Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 18, 2001, Page 72
Perceived Probability of Future Cult Issues
Chief Counseling Officers were asked about their perceptions of future student and
faculty/staff involvement in cults. A large majority of respondents (62%) believed students
on their campus would be involved in a cult within the next five years. When asked about
the possibility of faculty or staff involvement in the next five years, 40% of CCO
respondents believed this was probable or likely to occur.
Staff Training and Literature
A full 65% of respondents replied that nobody on their staff was knowledgeable about cults.
Further, slightly less than half (49%) had someone in the community outside of their
campus to whom they could refer students on cult-related issues.
Table 4
Probability of Future Cult Issues (N=81)
*1 =Impossible 2 =Unlikely 3 =Unknown 4 =Likely 5 =Probable
Training on cult issues for staff members on campus was virtually nonexistent. CCOs who
responded (89%) said no such training occurred on their campus. In addition, 86% of
responders said there were no education programs for students on their campus.
CCOs were aware of available professional counseling literature regarding cults 56% of the
time while 44% did not know of any such literature available to them on their campus.
Students apparently have little access to literature about cults on campuses. A very large
percentage (71%) said that no literature about cults existed on their campus for student
use.
Interestingly, almost half (47%) of the respondents were unsure if their institution spent
enough time educating students about cults on campus. A smaller percentage (37%)
believed their institution should spend more time educating students about cults on campus.
Sixteen percent believed their institution currently spent enough time educating students
about cults.
Cults
Chief Counseling Officers were asked to specifically identify cults that have been on their
campus. A full 74% did not respond to this question. Only 26% of responders answered this
question. Of those, 96% responded with a religiously affiliated cult.
Question
Percentage for Each
Rating
1 2 3 4 5
Q. 5. What is the likelihood of a student from
your campus being involved in a cult in the
next five years?
0.0 11.1 27.2 29.6 32.1
Q. 6. What is the likelihood of a staff or
faculty member from your campus being
involved in a cult in the next five years?
2.5 15.0 42.5 23.8 16.3

Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 18, 2001, Page 73
Summary
Several assumptions can be ascertained from this study. First, almost all CCOs who
responded to the questionnaire defined cult using the ―anti-cult‖ definition. Second, the
majority of CCOs viewed the issue of cults on college campuses to be one of importance,
although they have devoted little in the way of educating students and staff about the topic,
perhaps because most respondents did not have anybody knowledgeable about cults on
staff. Most of the respondents also believed there would be students on their campus
involved in a cult within the next five years. Finally, there was either a reticence to directly
name cults involved on campuses or a lack of knowledge concerning specific cults for CCOs
who responded to the questionnaire.
A great deal more research on cult phenomena should be conducted on college and
university campuses. A variety of populations on college campuses have yet to be polled
regarding their opinion of cults on campus. This and prior studies have only begun to
scratch the surface of research possibilities in an area that appears to warrant more
attention.
References
Blimling, G.S. (1995). The resident assistant: Working with college students in residence halls.
Dubuque: Kendall Hunt.
Elleven, R.K., Kern, C.W., &Moore, K.C. (1998). Residence halls and cults: Fact or fiction? Cultic
Studies Journal, 15, 68-76.
Enroth, R.M. (1992). Churches that abuse. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing.
Hassan, S. (1990). Combating cult mind control. Rochester: Park Street Press.
Jenkins, P. (2000). Mystics and messiahs: Cults and new religions in American history. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Larson, B. (1989). Larson’s new book of cults. Wheaton: Tyndall House
Langone, M.D. (1993). Recovery from cults. New York: W.W. Norton.
Langone, M.D. (2000). The two ―camps‖ of cultic studies: Time for a dialogue. Cultic Studies Journal,
17, 79-100.
Lebar, J.J. (1989). Cults, sects, and the new age. Huntington: OSV Press.
H. Mansfield (personal communication), (August 28, 2001).
Maryland Cult Task Force. (1999). Executive Summary of the Task Force to Study the Effects of cult
Activities on Public Senior Higher Education Institutions.
Rudin, M. (1996). Cults on campus: Continuing challenge (2nd ed.). Bonita Springs, Fl: American
Family Foundation.
Singer, M. T., &Lalich, J. (1995). Cults in our midst. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Tabor, J.D. &Gallagher, E.V. (1995). Why Waco? Cults and the battle for religious freedom in
America. Berkley: University of California Press.
**********
Russell K. Elleven, Ed.D. is the Associate Director for Residence Life at Texas Christian
University.
Jennifer Van Veldhuizen is a Residence Hall Director at Texas Christian University.
Elizabeth Taylor, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Counseling at Texas Christian University.
This article is an electronic version of an article originally published in Cultic Studies Journal, 2001, Volume 18, Part
2, pages 100-108. Please keep in mind that the pagination of this electronic reprint differs from that of the bound
volume. This fact could affect how you enter bibliographic information in papers that you may write.