Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 48
News Summaries
Aum Shinrikyo
Internet Recruiting
Aum (now called Aleph) is reportedly using female members who go on to Internet match-
making sites to ―lure‖ new male members. Aum has been making a comeback of sorts since
2001 and denies the allegation.
Police gave an example of how a man answered a female Aum member‘s matchmaking site
message, met her, and went to a class with her to learn yoga. He became a regular yoga
practitioner. Later, the woman approached him and asked if he would like to meet Joyu, a
notorious Aum leader. The man declined, but relented when she told him that meeting Joyu
would lead to advanced yoga study. He soon began attending ―cult‖ meetings and
eventually became a member, but left when he developed doubts about the group‘s
teachings. (Mainichi Shimbun, Internet, 1/29/03)
Compensation for Rejection
The Mwito District Court ordered the city government to pay two Aum members 600,000
yen [$5,000] for rejecting their application to register as residents. The judge said that the
two, one 36 and the other 54, were emotionally distressed by the rejection, which meant
that they were not able to ―register their personal seals‖ or renew their driver‘s licenses.
(Daily Yomiuri, Internet, 1/29/03)
―Still a Threat‖
A government report released in April says that Aum Shinrikyo, which attacked the Tokyo
subway in 1995 with poison gas, ―remains a danger of inflicting indiscriminate mass
murder.‖ According to the report, Aum has tried to avoid Public Security Investigation
inspectors by encoding computer data, hiding leader Shoko Ashahara’s sermons, and
covering up evidence of members still worshipping him. (Mainichi Shimbun, Internet,
4/11/03)
Said to Be Failing
While Aum Shinrikyo says that it still has hundreds of followers, the long absence of leader
Shoko Asahara, now on trial, has ―apparently left die-hard members wondering whether
there is any point in preserving the group.‖ The fact that 30% of the 30,000 ―hits‖ on a new
web page containing Asahara‘s lectures were from Aum members suggests that they are
―starving for direct messages‖ from him, according to a former member.
In 1995, when the Aum poison gas attacks occurred, Aum had 1,000 members living
communally and 10,000 who lived and worked in the outside world. Today, 522 live
together and some 672 regularly visit one or another of Aum‘s 21 facilities for religious
observances or seminars, or to donate their income, according to an Aum report to the
government security agency. The average age of members is now over 35, with few young
people joining. Asahara‘s refusal to speak during his trial has also led to the departure of
many disenchanted followers, former members believe. (Hiroshi Matsubara, Japan Times,
Internet, 4/23/03)
Use of ―Mind Control‖ Kept Recruits
Journalist Shoko Egawa thinks that many bright students from prestigious universities
became involved with Aum Shinrikyo because of the group‘s system of ―mind control.‖ The
methods included food and sleep deprivation, long hours of ―ascetic training,‖ sometimes
solitary confinement, rituals that used hallucinogenic drugs and meditation, all of which

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 49
drained the recruits of willpower. ―The cultists eventually reached a state where, even if
they felt their actions were wrong, they would automatically shake off such misgivings.‖
Egawa says that it was difficult for followers to leave because they often had no where to
go, having given all of their assets to Aum and cut ties to friends and family. Some
remained because they were afraid of being punished if they tried to leave. (Yumi Wijurs-
Hasegawa, Japan Times, 4/25/03)
Branch Davidians
Awaiting Koresh Resurrection
On the tenth anniversary of the disaster, a handful of followers living at the site of the
demolished Branch Davidian compound near Waco, TX, are waiting for the resurrection of
leader David Koresh and the final apocalypse. Catherine Matteson, 87, said: ―When David
comes back, that‘s when we‘ll evangelize.‖
Knowledgeable observers asked to comment on the clash between the Davidians and the
government in 1993 emphasize, as they have over the last decade, the government‘s
overreaction to the Davidian threat or Koresh‘s corrupt practices. (Terri Jo Ryan, Waco
Tribune-Herald, Internet, 3/2/03, Jason Embry, Waco Tribune-Herald, Internet, 3/2/03)
Children’s’ Memories and Psychiatrist’s View
Young adults who were children at the time of the government raid on the Branch
Davidian compound in Waco, TX have been speaking about their experience of the death
and destruction. They tell of the continuing traumatic effect of the raid itself and the loss of
parents, siblings, and friends.
Daniel Martin remembers life at Waco as confining but not abusive. Children were spanked
often, but he doesn‘t remember being scared. ―I was always happy.‖ Mark Jones, who at 12
was older at the time, says he hated how leader David Koresh controlled everyone‘s lives,
even telling them what to eat and when they could sleep.
Kathryn Schroeder says that her daughter was confined to her room for several months for
pulling down her pants, although her family kept her ―good‖ company. ―That sounds really
bad, and harsh, but if you knew the amount of love they had, it didn‘t feel like punishment,‖
she adds.
Psychiatrist Dr. Bruce Perry, who spent thousands of hours interviewing the children, says
that ―the environment [in the compound] was more malignant than abusive. It was a subtle
and persistent twisting of beliefs rather than an assaultive [sic] attack on a person‖
(although they did tell him of severe spanking for minor offenses). Most of the children were
too young to make sense of Koresh‘s theology, but contrary to what Davidian apologists say
the evidence is clear, according to Perry, that Koresh had sex with underage girls, some of
whom fathered his children, a fact confirmed by court testimony and DNA analysis. (Mike
Copeland, Waco-Tribune Herald, Internet, 4/6/03)
Life with David Koresh
Ten years after the Branch Davidian disaster at Waco, seven of those who escaped told
ABC News what life was like as children in the ―cult‖ created by David Koresh. The ABC
program includes a video of ―disturbing‖ therapy sessions for children that demonstrates
―the eerie effectiveness of Koresh‘s brainwashing techniques.‖ The children on the program
speak of the inculcation of the belief that everyone outside the group was evil and say that
Koresh prepared them for a final battle that would end the world and bring them eternal
glory. One recalls: ―I didn‘t expect to live past 12.‖ They speak, as well, of physical and
sexual abuse, and say that there was no attempt to provide them an education. (ABC News,
Internet, 4/15/03)