Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion (Paperback)

by Marc Galanter (Author) "We tend to think of cults as anomalies, as if alien forces had swept their members-people who once seemed normal-into a netherworld beyond reason or..." (more)
Key Phrases: spiritual recovery movements, home church movement, matching ceremony, Unification Church, Reverend Moon, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This report, the result of "15 years of studying the psychology of contemporary charismatic groups," offers possibilities in the treatment of mental illness and the understanding of group violence. Galanter, professor of psychiatry at New York University, demonstrates that many of the counterculture movements of the '60s, then considered exotic, are now elements of mainstream American life. Taking a scientific stance, he investigates the psychology of various zealous groups, seeking the source of their influence. Galanter's range is wide, including disparaged groups like MOVE and the one led by Jim Jones, as well as healing programs based on the AA model. First-person accounts of conversions and disillusionment, and a detailed look at the apparently successful "Moonie" movement, support this objective, comprehensive analysis of cult power.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
YA-- Without passing judgment on the groups studied, Galanter compares different cult groups for an understanding of their psychological make-up. He examines the effects of group cohesiveness, shared beliefs, and altered consciousness as common forces in what he calls "charismatic" groups, and details the similarities between cults and zealous self-help groups. Cults and zealous religious sects include the troubled People's Temple in Guyana (Jonestown), MOVE, the Unification Church of Sun Myung Moon, and even Alcoholics Anonymous. Based on careful research, the wealth of information and copious first-hand accounts of individual experiences illustrate the domination of the cult/charismatic leader over personal daily routines and help to explain why individuals can make strong, and in many cases enduring, commitments to absolute strangers in ways that would seem unusual in other group settings. Although the material, vocabulary, and format are scholarly, the prose is easily accessible, highly readable, and clear. The format should not deter young adults searching for information on this popular research-paper topic.
- Gwen Salama, Hastings High School, Houston
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (January 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195123700
• ISBN-13: 978-0195123708
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #351,919 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charismatic Coercion Studies, June 18, 2001

By	J. Istre (Indianapolis, Indiana) - See all my reviews

This is a fairly rigorous scientific study of the processes composing cults and charismatic groups. The author provides many examples and case studies, then develops a general theory into a process model. In engineering, we call this a control system. A system has various inputs and outputs and setpoints, or references. The setpoints are the desired results (outputs). Effective systems have a feedback mechanism assuring that the group produces the correct results. This is called monitoring. The leader of the group monitors the thoughts and the actions of the members almost fanatically and foresees contradictory evidence from the outside world and immediately attempts to rationalize it and reinterpret it in the mindset of the group. The group induces extreme stress, then provides relief of that same stress by conformance to the group's doctrines or ideas.

So great can be the stress induced on suspecting people, that sometimes the sanity of the person is threatened. There is a conflict between what the person's needs are and what the group's needs are. The person is expected to meet the needs of the group. The group provides stress relief after the member conforms. Of course, this constant stress inducement and relief is the technique used by the leaders to assure themselves that the people are in line both in mind and in action. Someone who sacrifices so much for the group is more likely to be a true believer. It also gives an idea of those most likely to join such groups: those in the midst of great personal problems and distress; in response to the recruit's current psychological distress where the world seems so messy and hard to understand, the group gives the person a false sense of certainty in their doctrines. Of course, I give here only a rough sketch.

The techniques identified are eye-opening and scary. It appears that not too many people are immune to some sorts of mind coercion. I suppose that knowledge is power and the more one knows about cults and charismatic groups and their repressive psychological terror tactics, the less the subject will be suceptible to recruitment. This study explains who some seemingly rational people can fall for such obviously deviant groups.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SUPERB, March 25, 2000

By	Powerline Ministries (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion (Hardcover)

As an Exit Counselor, I found your publication very helpful in further helping me distinguish between mind control organizations and their effects on those who join. The author breaks his subject down to "forces responsible in the Charismatic groups". He also shows followers of these mind control organizations case histories of these groups. I find his book excellent because while he shows a description of these organizations, he also shows recovery principles. I recommend anyone reading this who knows someone who has been involved with not-only religious mind control organizations, but someone who has become involved with pyramid-scheme marketing companies and even people who exert a strong influence. I recommend you reading this publication so you can learn how people are influencing you to do things you may not want to do. Other recommended categories to research includes confidence schemes, mind-control and charismatic groups. This book is a recommended first-reading.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional, February 15, 2008

By	Santi Tafarella (california) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is hard to put down--it is thoroughly fascinating. It is also an excellent introduction to the dynamics of social psychology in general. The author uses systems theory as a method for thinking about cults--reflecting, for example, on how feedback, monitoring, and group border control can assist us in thinking about insular religious movements. One interesting aspect of cults that the author discusses, and that I had not ever read elsewhere, is their ability to induce in members the 'Stockholm Effect.' This is a term borrowed from a hostage bank robbery in Stockholm some years back, in which hostages began to identify with the person holding them hostage. The author argues that something like this is going on in charismatic religious movements, where initiates are both threatened with abuse and derive their emotional comfort from the same source. People are made to feel abandoned or damned if they stray from the group's norms, but are given family comfort and safety if they adhere closely to the group's beliefs and goals. Like a roach motel, you check in, but have difficulty checking out. I feel that this book's insights into the social psychology of cults is also valuable in understanding propagandistic movements and charismatic manipulation generally.