Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2003, Page 112
Voodoo
Jailed for "Voodoo" Death
A 24-year-old woman identified only as ―D.P.‖ has been sentenced to 18 months in jail in
Groningen, Netherlands, for assaulting a girl during a Voodoo ritual that killed the 5-year-
old. The aim was to exorcise the devil. D.P. is a native of the Netherlands Antilles, where
Voodoo is practiced. The girl‘s mother was earlier sentenced to three years in jail after
agreeing to submit to psychiatric treatment. (Expatica News, Internet, 11/5/03)
―Voodoo‖ [a term which appears popularly to describe the healing or empowerment
practices of many British immigrants of West Indian and African origin] can be malignant.
Police suspect that Voodoo practitioners are involved in human sacrifice. Authorities are
currently investigating a case arising from the discovery in the Thames of the remains of a
young boy. A voodoo priest informant says the child, whose body had been expertly
dismembered, is but one of many victims of ―black magic‖ in Britain. (Mail on Sunday,
11/9/03)
Waldorf Schools
Protest Waldorf Charter School
Some parents in Marin County, CA, are protesting the plans of a small group of fellow
parents who want to start a charter school using the Waldorf approach. The critics say the
Waldorf system should stay out of the public school system because it is based on religion.
Proponents say their charter would only be ―informed by the Waldorf-based method.‖ They
add that 13 charter schools like the one they propose have been approved elsewhere in the
state. But critics respond that the essentially religious philosophy of Anthroposophy founder
Rudolph Steiner is nonetheless brought into those classrooms. (Nancy Isles Nation, Marin
Independent Journal, 8/3/03)
Weigh Down
Protestors Call It a “Cult”
One person among a small group that picketed outside a Weigh Down workshop in
Franklin, TN, recently said that people involved with leader Gwen Shamblin ―think she is
Mother God,‖ and a mother whose daughter is involved in the church says it is cult-like.
Shamblin has appeared on ABC‘s 20/20 speaking about how she teaches people to turn to
God rather than food. (News 2 Nashville, 6/25/03)
Werewolves
Members Told to Act Like Werewolves
A number of parents are complaining about a group with more than 50 members
throughout Queensland that has recruited their teenage children and encouraged them to
act like werewolves by howling at the moon and eating raw meat.
A Brisbane mother said her son was recruited initially on the Internet and then ―a young
man kept phoning us, wanting my son to come out, and within three weeks he was part of
the group. ...This fellow started to stalk us at night. He‘d start howling like a werewolf at
midnight outside our house, which frightened the other kids. My son left and moved into a
house with this fellow and another bloke. They would dress up in costumes like wolves and
take my son on a leash to South Bank.‖
Social worker David Ward, who says he tried to help the boy, declared: ―The teenager I
spoke to a couple of times, who is living with this group, is just your average adolescent.‖
He added that the boy was just going through ―normal adolescent stuff. They go through an
identity crisis, where they wonder who they are, and they‘re vulnerable.‖
Voodoo
Jailed for "Voodoo" Death
A 24-year-old woman identified only as ―D.P.‖ has been sentenced to 18 months in jail in
Groningen, Netherlands, for assaulting a girl during a Voodoo ritual that killed the 5-year-
old. The aim was to exorcise the devil. D.P. is a native of the Netherlands Antilles, where
Voodoo is practiced. The girl‘s mother was earlier sentenced to three years in jail after
agreeing to submit to psychiatric treatment. (Expatica News, Internet, 11/5/03)
―Voodoo‖ [a term which appears popularly to describe the healing or empowerment
practices of many British immigrants of West Indian and African origin] can be malignant.
Police suspect that Voodoo practitioners are involved in human sacrifice. Authorities are
currently investigating a case arising from the discovery in the Thames of the remains of a
young boy. A voodoo priest informant says the child, whose body had been expertly
dismembered, is but one of many victims of ―black magic‖ in Britain. (Mail on Sunday,
11/9/03)
Waldorf Schools
Protest Waldorf Charter School
Some parents in Marin County, CA, are protesting the plans of a small group of fellow
parents who want to start a charter school using the Waldorf approach. The critics say the
Waldorf system should stay out of the public school system because it is based on religion.
Proponents say their charter would only be ―informed by the Waldorf-based method.‖ They
add that 13 charter schools like the one they propose have been approved elsewhere in the
state. But critics respond that the essentially religious philosophy of Anthroposophy founder
Rudolph Steiner is nonetheless brought into those classrooms. (Nancy Isles Nation, Marin
Independent Journal, 8/3/03)
Weigh Down
Protestors Call It a “Cult”
One person among a small group that picketed outside a Weigh Down workshop in
Franklin, TN, recently said that people involved with leader Gwen Shamblin ―think she is
Mother God,‖ and a mother whose daughter is involved in the church says it is cult-like.
Shamblin has appeared on ABC‘s 20/20 speaking about how she teaches people to turn to
God rather than food. (News 2 Nashville, 6/25/03)
Werewolves
Members Told to Act Like Werewolves
A number of parents are complaining about a group with more than 50 members
throughout Queensland that has recruited their teenage children and encouraged them to
act like werewolves by howling at the moon and eating raw meat.
A Brisbane mother said her son was recruited initially on the Internet and then ―a young
man kept phoning us, wanting my son to come out, and within three weeks he was part of
the group. ...This fellow started to stalk us at night. He‘d start howling like a werewolf at
midnight outside our house, which frightened the other kids. My son left and moved into a
house with this fellow and another bloke. They would dress up in costumes like wolves and
take my son on a leash to South Bank.‖
Social worker David Ward, who says he tried to help the boy, declared: ―The teenager I
spoke to a couple of times, who is living with this group, is just your average adolescent.‖
He added that the boy was just going through ―normal adolescent stuff. They go through an
identity crisis, where they wonder who they are, and they‘re vulnerable.‖
