Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2005, Page 35
these groups suggests that as researchers continue studying eating disorders we can apply
some of the theories coming out of anorexia research to the study of diet within high
commitment environments.
A frequent element among leaders who impose dietary restrictions is that they do not follow
their own dietary advice. Usually leaders set themselves above their members in terms of
nutrition requirements and the quality and quantity of the food. Anne Hamilton-Byrne ate
very well despite her insistence that her young ‗children‘ eat only the bare minimum.
Likewise, Elizabeth Clare Prophet had her own walk-in refrigerator full of delicacies and
delights while her followers were not getting enough food to maintain their weight (Paolini
and Paolini, 2000: 73). Wiley Brooks and Ellen Graves (a.k.a Jasmuheen) said that their
reasons for eating were due to pollution, not due to their status as leader or founder. As
well, Rama Behera reputedly ate whatever and whenever he wanted, while his followers
subsisted for long periods on grape juice and water, the occasional bread and chili sauce, or
feasts of rotten food.
Whether leaders enforced diets directly, had mediators do it, or saw their doctrines used as
models for self-restraint and reputed spiritual advancement, common tendencies remain
within and among all of their followers. In each group, many members appear to have been
undernourished, and their basic nutritional needs often were not met. Although leaders
may have some different reasons for their food-intake restrictions, I make the argument
that one of the underlying motives for their dietary restrictions is an attempt to govern
members‘ bodies as their own surrogate bodies. Leaders most likely have their own
reasons why they would subject followers to this level of control. Underlying psychological
motivations may be the cause for some ideological group leaders attempting to control
members, but in all cases the consequences for members‘ health can be dire if not deadly.
Future research will have to determine whether imposed anorexia increases leaders‘ control
over members, or merely reflects the near-total control that some of them already have
over their flock. The phenomenon of subservient members and high-demand leaders is well
known, but it will take careful mapping of leadership trajectories to learn precisely when and
why, as power and control dynamics, some people undertake to control severely the diets of
others. Moreover, we have yet to know what members themselves feel about the presumed
benefits, harms, and degrees of choice that they have around dietary restrictions. These
questions and others may find answers as research continues on the importance of food
within new religions, as we continue to explore why some groups provide feasts while
others require fasts for those who follow them.
Notes
1 For a discussion of Jewish dietary rules see Kemelman 1971. For Christian dietary practices see
Gremillion 1978 and Sack, 1999. For a discussion of Islamic dietary rules see Denny 1994: 283-285,
and 361-363. For a discussion of Jain diet and fasting behaviour see Dundas 1992 and Dundas 1985.
For Hindu dietary restrictions in relation to the caste system see Dumont 1970.
2 For a critical discussion of Melton and Lewis‘s study of Church Universal and Triumphant see Balch
and Langdon, 1998.
3 I use the term, anorexia, because of its association with psychological control dynamics (which I
discuss later), not its association with a thin or emaciated body.
4 I am aware that other ideological groups and NRMs also fit into this model and I hope to include
them in a larger study.
5 For a detailed discussion of the academic polarization in the study of new religious movements see
Langone, 2000 and Zablocki and Robbins, 2001.
6 See Griffith, 1999 for an interesting discussion of the union of fasting and dieting in Christianity.
7 Technically one who suffers from anorexia is a anorectic. The most commonly used term, however,
is anorexic. For the sake of clarity, therefore, I follow common convention and use ‗anorexic.‘
these groups suggests that as researchers continue studying eating disorders we can apply
some of the theories coming out of anorexia research to the study of diet within high
commitment environments.
A frequent element among leaders who impose dietary restrictions is that they do not follow
their own dietary advice. Usually leaders set themselves above their members in terms of
nutrition requirements and the quality and quantity of the food. Anne Hamilton-Byrne ate
very well despite her insistence that her young ‗children‘ eat only the bare minimum.
Likewise, Elizabeth Clare Prophet had her own walk-in refrigerator full of delicacies and
delights while her followers were not getting enough food to maintain their weight (Paolini
and Paolini, 2000: 73). Wiley Brooks and Ellen Graves (a.k.a Jasmuheen) said that their
reasons for eating were due to pollution, not due to their status as leader or founder. As
well, Rama Behera reputedly ate whatever and whenever he wanted, while his followers
subsisted for long periods on grape juice and water, the occasional bread and chili sauce, or
feasts of rotten food.
Whether leaders enforced diets directly, had mediators do it, or saw their doctrines used as
models for self-restraint and reputed spiritual advancement, common tendencies remain
within and among all of their followers. In each group, many members appear to have been
undernourished, and their basic nutritional needs often were not met. Although leaders
may have some different reasons for their food-intake restrictions, I make the argument
that one of the underlying motives for their dietary restrictions is an attempt to govern
members‘ bodies as their own surrogate bodies. Leaders most likely have their own
reasons why they would subject followers to this level of control. Underlying psychological
motivations may be the cause for some ideological group leaders attempting to control
members, but in all cases the consequences for members‘ health can be dire if not deadly.
Future research will have to determine whether imposed anorexia increases leaders‘ control
over members, or merely reflects the near-total control that some of them already have
over their flock. The phenomenon of subservient members and high-demand leaders is well
known, but it will take careful mapping of leadership trajectories to learn precisely when and
why, as power and control dynamics, some people undertake to control severely the diets of
others. Moreover, we have yet to know what members themselves feel about the presumed
benefits, harms, and degrees of choice that they have around dietary restrictions. These
questions and others may find answers as research continues on the importance of food
within new religions, as we continue to explore why some groups provide feasts while
others require fasts for those who follow them.
Notes
1 For a discussion of Jewish dietary rules see Kemelman 1971. For Christian dietary practices see
Gremillion 1978 and Sack, 1999. For a discussion of Islamic dietary rules see Denny 1994: 283-285,
and 361-363. For a discussion of Jain diet and fasting behaviour see Dundas 1992 and Dundas 1985.
For Hindu dietary restrictions in relation to the caste system see Dumont 1970.
2 For a critical discussion of Melton and Lewis‘s study of Church Universal and Triumphant see Balch
and Langdon, 1998.
3 I use the term, anorexia, because of its association with psychological control dynamics (which I
discuss later), not its association with a thin or emaciated body.
4 I am aware that other ideological groups and NRMs also fit into this model and I hope to include
them in a larger study.
5 For a detailed discussion of the academic polarization in the study of new religious movements see
Langone, 2000 and Zablocki and Robbins, 2001.
6 See Griffith, 1999 for an interesting discussion of the union of fasting and dieting in Christianity.
7 Technically one who suffers from anorexia is a anorectic. The most commonly used term, however,
is anorexic. For the sake of clarity, therefore, I follow common convention and use ‗anorexic.‘
