Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 2 No. 1 1985, Page 6
common underlying structure, namely ―fantasied omniscience of leaders and rigid belief
systems opposed to the outside world...‖ (P. 23). Our own research and that of Singer
(1978, 1979) and Clark (1979) indicate that some religious cult groups are not benign and
in fact can be potentially harmful to many of their members.
Cults strive to maintain their membership by offering the follower selfobject relationships
that serve to ameliorate
...the painful experience of self-fragmentation in the narcissistic seeker. It is
as if the (cult) and the narcissistic seeker are in collusion the cult group
provides a merger experience and selfobject which will fulfill the longings for
self-cohesion in the seeker. (Kriegman &Solomon, 1985)
We have proposed that there is a psychosocial ―fit‖ between what the cult group promises
and the yearning for selfcohesion on the part of the potential recruit. The cult group offers
to heal defects in the self by providing the recruit a ―merger‖ experience with an idealized
leader and group Though cult membership can lead to the kind of ―relief effect‖ described by
Edwards (1979) and Galanter (1982) it! long-term effects are more questionable. For those
emotion ally troubled young adults whose psychological functioning is significantly impaired,
seeking relief through a cult can lead to seriously damaging outcomes, including psychotic
episodes (Glass, et. al., 1977 Kirsch &Glass, 1977).
The Essential Differences: Ethics and the Scientific Method
We know that psychotherapy as well as medicine has its share of ―therapeutic failures‖
and/or treatment ―casualties‖ (Yalom &Lieberman, 1971). However, the perspective
presented by Kilbourne and Richardson ignores the sharp differentiation between the
dogmatic, authoritarian, self-serving ―truths‖ of the cult and the ethically necessary
scientific research of a healing discipline such as psychotherapy, There is an active
systematic research effort to subject the process and outcomes of psychotherapy to
experimental test. The outcomes of such evaluation research are systematically compared
and debated in an open scientific forum (Luborsky, 1984).
The ―new religions‖ have no professional organization which has established a set of ethical
principles to guide them as they go about their business of seeking recruits. What strategies
can be considered ―unethical‖ when they are carried out for the greater good of ―the Lord of
the Universe‖? When one of the ―Most Holy Mahatmas,‖ a disciple of one of the ―benign‖
new religions used by Kilbourne and Richardson for their analysis, attacked a reporter
(shattering his skull), the cult allowed him to retain his status (Kelley, 1973). In describing
this incident and the cult‘s response Kelley states
...one of the leading Divine Light Mission officials in India elaborated further:
―There are no hard and fast rules to being holy ...there have been gurus
who have led their followers into full-scale wars. The Perfect Master does
whatever the best thing is for that time and space. When you realize what
devotion Is, you become a fanatic—you really want to please Guru Maharaj
Ji.‖ (p. 40)
There are fundamental differences between religious movements and psychotherapy. A
religious movement is founded on some philosophical basis and/or more often on the belief
that some personage is endowed with special divinity. This is certainly not the case for
―mainstream‖ psychotherapy (Note 2). In the process of psychotherapy the patient‘s
uniqueness is emphasized. To the extent that a course of treatment has the glorification of
the therapist as its primary goal, it is not psychotherapy: it is malpractice. It risks being
iatrogenic as the aggrandizement of the therapist is placed above the patient‘s welfare.
Religious movements do not, in fact cannot, have the follower‘s best interest at heart. We
have studied some of the religious movements referred to in the Kilbourne and Richardson
common underlying structure, namely ―fantasied omniscience of leaders and rigid belief
systems opposed to the outside world...‖ (P. 23). Our own research and that of Singer
(1978, 1979) and Clark (1979) indicate that some religious cult groups are not benign and
in fact can be potentially harmful to many of their members.
Cults strive to maintain their membership by offering the follower selfobject relationships
that serve to ameliorate
...the painful experience of self-fragmentation in the narcissistic seeker. It is
as if the (cult) and the narcissistic seeker are in collusion the cult group
provides a merger experience and selfobject which will fulfill the longings for
self-cohesion in the seeker. (Kriegman &Solomon, 1985)
We have proposed that there is a psychosocial ―fit‖ between what the cult group promises
and the yearning for selfcohesion on the part of the potential recruit. The cult group offers
to heal defects in the self by providing the recruit a ―merger‖ experience with an idealized
leader and group Though cult membership can lead to the kind of ―relief effect‖ described by
Edwards (1979) and Galanter (1982) it! long-term effects are more questionable. For those
emotion ally troubled young adults whose psychological functioning is significantly impaired,
seeking relief through a cult can lead to seriously damaging outcomes, including psychotic
episodes (Glass, et. al., 1977 Kirsch &Glass, 1977).
The Essential Differences: Ethics and the Scientific Method
We know that psychotherapy as well as medicine has its share of ―therapeutic failures‖
and/or treatment ―casualties‖ (Yalom &Lieberman, 1971). However, the perspective
presented by Kilbourne and Richardson ignores the sharp differentiation between the
dogmatic, authoritarian, self-serving ―truths‖ of the cult and the ethically necessary
scientific research of a healing discipline such as psychotherapy, There is an active
systematic research effort to subject the process and outcomes of psychotherapy to
experimental test. The outcomes of such evaluation research are systematically compared
and debated in an open scientific forum (Luborsky, 1984).
The ―new religions‖ have no professional organization which has established a set of ethical
principles to guide them as they go about their business of seeking recruits. What strategies
can be considered ―unethical‖ when they are carried out for the greater good of ―the Lord of
the Universe‖? When one of the ―Most Holy Mahatmas,‖ a disciple of one of the ―benign‖
new religions used by Kilbourne and Richardson for their analysis, attacked a reporter
(shattering his skull), the cult allowed him to retain his status (Kelley, 1973). In describing
this incident and the cult‘s response Kelley states
...one of the leading Divine Light Mission officials in India elaborated further:
―There are no hard and fast rules to being holy ...there have been gurus
who have led their followers into full-scale wars. The Perfect Master does
whatever the best thing is for that time and space. When you realize what
devotion Is, you become a fanatic—you really want to please Guru Maharaj
Ji.‖ (p. 40)
There are fundamental differences between religious movements and psychotherapy. A
religious movement is founded on some philosophical basis and/or more often on the belief
that some personage is endowed with special divinity. This is certainly not the case for
―mainstream‖ psychotherapy (Note 2). In the process of psychotherapy the patient‘s
uniqueness is emphasized. To the extent that a course of treatment has the glorification of
the therapist as its primary goal, it is not psychotherapy: it is malpractice. It risks being
iatrogenic as the aggrandizement of the therapist is placed above the patient‘s welfare.
Religious movements do not, in fact cannot, have the follower‘s best interest at heart. We
have studied some of the religious movements referred to in the Kilbourne and Richardson
