What I’d like to do now is highlight a few of the main things I’ve distilled of concluded about all of this. I don’t claim that all of the following insights are 100% my own, and I thank all the people whose work on cults and totalistic belief systems has lead to a deeper understanding of this extreme manifestation of religious faith, and also basic human nature.
The first thing that people usually ask me when they hear of my involvement is “Why did you join, how did you get involved?”. Who joins cults? (The real answer is that no one joins a cult, they join a “spiritual community” or “religious organization”, that turns out to be a cult. Some people don’t even make the decision to join, they simply get immersed in the cult environment that step by step takes away the option of leaving . But this is getting to the issue of mind control, which I will discuss later.) I don’t think you can easily pigeonhole or characterize the typical member. I saw quite a cross section of character types, life histories, and backgrounds in the UC. But if I had to, I would offer these sweeping generalities about the typical recruit:
- They would be young, concerned, idealistic people who think about the world and want to make it better. Few people who join are older than 25 – what you would call “Peace Corps” types.
- By definition, they would be open minded, willing to entertain new ideas,
perhaps searching for answers, meaning, clarity – what you would call “seekers”. - Often, they would be sheltered, naive, and trusting, not what you would
call “street smart”. Basic middle class suburban kids. - Maybe they would be at a crossroads in their life – perhaps they are at a moment of personal crises, maybe they lost a loved one or a job, or recently broke up a relationship, and are lonely, vulnerable, in need of acceptance and support.
It’s ironic to note that it is often very virtuous qualities that make a person susceptible to cult recruitment – the desire to do good, to change the world, to know the truth. Another ironic thing is that by definition, a naive person won’t understand that quality in him or her self. That was my problem for sure – I was naive, and I didn’t know it!
Once again, these are very sweeping generalities, and I’m sure there are plenty of exceptions. I do very clearly remember, however, the direction of the leaders, to look for what we called “prepared people” in our recruiting efforts, people with these qualities. The lone, young backpacker in the park didn’t stand a chance! We’d practically fight over them! And if this person seemed friendly, open and divulged that he or she was concerned about the world and thinking about what they were going to do with their life, (and happened to have the weekend open), we’d be in witnessing heaven! We’d have them chalked up as spiritual children before they even made it to the center. Of course, we would do the indemnity prayer conditions anyway, just to make sure.
The second thing I’d like to touch on is the whole issue of “mind control”. It’s a concept which is still somewhat controversial, and deals with basic philosophical questions of free will, the complex workings of the mind, the nature of religious experience, and other questions of human motivations and behavior.
In 1960, sociologist Robert Lifton wrote a book called “Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism”. In it, he documents his studies of Chinese efforts during the Korean war and later to “brainwash” American POW’s and shape the behavior of people in their society to conform to the “party line”. In the book, he identifies eight specific techniques used to achieve this. I’m not going to go through and explain every one of them now, but they do include things like the control of communication (internal as well as external – in the UC we called this “cutting off give and take with negativity”), the demand for purity, the need for public confession of our sins and unworthiness, holding the doctrine as a “sacred science” above question or scrutiny, loading the language with buzz words and jargon (which helped cement group identity, clarify the distinction between insiders and outsiders, and tended to stifle critical thinking), etc. What is important to note is that the book by Lifton was written long before the cult phenomena became an issue in this country, and that every one of the eight techniques outlined was used by the UC to gain and keep members. It was quite an eye opener.
Now, I’m not claiming that mind control is some sort of “voodoo magic”, that the cult can turn anyone into a “brainwashed zombie” just by getting them into the cult environment. We can only speculate how much mind control contributes to the conversion process. But I do believe strongly that it is a very real, very effective force in shaping behavior and obtaining conformity, much more than is generally recognized. I look at my mentality and behavior, the things I did, what I believed, what I rationalized in the group, and compare that to how I was before I joined, and since leaving, and I know that this radical change in my behavior can’t be explained away by some new found “love of God”. I read the letters I wrote home when I was a member, and it is very foreign to me, almost embarrassing – “I actually wrote that?!” Very strong psychological forces were working on me that I had no understanding of. I know I wasn’t acting or thinking with real, independent freedom of mind or conscience. I believe there were times when I would have done just about anything I was told to do. In fact, absolute obedience and the willingness to do anything was the standard of faith for which we were trained. We were always reminded of the story of Abraham and his son Isaac, and asked “Would you be willing to sacrifice your Isaac?”.
Of all the theologians, sociologists or cult apologists who have dismissed the notion of mind control, I have seen none offer an explanation as to how a Jonestown or a Waco could happen without allowing for some extreme form of coercion and control. People just don’t do that kind of thing with intact faculties.
The third thing I’d like to address is the doctrine of the UC. Now, it is important to note that it is not my intent to belittle any ones beliefs here. If someone wants to believe in subject/object, Cain/Abel, the “fall of man”, that Moon is the messiah, etc.etc., that is their business. I do think it is silly and detrimental to our spiritual growth to believe something without thinking, and I am bothered by religious people’s insistence that you can’t say anything which might challenge or reinterpret those beliefs. Contrary to the claim that opposition to groups like the UC is reIigious bigotry and persecution, most people’s objection to cults is not based on cult belief, but cult practice. In this case, however, the doctrine can reasonably be seen as an important tool in the effort to shape the behavior of the members, and obtain conformity and obedience.
The UC “Bible”, the new truth that Moon is said to have brought, is called the “Divine Principle”. In the first chapter, it talks about things like the nature of the universe and God’s purpose of creation. It speaks of dualities of internal and external, spirit world and physical world, subject and object. We hear of God’s heart of love, and how the ideal of His creation was for the purpose of love. Also, that man has a “portion of responsibility” to complete in order for the ideal, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, to come about.
The second chapter deals with the “fall of man”, or what went wrong, why we don’t have the ideal now. It interprets the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in sexual terms. A literal Adam and Eve, the first two humans, were “growing to perfection” in the Garden. They had a responsibility to fulfill to reach this perfection. Lucifer, an archangel who was helping God in the upbringing of the two, (the original au pair?!) “left his proper position” and seduced Eve out of a desire for love. Eve then seduced Adam before they had “grown to perfection” and were qualified to have this union. They had failed to fulfill their “portion of responsibility”. The first “true family” was not established, and in it’s place a “tainted lineage” of false love under Satan’s (fallen Lucifer’s) dominion was established. This transgression is the reason for all the troubles of the world.
As a “result of the fall,” humankind has sin. Each person has not only the “original sin” of Adam and Eve on his head, but also “collective sin”, which is the sin of his clan or people, “inherited sin”, the sin of his ancestors, and “individual sin”, a person’s own wrong actions. Some unscrupulous religious leaders have historically used guilt about our “sinfulness” to manipulate the flock, but four different kinds of sin has to be a record!
Another “result of the fall” is that humankind has “four fallen natures”: 1) “failure to take God’s point of view” 2) “leaving proper position” 3) “reversal of dominion” 4) “multiplication of evil”. These are arrived at by looking at what happened between Eve and Lucifer, then Adam and Eve, the so called “motivation and process of the fall”. But if we look at these “fallen natures” and what they are really communicating to a member, they are simply another way of saying disbelief (fallen nature #1) and disobedience (#2, 3 and 4).
A third result of the fall, is that God is also suffering, grieving over the plight of man. This is seen as the deepest, most profound “truth” that Moon has brought to the world. On one hand, there is some logic to the conclusion that if God is a personal God of love, the plight of this world must be very distressing indeed. On the other hand, I’m just not sure it’s reasonable to limit God, to define God’s reality in terms of our limited understanding and perspective. After all, if God perceives time as we do, and God”s happiness and joy is fulfilled in relationship with man, you have to wonder what He was doing for those billions of years before humans were on the scene. But you can see how powerful a motivation this emotional appeal is for a member who believes that the only way to comfort God’s heart is to fulfill the mission of building the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. (Bring in those members and make that money.)
As a result of these teachings on the “fall”, the UC, along with many other fundamentalist ideologies, tends to define morality very heavily in terms of sexual behavior (or more appropriately, the lack of sexual behavior!). This notion of the “weakness of the flesh” is taken to extremes in the UC, when Moon said that eating, sleeping, and sex are all weaknesses that must be overcome. And further, not only is sexual desire to be completely suppressed (at least until Moon says it is OK , with the person he chose for you), but any romantic emotions toward another person are absolutely evil, the nature of the fall itself.
I believe that focusing on sexual conduct serves many purposes for someone trying to maintain control over members of a totalistic group. By turning natural biological and emotional drives into something shameful, it creates guilt, confusion, self doubt, and a sense of sinfulness, which in turn creates a need for salvation and a dependence on your savior, usually the group leader. It diverts attention away from other conduct in the group which might be seen as immoral such as deception, emotional abuse, exploitation, etc. It also serves to create a sense of self righteousness in the members – after all, if they are not “doing it”, they can view themselves as superior, pure and “undefiled”. It serves the group to channel that sexual energy into the “mission”. This was the case in George Orwell’s “1984”, where the authoritarian police state had it’s “chastity patrol”. In fact, it could be argued that a totalistic group must control it’s members sex and love life, for their compelling and powerful nature make them the biggest threat to the groups control over the members lives.
The third chapter in the DP talks about God’s “providence of restoration” and His efforts to restore the fallen world. It purports to show how history (that is, Judeo-Christian history) is a record of this effort. The main principle by which this happens is called “restoration through the Cain – Abel relationship.” To undo the fall, God divided Adam and Eve’s family into relative good (Abel camp) and relative evil (Cain camp). Cain was supposed to come back to God’s side through Abel by submitting and humbling himself to him. Instead, of course, Cain killed Abel. Most of “providential history” is seen as a repetition and variation of this basic dynamic, on different levels. A belief like this serves to set up a direct hierarchy in the group, leading up to Moon himself. Everyone in the group has someone in the “Abel” position over him or her, through which you receive God’s direction and your restoration.
There is also a “principle of restoration” called “indemnity”. Basically, this principle states that bad deeds, ” bad conditions”, have to be undone, or restored to their original “good condition”. It is kind of a spin on “karma”, with notions of spiritual merit and spiritual debt in some cosmic balance book. You gain merit by paying indemnity through acts of devotion and attendance to God and the messiah. It often involves hardship, suffering, and sacrifice. The Biblical code of “an eye for an eye” was seen as an example of the principle of indemnity. Accidents, sickness, and other unfortunate situations were routinely interpreted as “paying indemnity” for some perceived sin. A practical result of this doctrine is that members expect that bad things will happen if they provide the “right conditions”, that is, deviate in some way from correct behavior.
By now, you may be saying to yourself, “How could anyone buy into this stuff?” You must remember that I’m presenting it to you with the benefit of hindsight and experience. A new recruit is exposed to deeper and deeper levels of “understanding” in a step by step process that seems logical. And frankly, some aspects of the teaching are very reasonable. They are also good at poking holes in many traditional Christian beliefs. But in the totalistic cults, you don’t have the option of picking and choosing what you want to believe – you have to buy the whole package.
Now, to give you an idea of the kind of mentality that such a belief system fosters, to get a glimpse into the mind of a true believer, I want to quote some passages from a recent UC public speech called “True Parents and the Completed Testament Age”, copyright 1993:
“Due to the fall this present world is far from the good world of God’s ideal. In fact, today’s world is a “false” world, in that it is flooded with self-centered love. This came about because Adam and Eve became false parents based on false and self-centered love with Satan. They multiplied evil rather than goodness, creating a false family and passing on false life and false lineage to their descendants. Thus, false clans, false nations, and a false world came into being…
“It is not by chance that self-centered individualism has become the dominant way of life in these last days. People feel increasingly alienated from those around them, and bear little sense of responsibility for the well-being of the country, society or even their own families. Rising divorce statistics indicate husbands and wives feel little responsibility toward their marriages; parents do not take proper responsibility for their children…
“America has seen such phenomena at work beginning with the youth movement of the sixties. Idealistic youth rejected the materialism around them in order to seek love and peace, but in the process, they also abandoned morality and responsibility. Unable to attain the true love they sought, many disillusioned young people resorted to suicide, drug abuse, and free sex.
“Of all these, what pains God most is free sex. A world of free sex is absolutely contrary to the Will of God and the ideal of family. Love comes from stimulation of unblemished emotion, but free sex is totally devoid of purity and true emotion. How many of us have been touched by the cruelty of infidelity and divorce? Where is God in all the one night stands? What about the nightmare of children who are sexually abused by a parent? Is free sex worth the price of a broken child?
“Equally alarming is the policy of giving schoolchildren condoms, teaching the illusion of safe sex, surrendering to the assumption that premarital sex is inevitable. Indeed, where there is homosexuality, free sex, drugs and alcoholism, the world of true love is far away.
“In this world, Satan openly tells people, “Drink! Smoke! Take drugs! Have sex!” Those who do God’s Will, on the other hand, live a lifestyle that is 180 degrees different from this…
“There are those who continue to oppose the Unification Church, spreading wild rumors or trying to prevent our teachings from being heard. Again, Satan’s way is always to attack that which is most precious to God…”
It goes on and on like this. The first thing to note is the very simplistic, distorted, and black and white world view they have. Everything is either good or evil, God or Satan. There is no dealing with ambiguity or any shades of gray. All the world’s love is false, no parents feel responsibility for their families, if you believe in “free sex”, you must be a child molester, etc. They as much as come right out and say that if you oppose the UC, you must be working for Satan. Another thing to note is the great extent to which they equate morality with sexuality. To state that “free sex” pains God more than suicide or drug abuse “makes sense” within the constructs of the ideologically rigid true believer, yet is astounding to the average person.
So, you can begin to get a picture of how the doctrine exerts it’s influence. You start with the idealistic vision of a world without pain, suffering, or loneliness, a virtual Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. You point out that this world is obviously not the ideal, that something is terribly wrong. Something is wrong with our love. You persuade people that their love is imperfect, and their natural biological urges for love and pleasure are self-centered, evil, Satanic. You show that people have four “fallen natures”, which in essence boil down to disbelief and disobedience. Burden people with the guilt of not one but four kinds of sin. Create deep feelings of unworthiness and a need for salvation, and a sense that their is no hope without the messiah. Tell people of a suffering, broken hearted God who has been disappointed for thousands of years of providential history at mankind’s repeated failures. Then, you offer a way, a new truth, a new hope for mankind. Show how this is the greatest moment in history, this is the time of fulfillment. All you have to do to comfort God’s heart, solve your deep sin, and restore Heaven on Earth, is to unite with the new messiah. Offer your life to him. Attend him. This time has cosmic significance. Nothing else you could be doing with your life is as important as this. Expect to suffer and sacrifice everything that is that is important to you. Follow your Abel figure with absolute obedience. This is the course of the saints. This is the course of glory.
Start with a doctrine like this. Combine religious insights and inspirations that resonate strongly with our deepest spiritual longings for Truth, Love, God. Present it in an environment that is engineered to break down barriers of resistance and faculties of critical evaluation, to someone who is searching for answers, trusting, and vulnerable. You can begin to see, I hope, how a person gets involved, what their mentality is like, and why it is so hard to leave. You can understand how a person can feel literally responsible for saving the world. How someone can give everything they possibly could – their mind, body and soul, their past present and future, their family and friends, their sincere hard work for seven days a week for years on end – all the while lavishing love and praise on the revered leader, all the while being told it isn’t enough, that they aren’t accomplishing what God expects, that they aren’t worthy of the blessings the leader is bestowing on them, all the while believing in their heart that it is true, repenting with tears.
You can begin to understand how the mothers and fathers of Jonestown held their children in their arms as they gave them the poison that would take their lives, and then drink it themselves. How the cult members in Waco perished in a raging inferno, when all they had to do was walk away.
Having said all that, I feel it is important to point out that I am by no means saying that all members of all cults or new religions exhibit all this fervor and zeal all the time. I think that between different groups, between members within one group, and within the life of a member over time, there is a spectrum, a continuum, of behaviors which range from very benign to very destructive, and the line between what is reasonable and what is not is often very fuzzy. When a 20 year old college student goes to a UC workshop like I described, it is recognized as manipulative, unhealthy, cultish. But when a 17 year old high school student is persuaded to go to a Christian bible camp, where he or she will experience many similar pressures to be “born again in Jesus”, all of a sudden it becomes different – “wait a minute – we have freedom of religion in this country”! When Moon found himself in court facing charges of tax violations, he had many allies in mainstream churches defending him in the name of “religious freedom”, crying persecution. I’ve often wondered whether the fact that we seem unwilling to curb the actions of the really exploitive, destructive cults has less to do with respect for religious diversity, and more to do with fear of confronting our own religious beliefs and practices. There was a great and unrecognized irony in the “Heavens Gate” tragedy of 1997. The whole country was amazed by the silly things these people actually believed – that there was an alien spaceship behind the comet’s tail, and when they died, their spirit bodies would rise up into space to join the aliens for a journey to their next realm. This happened right before Easter, when the entire Christian community celebrated the most important holiday of the Christian religion, marking the physical resurrection of Christ . Think about it.
So, in order to help you to draw the line between “valid” religious expression and destructive exploitation, I would like to suggest a few criteria, a few questions which you could ask someone who is giving you a “spiel”.
Questions for the proselytizer:
1). What do you want from me? How much of my time and money would you take from me? Do you want me to move in with the group?
2). How are decisions made in the group? If I joined, would I retain the right to decide the course of my life? How much of my autonomy would I be asked
to forego? How much of the personal lives of the members is controlled
by the group?
3). What do you know about your leaders past? His or her lifestyle? How are
leaders supported financially? What is their budget for personal things –
cars, houses, etc.? Are the books open to the members? Is there an air of
secrecy to the workings of the leader and the “inner circle”?
4). Is your leader regarded as infallible? Does he or she have supernatural
powers? Do they exercise absolute control? Is there a system of checks
balances? Do the leaders demand absolute obedience?
5). If your group were to obtain real power – in the government, police, military,
schools, etc. – what kind of society would they build? What specific
structure would they establish – democracy, theocracy, etc.?
6). Have you ever stifled or suppressed serious doubts or questions about the
groups doctrine, practices, or leader? Are you completely free to honestly
examine everything? Would you take some time to talk to someone who
openly challenges the group, or do you shy away from interaction with
skeptics?
7). Are you familiar with the techniques of mind control? Would it bother you if
many or all of these techniques were being used by your group to gain and
keep members?
Of course, a cult member isn’t likely to give straightforward answers to many of these questions. But you will probably be able to tell if they are being evasive or oblique. Outright lies can be expected if you catch them on some sensitive point – remember, when someone feels responsible for your spiritual salvation, a lot can be rationalized.
By now, you are probably concluding that I am one bitter, cynical guy. I don’t know – I like to think that’s not true. I do believe I have put this experience in the past. I still maintain a personal faith that the universe is much more than what we perceive in these three dimensions through our five physical senses. That there is a guiding force, and underlying purpose, that is working in our lives for the sake of growth, and ultimately love. However, my experiences have necessarily led me to the conclusion that there is nothing that is holy, righteous, or pure about blind, totalistic faith. God gave us a brain, and I suspect it is our responsibility to use it. Any faith which asks us to ignore reason, common sense, or what we feel deep in our heart, any world view or mentality that loses the distinction between what we know for a fact and what we accept on faith, and any system of religion which demands absolute, unquestioning obedience is contrary to our higher nature and detrimental to our spiritual growth.
So, as the say – be careful out there. Beware of the true believer – the come in many degrees and disguises, under many different political banners or religious creeds. They can be very slick, and absolutely determined, in their efforts to build a world that you or I would not want to live in. Remember that mind control is real – don’t underestimate the power, and the vulnerability, of the human brain. Don’t be surprised at the silly, crazy, or horrendous things that are justified in the name of heaven. But also try to find compassion and understanding in your heart for those on the fringe, knowing that to a great extent, they too are victims, caught in something they don’t understand.