Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 1988 Page 46
“Reject the Wicked Man” Coercive Persuasion and Deviance Production:
A Study of Conflict Management
Jerry Paul MacDonald
University of Virginia
Abstract
This paper analyzes how a tightly-knit, utopian new religious movement manages
conflict related to grievances and nonconformity. An integrated model of deviance
production and coercive persuasion is presented to explain how the group
manufactures loyalty crises designed simultaneously to stigmatize and expel
nonconformists while reinforcing conformity within the membership. Introduced to
explain this process are several new constructs, including ―loyalty-betrayal funnel,‖
―bicameral normative system,‖ ―sin-potential status,‖ ―classification priesthood,‖
and the ―renunciation-denunciation‖ process.
Introduction
Research on new religious movements has focused on various aspects of ―getting in‖ or ―getting
out‖ of groups. Some researchers stress the role of powerful social influence factors (i.e.,
―coercive persuasion,‖ ―thought reform,‖ ―brainwashing‖) in recruiting and holding on to
members. Others downplay influence factors and emphasize the role of personal decision-making
and conflict management.
These studies all neglect the fact that some new religious movements contain deviants whom the
groups want to expel. This paper describes how a fringe Christian sect, called ―Oasis‖ in this
study, manages the conflict associated with grievances and nonconformity. The paper will
integrate the concepts of coercive persuasion and deviance production to show how Oasis
reinforces commitment to the group by manufacturing loyalty ―crises‖ designed to stigmatize and
ultimately expel nonconformists while reinforcing conformity within the membership, which is the
primary purpose of the manufactured crises.
Description of Methods
The data presented and discussed in this paper have been gathered from four perspectives: ten
years as a participant within the sect, three years as an outside observer (mainly during the
sect's consolidation process from a loosely organized band of autonomous churches into a single
organization unit), three years as a researcher and analyst of the sect's structure and doctrines,
and finally, as an investigator into most of the sects major excommunications. Interviews with
274 excommunicated individuals and present members were conducted. Some ex-communicants
had participated in defaming and exclusion processes against others. A broad spectrum within the
group was studied, from young college-age women excommunicated after only a year in the
group to key elders, administrators, editors, and national leaders of the movement, many of
whom had been in the group for up to 15 years.
Five tapes of excommunication meetings were analyzed. The targets and witnesses were
interviewed for cross-verification purposes, as well as for a balanced perspective.
Excommunication letters from the sect to the targets, and any letters from the target back, were
analyzed. A large body of letters from ex- members to ex-members or to present members, or
vice-versa, was also studied. Parents of sect members were interviewed for their perspectives and
impressions, and investigations into the sect's behavior, as observed by university officials and
legal authorities, were also utilized. All of these supporting documents were then related to a
content analysis of the sect's own explanations of its excommunication and rejection practices, an
“Reject the Wicked Man” Coercive Persuasion and Deviance Production:
A Study of Conflict Management
Jerry Paul MacDonald
University of Virginia
Abstract
This paper analyzes how a tightly-knit, utopian new religious movement manages
conflict related to grievances and nonconformity. An integrated model of deviance
production and coercive persuasion is presented to explain how the group
manufactures loyalty crises designed simultaneously to stigmatize and expel
nonconformists while reinforcing conformity within the membership. Introduced to
explain this process are several new constructs, including ―loyalty-betrayal funnel,‖
―bicameral normative system,‖ ―sin-potential status,‖ ―classification priesthood,‖
and the ―renunciation-denunciation‖ process.
Introduction
Research on new religious movements has focused on various aspects of ―getting in‖ or ―getting
out‖ of groups. Some researchers stress the role of powerful social influence factors (i.e.,
―coercive persuasion,‖ ―thought reform,‖ ―brainwashing‖) in recruiting and holding on to
members. Others downplay influence factors and emphasize the role of personal decision-making
and conflict management.
These studies all neglect the fact that some new religious movements contain deviants whom the
groups want to expel. This paper describes how a fringe Christian sect, called ―Oasis‖ in this
study, manages the conflict associated with grievances and nonconformity. The paper will
integrate the concepts of coercive persuasion and deviance production to show how Oasis
reinforces commitment to the group by manufacturing loyalty ―crises‖ designed to stigmatize and
ultimately expel nonconformists while reinforcing conformity within the membership, which is the
primary purpose of the manufactured crises.
Description of Methods
The data presented and discussed in this paper have been gathered from four perspectives: ten
years as a participant within the sect, three years as an outside observer (mainly during the
sect's consolidation process from a loosely organized band of autonomous churches into a single
organization unit), three years as a researcher and analyst of the sect's structure and doctrines,
and finally, as an investigator into most of the sects major excommunications. Interviews with
274 excommunicated individuals and present members were conducted. Some ex-communicants
had participated in defaming and exclusion processes against others. A broad spectrum within the
group was studied, from young college-age women excommunicated after only a year in the
group to key elders, administrators, editors, and national leaders of the movement, many of
whom had been in the group for up to 15 years.
Five tapes of excommunication meetings were analyzed. The targets and witnesses were
interviewed for cross-verification purposes, as well as for a balanced perspective.
Excommunication letters from the sect to the targets, and any letters from the target back, were
analyzed. A large body of letters from ex- members to ex-members or to present members, or
vice-versa, was also studied. Parents of sect members were interviewed for their perspectives and
impressions, and investigations into the sect's behavior, as observed by university officials and
legal authorities, were also utilized. All of these supporting documents were then related to a
content analysis of the sect's own explanations of its excommunication and rejection practices, an
