Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 2 No. 1 1985, Page 111
personal and the public, revealing how the history of the common person is made.
The attraction of charismatic leaders and totalitarian groups for today‘s youth and its
implications for the future of democracy in postindustrial society are discussed.
Delgado, R. (1984). When religious exercise is not free -deprogramming and the
constitutional status of coercively induced belief. Vanderbilt Law Review, 37, 1071-
1115.
Delmonte, M. M. (Jun. 9, 1984). Physiological responses during meditation and rest.
Biofeedback -Self-Regulation, 181-200. Forty nonmeditators and 12 experienced
transcendental meditators were randomly assigned to four experimental cells devised
to control for order and expectation effects. All 52 (female) subjects were
continuously monitored on seven physiological measures during both meditation and
rest. Each subject was her own control in a lab experimental paradigm comparing
meditation to rest. Analyses of variance on change scores calculated from both intital
and running (intertrial) baselines revealed small but significant conditions effects for
all variables except diastolic BP. The same subjects (both experienced meditators
and those meditating for the first time) showed lower psychophysiological arousal
during the meditation than during the rest condition for systolic or, 11K, SCL, digital
BV, digital ST, and frontalis EMG. The experienced meditators showed only
marginally more conditions effects than the novices practicing ―noncultic‖ meditation.
For the nonmeditators, deliberately fostering positive expectations of meditation was
associated with lower physiological activation than eyes-closed rest. The meditators,
however, tended to become more relaxed over meditation trials, whereas the
nonmeditators showed the opposite trend.
Demos, G. D., &O‘Neill, W. F. (1984). Groupthink: The study-group in thought reform. Et
Cetera, 41, 187-205. Discusses the study-group procedure of thought reform, most
fully developed by the Chinese communists. Notes that ideological changes may be
brought about through the group-study method when applied to an individual who is
under sufficient stress and significantly disoriented. Study groups encourage and
direct self-criticism and serve as basis for other types of ideological re-education and
resocialization. Study groups are essentially psychoanalytic in function, encouraging
self-examination and using group therapy techniques to promote ideological
conversion. Four types of Chinese group meetings are described. Other topics include
the evolution of social identity, factors affecting group effectiveness, and coercive
cooperation.
Dendinger, V. K. (Dec. 1984). Religious mystical experience: A comparison of frequency of
occurrence among intuitive feelers and non-intuitive feelers. Dissertation Abstracts
international, 45, 1900.
Dillbeck, M. C. (Dec. 1983). Testing the Vedic psychology of the Bhagavad-Gita.
Psychologica: An International Journal of Psychology in the Orient, 232-240.
Discusses the empirical testability of the Vedic psychological theory, found in the
Bhagavad-Gita, which holds that suffering results from lack of a stable source of
fulfillment and consequent attachment to diverse, variable sources of reinforcement
and fulfillment. A ―Self‖ beyond thought, gained as awareness, comes to a state of
inner silence and contentment, and becomes a background for all other experience.
The article suggests that research on a meditation practice consistent with
descriptions in the Bhagavad-Gita may be used to asses the theory‘s testability.
Reviews research on Transcendental Meditation (TM) and the TM-sidhi program as
evidence relating to the following predictions of this theory: the experience of
transcending, the growth of qualities of enlightenment, and field properties of

Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 2 No. 1 1985, Page 112
consciousness. Concludes that the Vedic psychological theory describes empirical
discoveries that may be practically applied.
Donald, V. M. (May 4, 1983). Totalitarian evangelicalism. Christian Century, 429.
Totalitarian evangelicalism considers thought control more important than spiritual
growth, and seeks total control of mind and body. It is religious in its intensity, and
solidifies the spirit. Free will is abolished, common sense and individual judgment are
banned. The group is more important than the individual, and group members must
adhere strictly and without question to rules and regulations. Totalitarian
evangelicalism is paranoid about the rest of the world. Evangelicals must beware of
totalitarianism.
Dsouza, D. (1985). The politics and theology of the Unification Church. Policy Review, 32,
28-34.
Durst, M. To bigotry, no sanction: Reverend Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church.
Regnery/Gateway, 1984. 181p.
Grafstein, L. (Feb. 20, 1984). Messianic capitalism. New Republic, 14. There are about
3,000 cults and sects in the United States with an overall membership of between 3
million and 13 million. The phenomenon is partly the cause and partly the result of
the collapse of social harmony. Most cults are very successful financially. Bhagwan
Shree Rajneesh, is a freelance messiah whose 800 followers work 12 hour days, 7
days a week, in return for bed and board. His empire includes 27 Rolls Royces, a $6
million ranch, a university, and other businesses totalling $60 million in assets. Sun
Myung Moon‘s Unification Church owns real estate worth $200 million, and his
fundraisers bring in $25 million a year from street sales. The First Amendment
forbids government interference in religious affairs, and cults enjoy tax-exempt
status as religious organizations. They take advantage of this by reinvesting tax-free
money into profit-making enterprises. Cult capitalism exploits everyone.
A fantasy in Fairfield. (July 1984). Discover, 12. Discusses Maharishi International University
and its claims to reduce international tension and crime, improve the stock market,
and increase take-home pay through the ―Maharishi Technology of the Unified
Theory. MIU received a total of $1 million in state funding in 1983.
Franknoi, A. (1984). Scientific responses to pseudoscience: An annotated bibliography, 4p.
San Francisco: Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
Hitchens, C. (Jan. 22, 1983). The Unification Church‘s influence in the United States. Nation,
70. The Unification Church is using its wealth to exert an increasingly powerful hold
over U.S. politics, especially within the New Right and, hence, the Republican Party.
Their supporters include many right-wing members of Congress, and their media
outlets -the Washington Times and the Rising Trade -are staffed with reactionaries.
The church also tried to gain control of a Washington bank. This expansion has
occurred despite Moon‘s illegal activities. He has won the favor of the New Right with
money. A typical activity was the 1975 Korean Cultural and Freedom Foundations‘s
Children‘s Relief Fund, which is a Moonie front. The money donated was diverted to
Moonie business interests. The Moonie empire continues to grow unabated.
Hunter, M. (1984). Entertaining Satan -witchcraft and the culture of early New England -
Demos, J. P. (book review). History, 69, 471-473.
Jedrczak, A., &Clements, G. (1984). The TM-Sidhi program and field independence.
Perceptual and Motor Skills, 59, 999-1000.