VOLUME 3 |NUMBER 2 |2012 5
There are other considerations to keep in mind:
• Laws in different countries require that certain
professionals are legally and ethically bound to report
to protective services when there is even a suspicion
of harm to a child, a senior, or to a dependent adult.
• What appears to function in one country may not be
applicable in other countries because of factors such as each
country’s history, culture, laws, relationship with religion, and
past experience with cultic or totalistic movements.
• Governments have at their disposition an enormous
amount of power and, in dealing with any group, should be
extremely cautious in wielding that power. Unless there is a
serious and legal reason, the state should show restraint.
• Different situations may call for different criteria to determine
whether or not an intervention is appropriate and feasible.
For example, should a family intervene when they have a
loved one in a group they perceive to be harmful? Should
state authorities intervene to control certain cultic groups?
In closing, I have raised a number of questions in this
presentation that I and others have asked over the years,
and I would be very interested in what you have to say.
Thank you. ■
About the Author
Mike Kropveld
is founder and executive director
of Info-Cult/Info-Secte (1980)
based in Montreal, Canada
(www.infocult.org). He is on the
Board of Directors of the
International Cultic Studies
Association (ICSA) and of the
International Society for the
Study of New Religions (ISSNR). ■
Email: infosecte@qc.aibn.com
Notes
1. Anderson Cooper 360°, CNN, October 8, 2011
(http://www.mediaite.com/tv/anti-mormon-pastor-to-
anderson-cooper-romney-may-belong-to-a-cult-but-
he-is-better-than-obama/).
2. France 3, Sun, July 3, 2011, with guest George
Fenech, English translation (http://www.sott.net/arti-
cles/show/235545-Georges-Fenech-of-MIVILUDES-
Nemesis-of-the-Scientific-Method).
3. Mike Kropveld and Marie-Andrée Pelland, The Cult
Phenomenon: How Groups Function, Info-Cult (2006).
See Appendix 6: Governments and the Cult
Phenomenon, p. 165–168
(http://infosect.freeshell.org/infocult/
phenomene/English/HTML/doc0018.htm#R248).
4. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
(http://www.religioustolerance.org/cults.htm).
5. Refers to the manner in which the members of
Peoples Temple died in a mass murder/suicide in
Jonestown, Guyana, November 18, 1978. Marshall
Kilduff and Ron Javers, The Suicide Cult: The Inside
Story of the Peoples Temple Sect and the Massacre in
Guyana, Bantam Books (1978). Mary McCormick
Maaga, Hearing The Voices of Jonestown, Syracuse
University Press (1998).
6. Two examples that are especially significant in the
province of Quebec where I reside are 1) The Order of
the Solar Temple, in which more than seventy people
died in three countries, in murder and ritual collective
suicides operated in the province of Quebec. The
murder/suicides were precipitated by the murder in
September 1994 in Morin Heights, a village outside of
Montreal, of a husband and wife and their three-
month-old baby, who had tried to escape from the
group. 2) The group led by Roch “Moses” Theriault had
a history of physical and sexual abuse of its members,
including the murder by Roch Theriault of one of its
members.
7. For example, see the following: 1) France—“Les
Sectes en France” Rapport Fait au Nom de la
Commission D'Enquête sur les Sectes (le 22 décembre
1995) (http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/rap-
enq/r2468.asp). 2) Belgium—Chambre des
Représentants de Belgique: ENQUETE PARLEMENTAIRE
visant à élaborer une politique en vue de lutter contre
les pratiques illégales des sectes et le danger qu'elles
représentent pour la société et pour les personnes,
particulièrement les mineurs d'âge. (28 avril 1997)
Partie I (http://www.lachambre.be/FLWB/pdf/49/
0313/49K0313007.pdf) Partie II (http://www.
lachambre.be/FLWB/pdf/49/0313/49K0313008.pdf).
8. Mike Kropveld and Marie-Andrée Pelland (see Note
3).
9. See Note 3. See also Mike Kropveld, “Governments
and Cults.” Presentation given at the INFORM/CESNUR
conference, Twenty Years and More: Research into
Minority Religions, New Religious Movements and 'the
New Spirituality.' London, England (2008) (http://
infosect.freeshell.org/infocult/kropveld_inform2008.pdf).
10. Adapted from “The Definitional Ambiguity of ‘Cult’
and ICSA’s Mission,” Michael D. Langone, PhD
(http://cultmediation.com/infoserv_articles/langone_
michael_definitional_ambiguityofcult.asp).
