Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002, Page 10
on press accounts. It was printed, however, as a newsletter, rather than a tabloid
newspaper. The latter filled the need for a multi-disciplined, peer-reviewed journal that was
open to critical perspectives on cult issues. CSJ‘s editorial board included helping
professionals, academicians, attorneys, educators, clergy, and business executives. Over
the years CSJ has published more than 160 articles and several hundred book reviews.
Many of these articles provide practical help for families, ex-members, and helping
professionals, while others report on scientific research, legal issues, theoretical
speculations, and other subjects. Several issues were special collections, including Women
Under the Influence (edited by Dr. Janja Lalich), published in 1997.
One of its early issues (Volume 2, Number 2 – 1985) illustrated well AFF‘s continuing
mission of bringing together diverse parties interested in cultic abuses. This special issue
was entitled, ―Cults, Evangelicals, and the Ethics of Social Influence.‖ The issue arose from
conversations AFF staff had had with the staff of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, one of
the leading Evangelical campus ministries. InterVarsity strongly supports freedom of
religion and the Christian obligation to preach the Gospel. But InterVarsity recognized that
sometimes its lay evangelists, who were often young and inexperienced, lost their ethical
bearings and became manipulative or abusive. The InterVarsity staff appreciated Dr.
Clark‘s statement that in cults we witness an ―impermissible experiment‖ on the changing of
human personality, an experiment that is ―impermissible‖ because cults violate the
unwritten ethical codes of human social influence. InterVarsity‘s vital contribution to this
special issue was to organize a team of evangelical scholars to come up with an ethical code
for the Christian evangelist. Rev. Dr. Robert Watts Thornburg, Dean of Boston University‘s
Marsh Chapel, later revised this ethical code with his staff and used it to determine when
criticism of campus religious groups was warranted, as well as to keep their own house in
order. Other universities also expressed an interest in the ethical code.
This special CSJ issue also underlined one of AFF‘s enduring themes, namely, the concern
about cults rests not on their creeds but on their deeds, on the unethical ways in which they
seek to recruit, retain, and exploit members.
Wingspread Conference
This theme was emphasized in a landmark conference that AFF organized in 1985 in
conjunction with the Neuropsychiatric Institute of the University of California at Los Angeles
and the Johnson Foundation, which hosted the conference at its Wingspread campus in
Racine, Wisconsin. This conference brought together 40 individuals, including
representatives from England and Germany. Among the participants were mental health
professionals, clergy, academicians, journalists, the president of the National PTA,
attorneys, campus administrators, and the Head of the Private Office of Richard Cottrell,
Member of the European Parliament from Bath, England. The goals of the conference and
its recommendations continue to guide AFF to this day. The goals were to:
1. examine our level of knowledge about cultic groups and their effects on individuals,
families, and society
2. identify areas in which scientific studies of cults have been inadequate and
3. consider ways in which social policy regarding cults might, without violating
fundamental civil liberties, be changed for the greater protection of the public.
This Wingspread conference made 21 recommendations classified under research,
education, and law. The full text of the report was published in Cultic Studies Journal, Vol.
3, No. 1, 1986.
on press accounts. It was printed, however, as a newsletter, rather than a tabloid
newspaper. The latter filled the need for a multi-disciplined, peer-reviewed journal that was
open to critical perspectives on cult issues. CSJ‘s editorial board included helping
professionals, academicians, attorneys, educators, clergy, and business executives. Over
the years CSJ has published more than 160 articles and several hundred book reviews.
Many of these articles provide practical help for families, ex-members, and helping
professionals, while others report on scientific research, legal issues, theoretical
speculations, and other subjects. Several issues were special collections, including Women
Under the Influence (edited by Dr. Janja Lalich), published in 1997.
One of its early issues (Volume 2, Number 2 – 1985) illustrated well AFF‘s continuing
mission of bringing together diverse parties interested in cultic abuses. This special issue
was entitled, ―Cults, Evangelicals, and the Ethics of Social Influence.‖ The issue arose from
conversations AFF staff had had with the staff of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, one of
the leading Evangelical campus ministries. InterVarsity strongly supports freedom of
religion and the Christian obligation to preach the Gospel. But InterVarsity recognized that
sometimes its lay evangelists, who were often young and inexperienced, lost their ethical
bearings and became manipulative or abusive. The InterVarsity staff appreciated Dr.
Clark‘s statement that in cults we witness an ―impermissible experiment‖ on the changing of
human personality, an experiment that is ―impermissible‖ because cults violate the
unwritten ethical codes of human social influence. InterVarsity‘s vital contribution to this
special issue was to organize a team of evangelical scholars to come up with an ethical code
for the Christian evangelist. Rev. Dr. Robert Watts Thornburg, Dean of Boston University‘s
Marsh Chapel, later revised this ethical code with his staff and used it to determine when
criticism of campus religious groups was warranted, as well as to keep their own house in
order. Other universities also expressed an interest in the ethical code.
This special CSJ issue also underlined one of AFF‘s enduring themes, namely, the concern
about cults rests not on their creeds but on their deeds, on the unethical ways in which they
seek to recruit, retain, and exploit members.
Wingspread Conference
This theme was emphasized in a landmark conference that AFF organized in 1985 in
conjunction with the Neuropsychiatric Institute of the University of California at Los Angeles
and the Johnson Foundation, which hosted the conference at its Wingspread campus in
Racine, Wisconsin. This conference brought together 40 individuals, including
representatives from England and Germany. Among the participants were mental health
professionals, clergy, academicians, journalists, the president of the National PTA,
attorneys, campus administrators, and the Head of the Private Office of Richard Cottrell,
Member of the European Parliament from Bath, England. The goals of the conference and
its recommendations continue to guide AFF to this day. The goals were to:
1. examine our level of knowledge about cultic groups and their effects on individuals,
families, and society
2. identify areas in which scientific studies of cults have been inadequate and
3. consider ways in which social policy regarding cults might, without violating
fundamental civil liberties, be changed for the greater protection of the public.
This Wingspread conference made 21 recommendations classified under research,
education, and law. The full text of the report was published in Cultic Studies Journal, Vol.
3, No. 1, 1986.
