15 VOLUME 6 |ISSUE 2 |2015
attributed to a single cause, especially a cause external to the
person affected. Not recognizing the role of the individual’s
previous life, relationships, and family can result in attributing
all problems to the new group of reference—that is, the cult—
in which the individual seems to have found what had been
missing before. The term cult has become a stereotype useful for
others to use to lash out against groups and associations that
in some cases may be entirely harmless. It is a term used by the
media, which, instead of practicing journalism, often carry out a
form of what I would call media terrorism. Oversimplification may
seem to make complex problems easier to solve, but in fact the
conflicts are not solved they are only avoided.
Mediation: A Complex Solution for a Complex
Problem
I believe that a complex problem requires a complex solution.
This solution, in my view, could be the mediation process
because it works through the efforts of all the people
involved. Over the past 18 years, I have had experience
attempting to mediate among both conflicting groups and
people in three different contexts: (a) parents with children
engaged in cults (b) families with members engaged in new
religious movements (NRMs) and (c) NRMs and victim-support
groups.
Parents With Children Engaged in Cults
Settling cult-related conflict through mediation is not possible if
one of the parties involved (e.g., the child or the parent) does not
want to speak about the problem. Mediation is only possible if all
parties to the conflict are willing to participate in dialogue.
The success of this strategy depends on many different factors,
and often I am not able to know how the mediation affected
the family or the individual. I can only know the outcome when
families give their feedback, whether more or less positive..
Families With Members Engaged in New Religious
Movements
When a family asked for help because of their relative’s affiliation
with an NRM, it was very important to attempt to contact the
movement. In this type of situation, I also have to seek assistance
because, as the result of aggressive campaigns by cult critics,
NRMs do not usually trust people involved in cult-victim
assistance. The Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR) in
Italy is the only organization I was able to contact in this scenario
because the NRM trusted it. CESNUR was able to become a
“second mediator,” and the respective NRM also was able to give
CESNUR some useful information.
In some cases, receiving correct and reliable information about
an NRM through CESNUR has allowed me to solve a conflict in a
few days—for example, instances in which parents were afraid
their child had been brainwashed by a dangerous cult when, to
the contrary, the child had never really joined a religious group.
In other instances, when affiliation had occurred, it was possible
for me to arrange meetings between the NRM’s leaders and the
worried parents to help all the parties to better understand the
situation and to cope with it successfully.
NRMs and Victim-Support Groups
During the past 5 years, some members of NRMs have found
my website on the Internet and have contacted me, asking for
help. They were frightened because they had become the target
of attacks in the media, on the Internet, and in books written by
former members. They told me that, before contacting me, they
had tried to contact other people or associations active in this
field that were involved in supporting victims or criticizing cults.
These NRM members reported that those people or associations
had refused to listen to them or had increased their attacks.
Why? Because the critics and former members identified the
targeted group as a cult that fit the stereotype of a “criminal
organization that brainwashes its members.” In contrast, I chose
to listen to these “brainwashed” people, and I understood that
they were not brainwashed at all.
Such cases have afforded me the opportunity to compare the
recollections and experiences of people who are still affiliated
with the group with the recollections of hostile former members
of the same group. I found this opportunity, which was afforded
to me by chance, very stimulating because it opened up new
horizons of awareness and enriched my research. Comparing
the experiences current members described with those of hostile
former members has made me aware that we must carefully
verify the information we receive (from any side). Moreover,
I have realized that opposition to cultic groups that is based
on stereotypes and not carefully researched can cause great
suffering to people who do not really represent a threat.
Unfortunately, my attempt to mediate, to start a dialogue
between the two fighting camps noted above, was not
successful in this particular situation. It is important to note
that in this instance, as in some cases in general, the mediation
failed because the particular group that was supporting victims
refused to cooperate and to speak with the NRM’s members who,
in contrast, were available and willing to speak.
The only action I could take was to try to disseminate accurate
information about these religious groups on my own website
and in the media. My last attempt in this direction, I am sorry
to say, has resulted in extreme anticult movements in Italy
attacking me and interfering with my work.
Kelman, Burton, and Doob’s Studies on Conflict
Management and Resolution
Studies by Kelman (1972), Burton (1969), and Doob (1970),
especially Kelman’s problem-solving workshop experiences
(Kelman, 1972 Kelman and Fisher, 2003), help to explain
what I have experienced firsthand in my 18 years of conflict-
mediation work. I stress the importance of Burton’s exercises
in controlled communication (Burton, 1969) and of Doob’s
Fermeda Workshops (1970). These scholars brought together
representatives of nations or national ethnic communities
involved in an active conflict for face-to-face communication in a
relatively isolated setting, and both men found that face-to-face
attributed to a single cause, especially a cause external to the
person affected. Not recognizing the role of the individual’s
previous life, relationships, and family can result in attributing
all problems to the new group of reference—that is, the cult—
in which the individual seems to have found what had been
missing before. The term cult has become a stereotype useful for
others to use to lash out against groups and associations that
in some cases may be entirely harmless. It is a term used by the
media, which, instead of practicing journalism, often carry out a
form of what I would call media terrorism. Oversimplification may
seem to make complex problems easier to solve, but in fact the
conflicts are not solved they are only avoided.
