Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2002, Page 49
cure" and whose mummified body was found in a hotel in November 1999. (APF, 3/22/02,
Internet)
Manson
Manson to Serve More Time
Charles Manson has been denied parole for a tenth time, on this occasion in absentia.
Manson, who has been in a California prison for more than three decades, says he didn't
want to be manacled on his way to the hearing. So, board members reviewed psychiatric
reports and his rap sheet for the five years since his last bid for freedom. The sheet showed
17 transgressions, ranging from setting his mattress ablaze to drug trafficking. He also is
said to have threatened, assaulted, and spit on guards. Manson, who is now 67, was
convicted of orchestrating nine Los Angeles-area killings in 1969 — including the stabbing-
death of actress Sharon Tate. The self-styled guru used cult members to carry out the
killings. (WCAX TV3, 4/25/02, Internet)
Media and Cults
Atlantic Monthly Author Faulted for Use of Biased Sources on New Religions and
Cults
Herbert F. Rosedale, president of AFF, publisher of the Cultic Studies Review, recently wrote
two letters to The Atlantic Monthly magazine objecting to what he sees as the inaccurate
reporting and narrow point of view characterizing Toby Lester’s article, “Oh Gods,” an essay
on contemporary religious movements that appeared in the February 2002 issue. The
Atlantic published parts of two of these letters. These letters, as well as Mr. Lester’s reply,
are reproduced here. The bold headings have been added for this report.
Mr. Rosedale’s Initial Letter
Gentlemen:
I am writing in response to Toby Lester‘s article, Oh Gods, in the February issue of your
magazine. While I agree that reports of the death of religion are greatly exaggerated, I am
very concerned about the author‘s dismissal of ―cult critics‖ as ignorant and intolerant. In
so doing, he turns a blind eye to the very real dangers of cults here and around the world.
Ignoring Dangers
Mr. Lester depends for his information on a particular group of clubby academics who
purport to be experts on new religious movements. They promote their careers by claiming
that these movements are essentially benign, arguing that to question any religion violates
fundamental human rights. Their willingness to ignore dangers posed by destructive
religious movements has real and negative consequences that contribute to a climate of
unquestioning acceptance of any group that calls itself a religion.
Not surprisingly, destructive religious groups make use of these academics to justify or
whitewash their behavior, and a number of such ―experts‖ are paid apologists.
For instance, among the academics at the INFORM conference in London attended by Mr.
Lester was a scholar who was paid by the Aum Shinrikyo to study the group‘s involvement
in manufacturing Sarin poison gas and planting it in the Tokyo subway. Predictably, the
scholar‘s report fully exonerated Aum Shinrikyo and labeled its accusers religious bigots.
Despite subsequent studies and criminal prosecutions, he has not apologized or withdrawn
his report.
Yet another of the academics quoted in the article was paid by a religious group to testify in
court on its behalf. This group admitted engaging in illegal employment of children in its
factory and has been accused of beating its children in the name of discipline.
cure" and whose mummified body was found in a hotel in November 1999. (APF, 3/22/02,
Internet)
Manson
Manson to Serve More Time
Charles Manson has been denied parole for a tenth time, on this occasion in absentia.
Manson, who has been in a California prison for more than three decades, says he didn't
want to be manacled on his way to the hearing. So, board members reviewed psychiatric
reports and his rap sheet for the five years since his last bid for freedom. The sheet showed
17 transgressions, ranging from setting his mattress ablaze to drug trafficking. He also is
said to have threatened, assaulted, and spit on guards. Manson, who is now 67, was
convicted of orchestrating nine Los Angeles-area killings in 1969 — including the stabbing-
death of actress Sharon Tate. The self-styled guru used cult members to carry out the
killings. (WCAX TV3, 4/25/02, Internet)
Media and Cults
Atlantic Monthly Author Faulted for Use of Biased Sources on New Religions and
Cults
Herbert F. Rosedale, president of AFF, publisher of the Cultic Studies Review, recently wrote
two letters to The Atlantic Monthly magazine objecting to what he sees as the inaccurate
reporting and narrow point of view characterizing Toby Lester’s article, “Oh Gods,” an essay
on contemporary religious movements that appeared in the February 2002 issue. The
Atlantic published parts of two of these letters. These letters, as well as Mr. Lester’s reply,
are reproduced here. The bold headings have been added for this report.
Mr. Rosedale’s Initial Letter
Gentlemen:
I am writing in response to Toby Lester‘s article, Oh Gods, in the February issue of your
magazine. While I agree that reports of the death of religion are greatly exaggerated, I am
very concerned about the author‘s dismissal of ―cult critics‖ as ignorant and intolerant. In
so doing, he turns a blind eye to the very real dangers of cults here and around the world.
Ignoring Dangers
Mr. Lester depends for his information on a particular group of clubby academics who
purport to be experts on new religious movements. They promote their careers by claiming
that these movements are essentially benign, arguing that to question any religion violates
fundamental human rights. Their willingness to ignore dangers posed by destructive
religious movements has real and negative consequences that contribute to a climate of
unquestioning acceptance of any group that calls itself a religion.
Not surprisingly, destructive religious groups make use of these academics to justify or
whitewash their behavior, and a number of such ―experts‖ are paid apologists.
For instance, among the academics at the INFORM conference in London attended by Mr.
Lester was a scholar who was paid by the Aum Shinrikyo to study the group‘s involvement
in manufacturing Sarin poison gas and planting it in the Tokyo subway. Predictably, the
scholar‘s report fully exonerated Aum Shinrikyo and labeled its accusers religious bigots.
Despite subsequent studies and criminal prosecutions, he has not apologized or withdrawn
his report.
Yet another of the academics quoted in the article was paid by a religious group to testify in
court on its behalf. This group admitted engaging in illegal employment of children in its
factory and has been accused of beating its children in the name of discipline.
