Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 6, 2006, Page 58
other leaders raped female Japanese followers. The victims‘ lawyers, say Jung, pretending
to conduct breast cancer tests on them, put them under mind control before having his way
with them. The attorneys, speaking on behalf of victims‘ parents, say Setsuri, believed to
have some 2,000 followers, mostly students from elite universities, and other young people,
usually poses on campus as a sports, music, or cheerleading club. Those who become
involved are eventually invited to a Bible study group. Former members say it practices
brainwashing and secrecy. An ex-member says he and others were deprived of sleep, forced
to work late into the night, and awakened early to listen to Jung‘s videotaped preaching.
Jung was a member of the Unification Church, in Korea, before the 1981 founding his own
group, initially called Jesus Morning Star Church. He fled Korea in 1999 following charges he
sexually abused followers. Members, who live in group rooms but are not allowed to become
romantically involved, are joined in mass wedding ceremonies. Sources say Setsuri collects
at least 100 million yen ($875,000) annually from followers. The more each contributes to
the organization — they are told to donate at least ten percent of income from their jobs —
the more recognition [they receive] as persons of ―faith.‖ A former member said he thought
Suturi recruited at universities because students ―are expected to bring in large donations
and help raise the cult‘s status as employees [eventually] of major businesses or
government entities in the future.‖
―It‘s a typical example of a cult that changes one‘s thinking and destroys his or her
personality on a systematic scale,‖ says an official of the Unified Church of Christ, in Japan.
Universities have thus far not moved against Setsuri for fear of infringing on freedom of
religion.
Sky Kingdom
Former police chief-inspector Ariffin Mohamad has reportedly taken over leadership of the
Sky Kingdom sect, in Terengganu, Malaysia, from Ayah Pin, who went into hiding
following a government crackdown. The Terrengganu government says there is no evidence
to support claims that the group is making a comeback, but adds, ―We will keep vigil on the
possibility of the revival and thwart any attempt to do so.‖
Solar Temple
Michael Tabachnik, the Swiss music conductor acquitted in 2001 of conspiring to brainwash
members of the Solar Temple to accept ritual deaths, faces a new trial in which he is
charged with ―criminal conspiracy‖ in the deaths of 16 of those followers, whose charred
bodies were discovered in the Alps in 1994.
Swami Ramdev
Yoga teacher Swami Ram Dev is among many personalities appearing on ―spiritual‖ TV channels in
response to a yearning for spirituality among newly prosperous middle class strivers who have become
stressed in the pursuit of wealth and pleasure in contemporary India. Such programs are so popular
that even ordinary stations now include early morning sessions on yoga and spiritual disciplines.
Teak Street neo-Nazis
Teak Street neo-Nazi white supremacist group member John Ditulio, of Port Ritchie, FL,
has been arrested for allegedly stabbing a woman and killing her son‘s 17-year-old friend
because her black acquaintances often visited the woman. The 17-year-old was apparently
mistaken for the son, who had left town because he feared neo-Nazi reprisals for his
testimony in the trial of neo-Nazi leader Brian ―Zero‖ Buckley, convicted in an attack on the
woman‘s home a few days before the murder. Teak Street, a branch of the American Nazi
sect, has now fragmented, members ―laying low,‖ according to police.
other leaders raped female Japanese followers. The victims‘ lawyers, say Jung, pretending
to conduct breast cancer tests on them, put them under mind control before having his way
with them. The attorneys, speaking on behalf of victims‘ parents, say Setsuri, believed to
have some 2,000 followers, mostly students from elite universities, and other young people,
usually poses on campus as a sports, music, or cheerleading club. Those who become
involved are eventually invited to a Bible study group. Former members say it practices
brainwashing and secrecy. An ex-member says he and others were deprived of sleep, forced
to work late into the night, and awakened early to listen to Jung‘s videotaped preaching.
Jung was a member of the Unification Church, in Korea, before the 1981 founding his own
group, initially called Jesus Morning Star Church. He fled Korea in 1999 following charges he
sexually abused followers. Members, who live in group rooms but are not allowed to become
romantically involved, are joined in mass wedding ceremonies. Sources say Setsuri collects
at least 100 million yen ($875,000) annually from followers. The more each contributes to
the organization — they are told to donate at least ten percent of income from their jobs —
the more recognition [they receive] as persons of ―faith.‖ A former member said he thought
Suturi recruited at universities because students ―are expected to bring in large donations
and help raise the cult‘s status as employees [eventually] of major businesses or
government entities in the future.‖
―It‘s a typical example of a cult that changes one‘s thinking and destroys his or her
personality on a systematic scale,‖ says an official of the Unified Church of Christ, in Japan.
Universities have thus far not moved against Setsuri for fear of infringing on freedom of
religion.
Sky Kingdom
Former police chief-inspector Ariffin Mohamad has reportedly taken over leadership of the
Sky Kingdom sect, in Terengganu, Malaysia, from Ayah Pin, who went into hiding
following a government crackdown. The Terrengganu government says there is no evidence
to support claims that the group is making a comeback, but adds, ―We will keep vigil on the
possibility of the revival and thwart any attempt to do so.‖
Solar Temple
Michael Tabachnik, the Swiss music conductor acquitted in 2001 of conspiring to brainwash
members of the Solar Temple to accept ritual deaths, faces a new trial in which he is
charged with ―criminal conspiracy‖ in the deaths of 16 of those followers, whose charred
bodies were discovered in the Alps in 1994.
Swami Ramdev
Yoga teacher Swami Ram Dev is among many personalities appearing on ―spiritual‖ TV channels in
response to a yearning for spirituality among newly prosperous middle class strivers who have become
stressed in the pursuit of wealth and pleasure in contemporary India. Such programs are so popular
that even ordinary stations now include early morning sessions on yoga and spiritual disciplines.
Teak Street neo-Nazis
Teak Street neo-Nazi white supremacist group member John Ditulio, of Port Ritchie, FL,
has been arrested for allegedly stabbing a woman and killing her son‘s 17-year-old friend
because her black acquaintances often visited the woman. The 17-year-old was apparently
mistaken for the son, who had left town because he feared neo-Nazi reprisals for his
testimony in the trial of neo-Nazi leader Brian ―Zero‖ Buckley, convicted in an attack on the
woman‘s home a few days before the murder. Teak Street, a branch of the American Nazi
sect, has now fragmented, members ―laying low,‖ according to police.
