4 ICSA TODAY
These remarks were delivered to the opening session of
ICSA’s 2015 Annual Conference in Stockholm.
I want to welcome all of you to the 2015 annual meeting of
the International Cultic Studies Association, affectionately
known as ICSA, being held in conjunction with Info-Cult/Info-
Secte of Montreal and Hjälpkällan (which I believe roughly
translates to Help Source) of Sweden. On behalf of ICSA, I want
to acknowledge and thank Carolle Tremblay, President of Info-
Cult/Info-Secte, and Noomi Andemark, Executive Director of
Hjälpkällan, for their significant and invaluable assistance every
step of the way in the planning, preparation, and execution of
this wonderful conference.
For people like me, which is to say “old folks,” the annual ICSA
conference is an opportunity to say hello to old friends, make
new friends, and meet and exchange information, viewpoints,
and strategies. And it is an excuse to travel to wonderful
countries and cities such as Stockholm.
We are all familiar with the common misconception that cultic
studies is an unusual and esoteric field. We have all faced the
question, “Oh, cults… are they still a problem?” And we all know
the answer: Cults come and go, grow and sometimes die, and
on occasion even mutate. But the processes underlying cultic
groups and practices—deception, information control, guilt and
fear induction, extreme group pressure, misuse of trance states,
financial and sexual exploitation, top-down control by leaders
who believe they are beyond criticism and reproach—these
Closed Cults,
Open Conferences
By Steve K. D. Eichel
ICSA 2015 Annual Conference -Stockholm, Sweden
Steve Eichel addresses the opening session of the 2015 ICSA
Annual Conference in Stockholm.
These remarks were delivered to the opening session of
ICSA’s 2015 Annual Conference in Stockholm.
I want to welcome all of you to the 2015 annual meeting of
the International Cultic Studies Association, affectionately
known as ICSA, being held in conjunction with Info-Cult/Info-
Secte of Montreal and Hjälpkällan (which I believe roughly
translates to Help Source) of Sweden. On behalf of ICSA, I want
to acknowledge and thank Carolle Tremblay, President of Info-
Cult/Info-Secte, and Noomi Andemark, Executive Director of
Hjälpkällan, for their significant and invaluable assistance every
step of the way in the planning, preparation, and execution of
this wonderful conference.
For people like me, which is to say “old folks,” the annual ICSA
conference is an opportunity to say hello to old friends, make
new friends, and meet and exchange information, viewpoints,
and strategies. And it is an excuse to travel to wonderful
countries and cities such as Stockholm.
We are all familiar with the common misconception that cultic
studies is an unusual and esoteric field. We have all faced the
question, “Oh, cults… are they still a problem?” And we all know
the answer: Cults come and go, grow and sometimes die, and
on occasion even mutate. But the processes underlying cultic
groups and practices—deception, information control, guilt and
fear induction, extreme group pressure, misuse of trance states,
financial and sexual exploitation, top-down control by leaders
who believe they are beyond criticism and reproach—these
Closed Cults,
Open Conferences
By Steve K. D. Eichel
ICSA 2015 Annual Conference -Stockholm, Sweden
Steve Eichel addresses the opening session of the 2015 ICSA
Annual Conference in Stockholm.
