Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2006, Page 38
Shepherd and Shepherd have brought together a wealth of new material and insights on the
current trajectory of COG/The Family that shall no doubt provide invaluable research
information for others interested in the movement‘s contemporary status (especially when
one pairs this research with the new information that Bainbridge‘s 2002 survey yielded).
Conclusion
Early in this article, I commented on the wide range of research findings on COG/The
Family, specifically the contradictory conclusions that sometimes emerge. As this article
illustrates, however, despite the different research focuses, many concordant findings have
surfaced also. In the following section, I address some areas in which there is consensus,
and others where there is not.
Williams‘ (1998) autobiographical account is a detailed description of FFing, a component of
the movement‘s history that all researchers acknowledge. Coupled with Chancellor‘s (2000)
analysis, a semantic puzzle emerges. Did FFing constitute prostitution or not? Clearly,
Williams suggests that it did, while Chancellor remains unsure. Injecting a structural
analysis, I suggested that, despite the religious framework and the women‘s rationalization
of the activity, the exchange of sexual activities for payment (both in cash and in goods and
services) does indeed constitute prostitution, albeit for religious ends.
Williams Boeri (2005) speaks to this issue and others in her overview of the sexual
socialization processes in the group. The process of socialization extends to members of the
second generation—a particularly important part of the movement, given that they were
born into the group thus, they did not choose to live in this high-demand environment.
While Chancellor (2000), Kent and Hall (2000), and Kent (2004) recognise the severity of
some of the disciplines and sexual abuses that the second generation endured, Chancellor‘s
account involves those who chose to remain in the group, while Kent and Hall‘s covers the
experiences of those who left. Despite the exodus of many of the second generation and the
drop-out of first-generation members, the movement has survived. Shepherd and Shepherd
(2005) describe and analyse the processes that have ensured the group‘s continuance, one
being the inclusion of the second generation in the decision-making hierarchy. From a
combination of these readings, one can appreciate the variety of experiences of the second
generation (both in the past, and at the present). It appears that although the movement
has evolved such that the needs of the current second generation are being met, still
deficient from the group‘s history is adequate care and consideration for the traumas that
some former members endured.
In 2002, long-time members of The Family, Lonnie Davis and Claire Borowik, presented a
paper titled ―The Family—1992–2002: A Decade of Transition‖ at a CESNUR (Centre for
Studies on New Religions) Conference. They outlined aspects of the movement‘s history,
including the recent organizational changes that Shepherd and Shepherd (2005) analyse
and they paid specific attention to some of the problems that these changes have
engendered, particularly the struggle to achieve balance between individual autonomy for
members and commitment to core group doctrines. Included too is a description of attempts
by The Family to reconcile with former members, and a brief mention of the group‘s
―apology‖ to former members. Woefully absent is an explicit discussion of what the apology
is for. Absent, too, is an adequate understanding and empathy for what some second-
generation members endured and the consequences that have remained with many of
them.
Prominent in Davis and Borowik‘s (2002) presentation is their discussion of the series of
raids that occurred in several communities of The Family around the world. Bainbridge
(2002), Chancellor (2000), and Melton (2004) all discuss these raids in some detail,
outlining their effects on members and their children. The mismanagement of the

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2006, Page 39
investigation into The Family homes has led many academics to strongly criticise them and
to reveal some of the abuses they produced. Less evident is a discussion connecting
COG/The Family violence against its own members to the ensuing raids, although Kent‘s
(2004) discussion does address this issue within the context of his discussion of second-
generation defection from the movement. The raids had a great deal of influence on
COG/The Family dynamics. Shepherd and Shepherd (2005) investigate what changes have
occurred, and to what degree those changes have succeeded in directing The Family toward
a viable future. Note that The Family conceptualizes the raids as part of the suffering one
must endure as a dedicated follower of Christ (Davis and Borowik, 2002).
Bainbridge (2002) too has detailed the current characteristics of the group, although his
conclusion that the group‘s members are not that different from the general population is
discordant from many of his own findings, and it does not concur with Maria and Peter‘s
goals for the group according to Shepherd and Shepherd‘s (2005) analysis of current family
objectives and strategies. Together, however, these two works provide an abundance of
new information on the group, but both fail to adequately acknowledge prior abuses.
The Story of Davidito continues to generate different conclusions. Is this work largely a
benign piece of childrearing literature, as Melton (2004:30) asserts, or did it sanction and
encourage child adult sexual relationships, as Chancellor (2000:138) and Williams Boeri
(1998:220-221 2005:170-171 )maintain? These different findings are part of a larger
history of divisive scholarship on the group. For example, Zablocki and Robbins (2001b)
suggest that policy considerations and legal testimonies act as polarizing agents among
academics of NRMs.
Before Ricky Rodriguez killed Smith and himself, he made a video stating why he felt
compelled to direct violence toward his abusers. Discussing his childhood sexual abuses and
the anger he felt toward those who had molested him, he articulated his need for revenge,
not just for himself, but also for all the other children who suffered because of the group‘s
policies. His estranged wife commented on his torment, citing that the many years of pain
had left him unable to cope. At least 25 members of the first wave of the second generation
have taken their own lives in the past 13 years (Goodstein, 2005). The Children of God/The
Family has generated a good deal of negative popular press but as this article shows, one
must consider the many facets of this movement to come close to understanding the whole.
Although more than two decades of research have brought to light many features of
COG/The Family‘s history, as Chancellor comments, The Family as it exists today is still a
―secretive community‖ and ―it may well be that there are yet secrets of Family life hidden
from this study.‖ He adds to this observation, ―What could they possibly be?‖(Chancellor,
2000:xxii-xxiii).
Perhaps some former members are able to reveal some of these secrets. The Website
movingon.org offers a space in which ex-members can both stay in touch with one another
and offer each other support and advice. On this Website, additional accounts unheard in
most academic literature emerge. Yet other ex-members likely remain silent, perhaps too
embarrassed or ashamed to discuss their time spent in the movement. Some ex-members
may simply want to put their past behind them, not wanting or not able to discuss the
abuses they suffered. Yet others may have had positive life experiences in the group and
merely left because they moved on to other things in life perhaps they missed the
freedoms of the outside world.
Like the scholarship of previous years, contemporary research on COG/The Family likely
shall remain conflicted on certain issues. Some recent research provides evidence of
change, though: Despite some shortcomings, Chancellor‘s (2000) book alone examines the
movement in a way that no other recent researchers have.27 Navigating both the positive
and negative facets of the group‘s history, Chancellor has produced a more complete single