11. Michael Kropveld, “An Example for Controversy:
Creating a Model for Reconciliation,” Cultic Studies
Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, p. 130–150. Accessible at
http://infosect.freeshell.org/infocult/
ControversyCSR.doc
12. Robert Jay Lifton, Thought Reform and the
Psychology of Totalism: A Study of "Brainwashing" in
China, W. W. Norton and Company (1961).
13. Michael Langone, Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 18,
2001, p. 1
14. A previous version of this paper, presented in
Bangkok, indicated that the arrested member was
sentenced to 2 years in prison. This information came
from the article in Asia News, “Jehovah’s Witness gets
two years in prison for possession of ‘extremist
literature’” (http://www.asianews.it/newsen/
Jehovah%E2%80%99s-Witness-gets-two-years-in-
prison-for-possession-of-%E2%80%9Cextremist-
literature%E2%80%9D-19529.html). I could find no
other reference to that information, and other reports
indicate that the arrested member was sentenced to
100 hours of community service. Sophia Kishkovsky,
“Russian Terror Law Has Unlikely Targets,”The New
York Times, November 3, 2011 (http://www.nytimes.
com/2011/11/04/world/europe/russian-terror-law-has-
unlikely-targets.html). “Russian court finds Jehovah’s
Witness guilty of inciting hatred,” Amnesty
International, 3 November 2011 (http://www.amnesty.
org/en/news/russian-court-finds-jehovahs-witness-
guilty-inciting-hatred-2011-11-03)
15. “Counter-cult” groups are composed primarily of
conservative Protestant Christians who label groups as
cults for having unorthodox or heretical beliefs
according to their interpretation of the Bible. Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance (http://www.
religioustolerance.org/ccm.htm).
16. For more details, see the following: 1) Mike Kropveld
and Marie-Andrée Pelland (see Note 3), and 2) Mike
Kropveld, “A Comparison of Different Countries’
Approaches to Cult-Related Issues.” Paper presented at
the European Federation of Centres of Research and
Information on Sectarianism (FECRIS) Conference, Cults
and Esotericism: New Challenges for Civil Societies in
Europe (Hamburg, April 28, 2007) (http://infosect.
freeshell.org/infocult/HamburgpresentationFECRIS
Final-web.pdf).
There are other considerations to keep in mind:
• Laws in different countries require that certain
professionals are legally and ethically bound to report
to protective services when there is even a suspicion
of harm to a child, a senior, or to a dependent adult.
• What appears to function in one country may not be
applicable in other countries because of factors such as each
country’s history, culture, laws, relationship with religion, and
past experience with cultic or totalistic movements.
• Governments have at their disposition an enormous
amount of power and, in dealing with any group, should be
extremely cautious in wielding that power. Unless there is a
serious and legal reason, the state should show restraint.
• Different situations may call for different criteria to determine
whether or not an intervention is appropriate and feasible.
For example, should a family intervene when they have a
loved one in a group they perceive to be harmful? Should
state authorities intervene to control certain cultic groups?
In closing, I have raised a number of questions in this
presentation that I and others have asked over the years,
and I would be very interested in what you have to say.
Thank you. ■
About the Author
Mike Kropveld
is founder and executive director
of Info-Cult/Info-Secte (1980)
based in Montreal, Canada
(www.infocult.org). He is on the
Board of Directors of the
International Cultic Studies
Association (ICSA) and of the
International Society for the
Study of New Religions (ISSNR). ■
Email: infosecte@qc.aibn.com
Notes
1. Anderson Cooper 360°, CNN, October 8, 2011
(http://www.mediaite.com/tv/anti-mormon-pastor-to-
anderson-cooper-romney-may-belong-to-a-cult-but-
he-is-better-than-obama/).
2. France 3, Sun, July 3, 2011, with guest George
Fenech, English translation (http://www.sott.net/arti-
cles/show/235545-Georges-Fenech-of-MIVILUDES-
Nemesis-of-the-Scientific-Method).
3. Mike Kropveld and Marie-Andrée Pelland, The Cult
Phenomenon: How Groups Function, Info-Cult (2006).
See Appendix 6: Governments and the Cult
Phenomenon, p. 165–168
(http://infosect.freeshell.org/infocult/
phenomene/English/HTML/doc0018.htm#R248).
4. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
(http://www.religioustolerance.org/cults.htm).
