Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2, 1995, page 44
that has never been raised before from this perspective. I am asking you to share in the
construction of this inquiry, and to help move toward resolution of some of these questions
and issues.
First, I believe women are more susceptible to cult recruitment because cults offer them
security and answers in a world where we paint women‟s roles in a conflicted, inconsistent
manner. Our culture makes demands on women that heighten their insecurity, that pull
them in different directions, and that provide no fixed images, levels of achievement, or
values by which they can measure themselves. To the degree that cults pose an attractive
offer of security to people who are conflicted--about career, the future, self-image, or
personal goals --cults become especially compelling for women. This effect is heightened in
situations where women move from highly protected, restricted environments to more open,
undefined ones. We find this situation, for example, when looking at women who emerge
from a Third World culture and arrive in an American urban university setting. Suddenly,
they see open to them choices and possible roles never before available: not only things
that they could only have dreamed about before, but also things they have no idea how to
handle. In such circumstances women are particularly vulnerable to manipulation and
exploitation.
Similar vulnerabilities exist for women who come from protected, rural, isolated families and
move into an urban atmosphere. When we recently interviewed a number of people who
were recruited into the New York Church of Christ while they were in a university
environment, we found a significant number of female recruits who had emerged from very
restricted rural backgrounds. One of these recruits was a Vietnamese woman who had
settled with her family in the Midwest and then came to attend a college in New York.
Within a matter of weeks she was recruited into the New York Church of Christ. It was the
first time she had been in an environment where she could establish social relationships
with a group of seemingly genuine, clean-cut Christian men. She had no concept of
self-protection or of the possibility that these men were not interested in her solely for
herself, but merely as a potential recruit, after which they would drop all contact.
A similar situation occurred in the case of a young woman who was upwardly mobile,
moving from an environment in which her family insisted that she achieve, but provided no
model of their own achievement as a guide. The young woman unqualifiedly sought
opportunities for achievement, and became involved in an urban cultic group.
Because of these special vulnerabilities, we find, not surprisingly, that a significant number
of cultic groups tailor their message specifically to appeal to women. For example, a
significant number of Eastern groups in the New York metropolitan area seek to promote a
particular body type, diet, and appearance. Groups link their appeal to body-image concerns
via Eastern meditation techniques or a guru‟s inspiration, but the message that is sold is
essentially one of shape, health, and appearance --a pitch that is specifically directed
toward and appealing to women.
Several groups tailor their appeal to idealism. They reach out for the healthy, nurturing
spirit, and promise to involve recruits in noble projects, such as the elimination of world
hunger. The ideal of reaching out, of a helping idealism, is more responsive to a woman‟s
needs and approach than to a man‟s. Diet, likewise, is offered as a part of some groups‟
regimen, a regimen that also often includes manipulation of guilt and enhancement of
dependency.
The second aspect of women‟s specific vulnerability to cults is found within the groups
themselves. First, women are utilized as recruiters. Here we see cults using sexual and
social manipulation as a recruitment device. For years the Children of God sent out female
recruiters to do what they described as “flirty fishing”--actually, simply sexual prostitution.
that has never been raised before from this perspective. I am asking you to share in the
construction of this inquiry, and to help move toward resolution of some of these questions
and issues.
First, I believe women are more susceptible to cult recruitment because cults offer them
security and answers in a world where we paint women‟s roles in a conflicted, inconsistent
manner. Our culture makes demands on women that heighten their insecurity, that pull
them in different directions, and that provide no fixed images, levels of achievement, or
values by which they can measure themselves. To the degree that cults pose an attractive
offer of security to people who are conflicted--about career, the future, self-image, or
personal goals --cults become especially compelling for women. This effect is heightened in
situations where women move from highly protected, restricted environments to more open,
undefined ones. We find this situation, for example, when looking at women who emerge
from a Third World culture and arrive in an American urban university setting. Suddenly,
they see open to them choices and possible roles never before available: not only things
that they could only have dreamed about before, but also things they have no idea how to
handle. In such circumstances women are particularly vulnerable to manipulation and
exploitation.
Similar vulnerabilities exist for women who come from protected, rural, isolated families and
move into an urban atmosphere. When we recently interviewed a number of people who
were recruited into the New York Church of Christ while they were in a university
environment, we found a significant number of female recruits who had emerged from very
restricted rural backgrounds. One of these recruits was a Vietnamese woman who had
settled with her family in the Midwest and then came to attend a college in New York.
Within a matter of weeks she was recruited into the New York Church of Christ. It was the
first time she had been in an environment where she could establish social relationships
with a group of seemingly genuine, clean-cut Christian men. She had no concept of
self-protection or of the possibility that these men were not interested in her solely for
herself, but merely as a potential recruit, after which they would drop all contact.
A similar situation occurred in the case of a young woman who was upwardly mobile,
moving from an environment in which her family insisted that she achieve, but provided no
model of their own achievement as a guide. The young woman unqualifiedly sought
opportunities for achievement, and became involved in an urban cultic group.
Because of these special vulnerabilities, we find, not surprisingly, that a significant number
of cultic groups tailor their message specifically to appeal to women. For example, a
significant number of Eastern groups in the New York metropolitan area seek to promote a
particular body type, diet, and appearance. Groups link their appeal to body-image concerns
via Eastern meditation techniques or a guru‟s inspiration, but the message that is sold is
essentially one of shape, health, and appearance --a pitch that is specifically directed
toward and appealing to women.
Several groups tailor their appeal to idealism. They reach out for the healthy, nurturing
spirit, and promise to involve recruits in noble projects, such as the elimination of world
hunger. The ideal of reaching out, of a helping idealism, is more responsive to a woman‟s
needs and approach than to a man‟s. Diet, likewise, is offered as a part of some groups‟
regimen, a regimen that also often includes manipulation of guilt and enhancement of
dependency.
The second aspect of women‟s specific vulnerability to cults is found within the groups
themselves. First, women are utilized as recruiters. Here we see cults using sexual and
social manipulation as a recruitment device. For years the Children of God sent out female
recruiters to do what they described as “flirty fishing”--actually, simply sexual prostitution.
