Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 2 No. 1 1985, Page 107
NEWS AND NOTES
Religion and the Law Meeting
The General Counsels Committee held a meeting on April 18, 1985 at the National Lawyers
Club in Washington, D.C. The speaker was Judge Kenneth W. Starr of the United States
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The contact person for the meeting was
Joseph A. Morris, General Counsel, U.S. Office of Personnel Management and Chairman,
General Counsels Office, 202-632-4632.
CAN Northeast Regional Meeting
From April 19-21, 1985 the Cult Awareness Network held a regional meeting at the
Baltimore Plaza Hotel. Among the featured speakers were Rev. Michael Rokos (―Experiential
Workshops for Youth on Cults‘ Methods‖), Vanessa Weber (―Therapy Cults in Context,
Historically, Philosophically, and in Relationship to Mind Control‖), and magician Bob
Fellows, who lectures on mind control. The meeting also included panels on therapy groups,
shepherding/discipleship, and counseling.
American Psychiatric Association Committee
The AP A Committee on Religion and Psychiatry has recommended that its charge be
changed to include the preparation of a report on cults and new religious movements.
Among the members of the committee are Drs. Edgar Draper, Chairman, Walter Cristen,
Marc Galanter, Kathy Lane, Herzl Spiro, and Jerome Steiner.
Conference on New Age Movements
In a recent Christianity Today Dr. Joseph Hopkins reported on a Denver conference
sponsored by Evangelical Ministries to New Religions (EMNR). About 300 people attended.
EMNR prepared a statement defining the New Age movement as ―a spiritual, social, and
political movement to transform individuals and society through mystical enlightenment,
hoping to bring about a utopian era, a ‗New Age‘ of harmony and progress. While it has no
central headquarters or agencies, it includes loosely affiliated individuals, activist groups,
businesses, professional groups, and spiritual leaders and their followers. It produces
countless books, magazines, and tapes reflecting a shared worldview and vision. How that
worldview is expressed, what implications are drawn, and what applications are made differ
from group to group.‖ Among the basic assumptions of New Age philosophy are: 1) God is
an impersonal, undifferentiated oneness, 2) humanity, sharing in this oneness, is divine,
and 3) humanity can be transformed through techniques that can be applied to body, mind,
and spirit.
Study on Violence-Prone Religious Cults
Mr. Carl H. Yaeger, Instructor in International Relations at Utah Technical College (1395
North 150 East, Box 1609, Provo, Utah, 84603), is involved in ―a research project on
violence-prone religious cults, especially those which have a paramilitary component or, due
to paranoia or theology, might develop one.‖ He is interested in receiving information
pertinent to such groups.
SSSR/R R A Annual Meeting
The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and the Religious Research Association will
hold a joint meeting at the Hyatt-Regency Hotel in Savannah, Georgia, October 25-27,
1985. The SSSR theme is ―Religion and the Political Order,‖ and the R R A theme is ―Conflict
and Unity in the. Churches.‖ Program Chair is Anson Shupe, Department of Sociology, The
University of Texas, Arlington, TX 76019. Among the panels are:
NEWS AND NOTES
Religion and the Law Meeting
The General Counsels Committee held a meeting on April 18, 1985 at the National Lawyers
Club in Washington, D.C. The speaker was Judge Kenneth W. Starr of the United States
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The contact person for the meeting was
Joseph A. Morris, General Counsel, U.S. Office of Personnel Management and Chairman,
General Counsels Office, 202-632-4632.
CAN Northeast Regional Meeting
From April 19-21, 1985 the Cult Awareness Network held a regional meeting at the
Baltimore Plaza Hotel. Among the featured speakers were Rev. Michael Rokos (―Experiential
Workshops for Youth on Cults‘ Methods‖), Vanessa Weber (―Therapy Cults in Context,
Historically, Philosophically, and in Relationship to Mind Control‖), and magician Bob
Fellows, who lectures on mind control. The meeting also included panels on therapy groups,
shepherding/discipleship, and counseling.
American Psychiatric Association Committee
The AP A Committee on Religion and Psychiatry has recommended that its charge be
changed to include the preparation of a report on cults and new religious movements.
Among the members of the committee are Drs. Edgar Draper, Chairman, Walter Cristen,
Marc Galanter, Kathy Lane, Herzl Spiro, and Jerome Steiner.
Conference on New Age Movements
In a recent Christianity Today Dr. Joseph Hopkins reported on a Denver conference
sponsored by Evangelical Ministries to New Religions (EMNR). About 300 people attended.
EMNR prepared a statement defining the New Age movement as ―a spiritual, social, and
political movement to transform individuals and society through mystical enlightenment,
hoping to bring about a utopian era, a ‗New Age‘ of harmony and progress. While it has no
central headquarters or agencies, it includes loosely affiliated individuals, activist groups,
businesses, professional groups, and spiritual leaders and their followers. It produces
countless books, magazines, and tapes reflecting a shared worldview and vision. How that
worldview is expressed, what implications are drawn, and what applications are made differ
from group to group.‖ Among the basic assumptions of New Age philosophy are: 1) God is
an impersonal, undifferentiated oneness, 2) humanity, sharing in this oneness, is divine,
and 3) humanity can be transformed through techniques that can be applied to body, mind,
and spirit.
Study on Violence-Prone Religious Cults
Mr. Carl H. Yaeger, Instructor in International Relations at Utah Technical College (1395
North 150 East, Box 1609, Provo, Utah, 84603), is involved in ―a research project on
violence-prone religious cults, especially those which have a paramilitary component or, due
to paranoia or theology, might develop one.‖ He is interested in receiving information
pertinent to such groups.
SSSR/R R A Annual Meeting
The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and the Religious Research Association will
hold a joint meeting at the Hyatt-Regency Hotel in Savannah, Georgia, October 25-27,
1985. The SSSR theme is ―Religion and the Political Order,‖ and the R R A theme is ―Conflict
and Unity in the. Churches.‖ Program Chair is Anson Shupe, Department of Sociology, The
University of Texas, Arlington, TX 76019. Among the panels are:
