Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion and over 360,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle � Amazon�s new wireless reading device. Learn more

Quantity:

Express Checkout with PayPhrase

What's this? | Create PayPhrase

More Buying Choices

72 used & new from $3.75

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

Share with Friends

Share your own customer images

Search inside this book

Start reading Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion on your Kindle in under a minute. Don�t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.

Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion (Paperback)

~ (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...)

4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

List Price:	$25.00
Price:	$21.50 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save:	$3.50 (14%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Thursday, November 12? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

24 new from $4.85 47 used from $3.75 1 collectible from $35.70

Formats		Amazon Price	New from	Used from
Kindle Edition $8.00 Available for download now. Published January 1, 1989	Kindle Edition	$8.00	--	--
Hardcover $45.00 In Stock. Published May 19, 1999	Hardcover	$45.00	$25.00	$13.00
	See # more hardcovers
	Show fewer hardcovers
Paperback $10.00 In Stock. Published April 30, 1989	Paperback	$10.00	$10.00	$37.48
Paperback $21.50 In Stock. Published January 1, 1989	Paperback, January 1, 1989	$21.50	$4.85	$3.75
	See # more paperbacks
	Show fewer paperbacks

Frequently Bought Together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Combatting Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best-selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults

by Steven Hassan

4.4 out of 5 stars (44) $11.53

Cults in Our Midst: The Continuing Fight Against Their Hidden Menace

by Margaret Thaler Singer

3.9 out of 5 stars (29) $14.21

Abducted: How People Come to Believe They Were Kidnapped by Aliens

by Susan A. Clancy

2.9 out of 5 stars (33) $12.01

Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the People's Temple

by Deborah Layton

4.8 out of 5 stars (265) $10.85

Recovery from Cults: Help for Victims of Psychological and Spiritual Abuse

by Michael D. Langone

5.0 out of 5 stars (4) $13.46

› Explore similar items

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.

See all Editorial Reviews

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: #277,578 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Marc Galanter Page

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
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 understanding. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
spiritual recovery movements, home church movement, matching ceremony, ismatic group, boundary control function, affiliative feelings, neurotic distress, workshop sequence, charismatic sects, disruptive life events, zealous groups, medical mainstream, cultic groups, relief effect, healing movements, social cohesiveness

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Unification Church, Reverend Moon, United States, Divine Light Mission, New York, Maharaj Ji, Alcoholics Anonymous, Divine Principle, Peoples Temple, San Francisco, Aum Shinrikyo, Heaven's Gate, Oneida Community, Branch Davidian, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, Shoko Asahara, Holy Spirit, Twelve Step, Bernie Siegel, David Koresh, First Amendment, Hare Krishna, Jim Jones, One-World Crusade

New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats

Citations (learn more)

This book cites 66 books:

Divine Principle by Sun Myung Moon on 6 pages
The Natural Mind: A New Way of Looking at Drugs and the Higher Consciousness by Andrew Weil on page 191, and Back Matter
Perfect Health: The Complete Mind/Body Guide, Revised and Updated Edition by MD Deepak Chopra on page 190, and Back Matter
Transcendental Meditation by Mahesh Yogi on page 64, and page 146
A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles" by Marianne Williamson on page 196, and Back Matter

See all 66 books this book cites

46 books cite this book:

Cult Fictions: C.G. Jung and the Founding of Analytical Psychology by Sonu Shamdasani on page 9, and Back Matter
Psychiatry and Religion: Context, Consensus and Controversies by Dinesh Bhugra on page 95, and page 136
THE HANDBOOK ON CULTS AND SECTS IN AMERICA - PART B (Religion & the Social Order) by G Bromley D on page 71, and page 135
The Drift into Deception: The Eight Characteristics of Abusive Christianity by Agnes C. Lawless in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
THE HANDBOOK ON CULTS AND SECTS IN AMERICA - PART A (Religion & the Social Order) by G Bromley D on page 169, and page 235

See all 46 books citing this book

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Mystics and Messiahs by Philip Jenkins

Discusses:

The Sociology of Religious Movements by Will Bainbridge

Discusses:

Persuasion and Healing by Jerome D. Frank MD PhD

Discusses:

Religions in the Modern World by Linda Woodhead

Discusses:

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	74% buy the item featured on this page: Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion 4.4 out of 5 stars (5) $21.50
	8% buy Combatting Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best-selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults 4.4 out of 5 stars (44) $11.53
	7% buy Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships 5.0 out of 5 stars (10) $13.26
	6% buy Cults in Our Midst: The Continuing Fight Against Their Hidden Menace 3.9 out of 5 stars (29) $14.21

Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

(What's this?)

Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.

conversion(2)

cults(2)

psychology(2)

faith(1)

See all 9 tags...

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

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.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

15 of 17 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.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

5 of 5 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.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 5 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Now if only
If only someone would apply what we learn from this book to the Islamic radicals that have taken hold of entire populations, we'd be getting somewhere. Read more

Published on January 22, 2002

2.0 out of 5 stars Superficial and unsatisfying
Sorry, but this book just doesn't cut it. I expected in-depth information about the psychology of cults and I got superficial anecdotes that never dipped below the headlines... Read more

Published on July 5, 2001 by Bonnie Ramthun

› See all 5 customer reviews...

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jqOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jqOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jqOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; }

Customer Discussions

This product's forum

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight

Start a new discussion

Topic:

First post:

Receive e-mail when new posts are made

Prompts for sign-in

Guidelines

Active discussions in related forums

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
religion We told you all that Obama was a disaster. Now that he's failed...	7	3 minutes ago
christianity -Trinity-Do all Christians believe in it?	404	5 minutes ago
religion The meaning of life?	13	6 minutes ago
health Why do cyclists more often go through red lights, and break numerous other road rules?	44	6 minutes ago
health Is Spanking a lovable or harmful form of disipline?	7025	9 minutes ago
alternative medicine Scenic Relaxation / Guided Meditation Video as a Healing Aid	0	20 hours ago
psychology Ft. Hood's Killer Psychiatrist	4	2 days ago