Mediation: A Complex Solution for a Complex
Problem
I believe that a complex problem requires a complex solution.
This solution, in my view, could be the mediation process
because it works through the efforts of all the people
involved. Over the past 18 years, I have had experience
attempting to mediate among both conflicting groups and
people in three different contexts: (a) parents with children
engaged in cults (b) families with members engaged in new
religious movements (NRMs) and (c) NRMs and victim-support
groups.
Parents With Children Engaged in Cults
Settling cult-related conflict through mediation is not possible if
one of the parties involved (e.g., the child or the parent) does not
want to speak about the problem. Mediation is only possible if all
parties to the conflict are willing to participate in dialogue.
The success of this strategy depends on many different factors,
and often I am not able to know how the mediation affected
the family or the individual. I can only know the outcome when
families give their feedback, whether more or less positive..
Families With Members Engaged in New Religious
Movements
When a family asked for help because of their relative’s affiliation
with an NRM, it was very important to attempt to contact the
movement. In this type of situation, I also have to seek assistance
because, as the result of aggressive campaigns by cult critics,
NRMs do not usually trust people involved in cult-victim
assistance. The Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR) in
Italy is the only organization I was able to contact in this scenario
because the NRM trusted it. CESNUR was able to become a
“second mediator,” and the respective NRM also was able to give
CESNUR some useful information.
In some cases, receiving correct and reliable information about
an NRM through CESNUR has allowed me to solve a conflict in a
few days—for example, instances in which parents were afraid
their child had been brainwashed by a dangerous cult when, to
the contrary, the child had never really joined a religious group.
In other instances, when affiliation had occurred, it was possible
for me to arrange meetings between the NRM’s leaders and the
worried parents to help all the parties to better understand the
situation and to cope with it successfully.
NRMs and Victim-Support Groups
During the past 5 years, some members of NRMs have found
my website on the Internet and have contacted me, asking for
help. They were frightened because they had become the target
of attacks in the media, on the Internet, and in books written by
former members. They told me that, before contacting me, they
had tried to contact other people or associations active in this
field that were involved in supporting victims or criticizing cults.
These NRM members reported that those people or associations
had refused to listen to them or had increased their attacks.
Why? Because the critics and former members identified the
targeted group as a cult that fit the stereotype of a “criminal
organization that brainwashes its members.” In contrast, I chose
to listen to these “brainwashed” people, and I understood that
they were not brainwashed at all.
Such cases have afforded me the opportunity to compare the
recollections and experiences of people who are still affiliated
with the group with the recollections of hostile former members
of the same group. I found this opportunity, which was afforded
to me by chance, very stimulating because it opened up new
horizons of awareness and enriched my research. Comparing
the experiences current members described with those of hostile
former members has made me aware that we must carefully
verify the information we receive (from any side). Moreover,
I have realized that opposition to cultic groups that is based
on stereotypes and not carefully researched can cause great
suffering to people who do not really represent a threat.
Unfortunately, my attempt to mediate, to start a dialogue
between the two fighting camps noted above, was not
successful in this particular situation. It is important to note
that in this instance, as in some cases in general, the mediation
failed because the particular group that was supporting victims
refused to cooperate and to speak with the NRM’s members who,
in contrast, were available and willing to speak.
The only action I could take was to try to disseminate accurate
information about these religious groups on my own website
and in the media. My last attempt in this direction, I am sorry
to say, has resulted in extreme anticult movements in Italy
attacking me and interfering with my work.
Kelman, Burton, and Doob’s Studies on Conflict
Management and Resolution
Studies by Kelman (1972), Burton (1969), and Doob (1970),
especially Kelman’s problem-solving workshop experiences
(Kelman, 1972 Kelman and Fisher, 2003), help to explain
what I have experienced firsthand in my 18 years of conflict-
mediation work. I stress the importance of Burton’s exercises
in controlled communication (Burton, 1969) and of Doob’s
Fermeda Workshops (1970). These scholars brought together
representatives of nations or national ethnic communities
involved in an active conflict for face-to-face communication in a
relatively isolated setting, and both men found that face-to-face
