Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 3, No. 2, 1986 Page 26
Parental Responses to Their Children’s Cult Membership*
Lita Linzer Schwartz, Ph.D.
Pennsylvania State University
Ogontz Campus
Abstract
Most of the literature published on today‘s ―new religious movements,‖ or
―cults,‖ has paid scant attention to the parents of cult members. The author‘s
surveys of parents of ex-cult members, together with published accounts and
the perceptions of professionals in the field, reveal parents‘ initial emotional
reactions to their children‘s cult involvement and the actions they
subsequently took --deprogramming, court-ordered guardianship, exit
counseling, law suits, and family therapy. The author concludes with advice
about how parents can more effectively deal with the experience.
Although very little has been written about the effects of cult involvement on them the
parents and families of cult members are deeply affected by the experience. Indeed, they
can be seen as ―hidden victims‖ of the pervasive cult movement of the past two decades.
They are so ―hidden,‖ in fact, that relatively few researchers have considered their plight at
all (Beckford, 1978a, 1978b Kaslow &Schwartz, 1983 Schwartz, 1982 Zerin, 1983).
When a young adult becomes a member of a totalistic group such as a cult, the resulting
changes in the individual‘s perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and behavior clearly affect other
family members, especially the parents. Some react slowly to their child‘s new affiliation
because they are unaware of the type of group involved. In other cases, the reaction is
quick and belligerent, fueled by feelings of anger, guilt, and/or shame. Still other parents
accept the cult involvement with equanimity, believing that whatever their child does is his
or her choice and responsibility. Much of the parents reaction depends, of course, on the
long-term parent-child relationship, the parents‘ personalities, the antecedents to the
youth‘s cult commitment, and the type of advice the parents receive from extra- familial
sources.
This paper will examine the cult phenomenon from the family‘s perspective, as revealed in
survey data collected by the author and a colleague in 1979 and 1982, published accounts
of cultists‘ parents, and commentaries by professionals. After reporting on demographic
data, the paper will focus on parents‘ immediate reactions to the experience and the
strategies they employed to cope with it. A final section of the paper offers suggestions on
how parents can more effectively deal with the experience.
The surveys which provided the data reported on here were conducted in order to delineate:
1) the initial impact on parents of a child‘s involvement 2) their immediate and long-term
responses to it 3) how they resolved the problem and 4) the condition of the family in the
post-cult period.
Demographic Data
The two surveys of parents of ex-cult members revealed that the initial parental responses
to their child‘s cult involvement included anxiety, worry, fear, confusion, shock, disbelief,
helplessness, sadness, panic, and terror. Only one parent (of 58 in the 1982 survey) cited
no reaction one felt that the youth would ―outgrow‖ the affiliation and one had a positive
reaction. Various other terms used by the parents were: numbed, rejected, opposed,
skeptical, disappointed, angry, disapproving, devastated, guilty, damned mad, stunned,
Parental Responses to Their Children’s Cult Membership*
Lita Linzer Schwartz, Ph.D.
Pennsylvania State University
Ogontz Campus
Abstract
Most of the literature published on today‘s ―new religious movements,‖ or
―cults,‖ has paid scant attention to the parents of cult members. The author‘s
surveys of parents of ex-cult members, together with published accounts and
the perceptions of professionals in the field, reveal parents‘ initial emotional
reactions to their children‘s cult involvement and the actions they
subsequently took --deprogramming, court-ordered guardianship, exit
counseling, law suits, and family therapy. The author concludes with advice
about how parents can more effectively deal with the experience.
Although very little has been written about the effects of cult involvement on them the
parents and families of cult members are deeply affected by the experience. Indeed, they
can be seen as ―hidden victims‖ of the pervasive cult movement of the past two decades.
They are so ―hidden,‖ in fact, that relatively few researchers have considered their plight at
all (Beckford, 1978a, 1978b Kaslow &Schwartz, 1983 Schwartz, 1982 Zerin, 1983).
When a young adult becomes a member of a totalistic group such as a cult, the resulting
changes in the individual‘s perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and behavior clearly affect other
family members, especially the parents. Some react slowly to their child‘s new affiliation
because they are unaware of the type of group involved. In other cases, the reaction is
quick and belligerent, fueled by feelings of anger, guilt, and/or shame. Still other parents
accept the cult involvement with equanimity, believing that whatever their child does is his
or her choice and responsibility. Much of the parents reaction depends, of course, on the
long-term parent-child relationship, the parents‘ personalities, the antecedents to the
youth‘s cult commitment, and the type of advice the parents receive from extra- familial
sources.
This paper will examine the cult phenomenon from the family‘s perspective, as revealed in
survey data collected by the author and a colleague in 1979 and 1982, published accounts
of cultists‘ parents, and commentaries by professionals. After reporting on demographic
data, the paper will focus on parents‘ immediate reactions to the experience and the
strategies they employed to cope with it. A final section of the paper offers suggestions on
how parents can more effectively deal with the experience.
The surveys which provided the data reported on here were conducted in order to delineate:
1) the initial impact on parents of a child‘s involvement 2) their immediate and long-term
responses to it 3) how they resolved the problem and 4) the condition of the family in the
post-cult period.
Demographic Data
The two surveys of parents of ex-cult members revealed that the initial parental responses
to their child‘s cult involvement included anxiety, worry, fear, confusion, shock, disbelief,
helplessness, sadness, panic, and terror. Only one parent (of 58 in the 1982 survey) cited
no reaction one felt that the youth would ―outgrow‖ the affiliation and one had a positive
reaction. Various other terms used by the parents were: numbed, rejected, opposed,
skeptical, disappointed, angry, disapproving, devastated, guilty, damned mad, stunned,
