group about which AFF had received more inquiries than any
other during the 1990s.
Resource Guide
As the number of resources --books, articles, pamphlets, videos, lesson plans --available
through AFF grew, it became necessary to describe all of these resources in one document.
Thus, in 1998 AFF published Cults and Psychological Abuse: A Resource Guide (revised in
1999). This 119-page book provided brief suggestions for general inquirers, families, ex-
members, current members, mental health professional, legal professionals, educators,
students, clergy, and occult-ritual abuse inquirers. It also included 18 essays and checklists
on topics ranging from ―On Using the Term ‗Cult‘‖ to ―How Can Young People Protect
Themselves Against Cults.‖ The book also devoted 36 pages to describing AFF‘s books,
reports, information packets, videos, preventive education resources, CSJ reprint
collections, and individual CSJ article reprints. This resource guide demonstrates how far
AFF has come since its founding, when there were virtually no resources for people
concerned about cult involvements.
Conferences
AFF has organized conferences since its founding. In recent years AFF‘s conferences have
become increasingly international in scope and larger with respect to the number of
programs available to attendees. Until 1998 all AFF conferences took place in the Northeast
between Washington D.C. and Boston, which is where the bulk of AFF‘s supporters live. But
in 1998 AFF decided to move out of that geographical base by organizing a conference in
Chicago. In 1999 the annual conference took place in Minnesota in 2000 in Seattle. Then
in 2001 the conference returned to the Northeast, to Newark, New Jersey. In 2002 the
annual conference will head south for the first time and will take place in Orlando, Florida
from June 13-15th.
The 2001 conference had approximately 270 attendees and nearly 70 speakers. Attendees
came from two dozen countries, including China, South Africa, Russia, and Brazil.
Approximately 40 attendees came from foreign countries. A three-track organization was
employed so that during most periods attendees could choose from research, victim
assistance, and international/legal programs. As with other annual conferences during the
1990s, this year‘s conference included two preconference workshops, one for families and
one for ex-members. The 2002 conference, which will also have three tracks and family
and ex-member workshops, will also include a preconference workshop for mental health
professionals.
The Web: AFF’s Future
AFF‘s Web site was first posted on the Internet in 1995. Begun initially through the
volunteer efforts of Patrick Ryan, AFF‘s Web site, www.csj.org, grew considerably over the
years. It now has over 1000 pages of material. It won a number of awards, including:
A three-star rating by Mental Health Net, the largest catalog of mental health,
psychology, and psychiatry resources online.
A review in The Web Crawler, one of the main Internet indexes, which reviews very few
web pages.
Inclusion in the Britannica Internet Guide.
