Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2009, Page 56
deadly earthquake for the city of Haskovo that did not happen. Because Bulgarians are very
superstitious—psychics, healers, and fortune-yellers are widely popular—hundreds of
residents slept in tents and cars on the predicted day. (An Italian scientist who predicted
the recent L‘Aquila quake, weeks before that that disaster, was ―reported‖ to authorities for
spreading panic.)
The Japanese Supreme Court has turned down Shigeo Sugimoto‘s appeal to overturn his life
sentence for participating in Aum Shinrikyo‘s 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subway
system. His attorneys argued that he only transported the people who actually dispersed
the gas, and that he regretted the incident.
Mohammed Yusuf, the leader of the Muslim Boko Harem sect, was killed in July in gun
battles with the Nigerian military following clashes between his followers and authorities in
four of the country‘s northern states. Militants, called ―Taliban‖ by some, were armed with
home made hunting rifles, bows and arrows, and scimitars. Police had earlier raided a sect
hideout where they found arms and bomb-making equipment. Boko Harem rejects Western
education, favors the imposition of Islamic law, and believes in the segregation of the sexes.
Within the context of deep poverty, said an observer from the International Crisis Group,
―You have a ready army that can be enlisted in violent enterprises. There are people who
feel the Western models of education and government have failed them.‖
Senior pastor Anthony Scott Williams, 65, of the Christian Assemblies International
(CAI), based in Upper Orara, New South Wales, Australia, appeared in court in July on 14
sexual assault charges. Police say the offences were aggravated because he used his
position as Overseer (highest authority) of the congregation to which the victims belonged.
Clergy Abuse. A survey released by Baylor University researchers in September says that
one in every 33 women who attend worship services regularly has been the target of sexual
advances by a religious leader. A co-author of the survey, School of Social Work Dean Diana
Garland, says: ―It certainly is prevalent, and clearly the problem is more than simply a few
charismatic leaders preying on vulnerable followers.‖ One survey respondent said that a
married minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, who had been her pastor
for a decade, told her that their relationship was ordained by God.
Twenty-six former followers of Dahn Yoga, which operates more than 130 centers across
the U.S., have sued the organization they say it practices ―psychological manipulation,‖
and experts call it a cult. The complaint says, ―Members were required to acknowledge ...
absolute devotion‖ to leader Iichi Lee and to his ―Vision,‖ give all their cash and credit
[cards] to the organization, and ―disconnect from their previous life, including friends and
family and any personal interests outside of Dahn.‖ Some Dahn recruiting takes place
through ―Body and Brain‖ clubs on college campuses. A former member at the University of
New Mexico says, ―They advertise it as being something to help you de-stress from school.‖
Group retreats include ―competitive events‖ where losers were forced to stick their heads
into the toilet, drink toilet water, and lick and kiss other members‘ feet on the floor of the
men‘s bathroom.
Osei Hita Torres, elevated to guru status as a toddler by the Dalai Lama, has denounced
the Buddhist order that raised him. ―They took me away from my family and stuck me in a
medieval situation in which I suffered a great deal,‖ said Torres, 24. He‘s now studying film
in Madrid and leading a Western lifestyle. Nonetheless, he is also known as Lama Tenzin
Osel Rinpoche, and the Buddhist community reveres him the Foundation to Preserve the
Mahayana Tradition, which has 130 centers worldwide, features his biography.
The Saudi government is running a rehabilitation center outside Riyadh —―something like a
college campus or Islamic seminary‖—where former jihadists attend a two-month program
and are ―gently encouraged to abandon violence.‖ According to the U.S. Public Broadcast
deadly earthquake for the city of Haskovo that did not happen. Because Bulgarians are very
superstitious—psychics, healers, and fortune-yellers are widely popular—hundreds of
residents slept in tents and cars on the predicted day. (An Italian scientist who predicted
the recent L‘Aquila quake, weeks before that that disaster, was ―reported‖ to authorities for
spreading panic.)
The Japanese Supreme Court has turned down Shigeo Sugimoto‘s appeal to overturn his life
sentence for participating in Aum Shinrikyo‘s 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subway
system. His attorneys argued that he only transported the people who actually dispersed
the gas, and that he regretted the incident.
Mohammed Yusuf, the leader of the Muslim Boko Harem sect, was killed in July in gun
battles with the Nigerian military following clashes between his followers and authorities in
four of the country‘s northern states. Militants, called ―Taliban‖ by some, were armed with
home made hunting rifles, bows and arrows, and scimitars. Police had earlier raided a sect
hideout where they found arms and bomb-making equipment. Boko Harem rejects Western
education, favors the imposition of Islamic law, and believes in the segregation of the sexes.
Within the context of deep poverty, said an observer from the International Crisis Group,
―You have a ready army that can be enlisted in violent enterprises. There are people who
feel the Western models of education and government have failed them.‖
Senior pastor Anthony Scott Williams, 65, of the Christian Assemblies International
(CAI), based in Upper Orara, New South Wales, Australia, appeared in court in July on 14
sexual assault charges. Police say the offences were aggravated because he used his
position as Overseer (highest authority) of the congregation to which the victims belonged.
Clergy Abuse. A survey released by Baylor University researchers in September says that
one in every 33 women who attend worship services regularly has been the target of sexual
advances by a religious leader. A co-author of the survey, School of Social Work Dean Diana
Garland, says: ―It certainly is prevalent, and clearly the problem is more than simply a few
charismatic leaders preying on vulnerable followers.‖ One survey respondent said that a
married minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, who had been her pastor
for a decade, told her that their relationship was ordained by God.
Twenty-six former followers of Dahn Yoga, which operates more than 130 centers across
the U.S., have sued the organization they say it practices ―psychological manipulation,‖
and experts call it a cult. The complaint says, ―Members were required to acknowledge ...
absolute devotion‖ to leader Iichi Lee and to his ―Vision,‖ give all their cash and credit
[cards] to the organization, and ―disconnect from their previous life, including friends and
family and any personal interests outside of Dahn.‖ Some Dahn recruiting takes place
through ―Body and Brain‖ clubs on college campuses. A former member at the University of
New Mexico says, ―They advertise it as being something to help you de-stress from school.‖
Group retreats include ―competitive events‖ where losers were forced to stick their heads
into the toilet, drink toilet water, and lick and kiss other members‘ feet on the floor of the
men‘s bathroom.
Osei Hita Torres, elevated to guru status as a toddler by the Dalai Lama, has denounced
the Buddhist order that raised him. ―They took me away from my family and stuck me in a
medieval situation in which I suffered a great deal,‖ said Torres, 24. He‘s now studying film
in Madrid and leading a Western lifestyle. Nonetheless, he is also known as Lama Tenzin
Osel Rinpoche, and the Buddhist community reveres him the Foundation to Preserve the
Mahayana Tradition, which has 130 centers worldwide, features his biography.
The Saudi government is running a rehabilitation center outside Riyadh —―something like a
college campus or Islamic seminary‖—where former jihadists attend a two-month program
and are ―gently encouraged to abandon violence.‖ According to the U.S. Public Broadcast