5. Refers to the manner in which the members of
Peoples Temple died in a mass murder/suicide in
Jonestown, Guyana, November 18, 1978. Marshall
Kilduff and Ron Javers, The Suicide Cult: The Inside
Story of the Peoples Temple Sect and the Massacre in
Guyana, Bantam Books (1978). Mary McCormick
Maaga, Hearing The Voices of Jonestown, Syracuse
University Press (1998).
6. Two examples that are especially significant in the
province of Quebec where I reside are 1) The Order of
the Solar Temple, in which more than seventy people
died in three countries, in murder and ritual collective
suicides operated in the province of Quebec. The
murder/suicides were precipitated by the murder in
September 1994 in Morin Heights, a village outside of
Montreal, of a husband and wife and their three-
month-old baby, who had tried to escape from the
group. 2) The group led by Roch “Moses” Theriault had
a history of physical and sexual abuse of its members,
including the murder by Roch Theriault of one of its
members.
7. For example, see the following: 1) France—“Les
Sectes en France” Rapport Fait au Nom de la
Commission D'Enquête sur les Sectes (le 22 décembre
1995) (http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/rap-
enq/r2468.asp). 2) Belgium—Chambre des
Représentants de Belgique: ENQUETE PARLEMENTAIRE
visant à élaborer une politique en vue de lutter contre
les pratiques illégales des sectes et le danger qu'elles
représentent pour la société et pour les personnes,
particulièrement les mineurs d'âge. (28 avril 1997)
Partie I (http://www.lachambre.be/FLWB/pdf/49/
0313/49K0313007.pdf) Partie II (http://www.
lachambre.be/FLWB/pdf/49/0313/49K0313008.pdf).
8. Mike Kropveld and Marie-Andrée Pelland (see Note
3).
9. See Note 3. See also Mike Kropveld, “Governments
and Cults.” Presentation given at the INFORM/CESNUR
conference, Twenty Years and More: Research into
Minority Religions, New Religious Movements and 'the
New Spirituality.' London, England (2008) (http://
infosect.freeshell.org/infocult/kropveld_inform2008.pdf).
10. Adapted from “The Definitional Ambiguity of ‘Cult’
and ICSA’s Mission,” Michael D. Langone, PhD
(http://cultmediation.com/infoserv_articles/langone_
michael_definitional_ambiguityofcult.asp).
11. Michael Kropveld, “An Example for Controversy:
Creating a Model for Reconciliation,” Cultic Studies
Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, p. 130–150. Accessible at
http://infosect.freeshell.org/infocult/
ControversyCSR.doc
12. Robert Jay Lifton, Thought Reform and the
Psychology of Totalism: A Study of "Brainwashing" in
China, W. W. Norton and Company (1961).
13. Michael Langone, Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 18,
2001, p. 1
14. A previous version of this paper, presented in
Bangkok, indicated that the arrested member was
sentenced to 2 years in prison. This information came
from the article in Asia News, “Jehovah’s Witness gets
two years in prison for possession of ‘extremist
literature’” (http://www.asianews.it/newsen/
Jehovah%E2%80%99s-Witness-gets-two-years-in-
prison-for-possession-of-%E2%80%9Cextremist-
literature%E2%80%9D-19529.html). I could find no
other reference to that information, and other reports
indicate that the arrested member was sentenced to
100 hours of community service. Sophia Kishkovsky,
“Russian Terror Law Has Unlikely Targets,”The New
York Times, November 3, 2011 (http://www.nytimes.
com/2011/11/04/world/europe/russian-terror-law-has-
unlikely-targets.html). “Russian court finds Jehovah’s
Witness guilty of inciting hatred,” Amnesty
International, 3 November 2011 (http://www.amnesty.
org/en/news/russian-court-finds-jehovahs-witness-
guilty-inciting-hatred-2011-11-03)
15. “Counter-cult” groups are composed primarily of
conservative Protestant Christians who label groups as
cults for having unorthodox or heretical beliefs
according to their interpretation of the Bible. Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance (http://www.
religioustolerance.org/ccm.htm).
16. For more details, see the following: 1) Mike Kropveld
and Marie-Andrée Pelland (see Note 3), and 2) Mike
Kropveld, “A Comparison of Different Countries’
Approaches to Cult-Related Issues.” Paper presented at
the European Federation of Centres of Research and
Information on Sectarianism (FECRIS) Conference, Cults
and Esotericism: New Challenges for Civil Societies in
Europe (Hamburg, April 28, 2007) (http://infosect.
freeshell.org/infocult/HamburgpresentationFECRIS
Final-web.pdf).
