Combatting Cult Mind Control

Combatting Cult Mind Control

Book Cover
Author Steven Hassan
Country United States
Language English
Series Freedom of Mind Press
Subject Cults, Mind control
Genre Non-fiction
Publisher Park Street Press
Publication date
 1988
Media type Print (Hardcover)
Pages 256 pp
ISBN 0-89281-243-5
OCLC 18382426
306/.1 19
LC Class BP603 .H375 1988
Followed by Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves, 2000

Combatting Cult Mind Control is a non-fiction work by Steven Hassan described as a "Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults." The author discusses theories of mind control and cults based on the research of Margaret Singer and Robert Lifton as well as the cognitive dissonance theory of Leon Festinger. Park Street Press, a New age and alternative beliefs publisher, first published the book in 1988. In 2015, Hassan's own Freedom of Mind Press issued a revised 25th anniversary edition, Combating Cult Mind Control, featuring Hassan's new analysis of how coercive groups use social media to gain undue influence and updates on organizations that he alleges practice mind control.

Hassan is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is a former member of the Unification Church.

Reception

Positive Viewpoints

“ One is impressed by Hassan's candor in describing his experiences both within the Unification Church and after his departure from it, especially his work as an exit counselor. Beyond its value as an illuminating personal account, this book is an informative and practical guide to cult-related issues. It is recommended both to lay persons who wish to become better informed on this topic and to professionals in health-related fields, clergy, attorneys, judges, and others whose responsibilities bring them into contact with cults, their members, and the families whose lives are affected. ”
— Louis Jolyon West, M.D., American Journal of Psychiatry[1]

The book has been reviewed in the American Journal of Psychiatry,[2] and in the The Lancet.[3]

The book was well received by other authors on the subject, such as Dr. Margaret Singer, Rabbi James A. Rudin and conservative Rabbi and theologian Harold S. Kushner. Singer writes:[3]

"...A major contribution...For the first time, a skilled and ethical exit counselor has spelled out the details of the complicated yet understandable process of helping free a human being from the bondage of mental manipulation.....Steve Hassan has written a 'how to do something about it' book."

The book, according to the author's website, has been re-published in seven different languages.[4]

Critical Viewpoints

John B. Brown II of the "Pagan Unity Campaign" criticized a policy stated in the book (page 114) which says that although Hassan had '"decided not to participate in forcible interventions, believing it was imperative to find another approach"', "Forcible intervention can be kept as a last resort if all other attempts fail." Brown states that this indicates that Hassan advocates resorting to a forcible intervention if all other attempts fail.[5]

According to Douglas Cowan, in this book Hassan utilizes a language opposing "freedom" and "captivity", based on the conceptual framework of brainwashing and thought control, and the alleged abuses of civil liberties and human rights. He writes that these are the precipitating motivation for secular anticultists such as Hassan.[6]

Irving Hexham, professor of Religious Studies at the University of Calgary, writes that Hassan's description of destructive cults (page 37), as "a group which violates the rights of its members and damages them through the abusive techniques of unethical mind control" is not helpful as he fails to describe how to decide if a group is a cult or not, what are "abusive techniques" and what is "mind control".[7]

As the title explicitly indicates, Combatting Cult Mind Control falls squarely within the category of books whose authors adopt anti-cult movement theories and rhetoric concerning new religious movements, including the theory that participants in such movements are "victims" of "mind control." This theory is not universally accepted by scholars of religion. Other theories concerning new religious movements attribute free will and informed choice to the participants, and challenge the mind control model put forward by the author here.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Louis Jolyon West, M.D. American Journal of Psychiatry. 147:7 July 1990.
  2. ↑ American Journal of Psychiatry 147:7 July 1990
  3. 1 2 Review of Books The Lancet, Peter Tyrer, 24 June 1989
  4. ↑ Presskit, Freedom of Mind Center, Steven Hassan, 2006
  5. ↑ Brown II, John B. (13 July 2006), "Jehovah's Witnesses and the Anticult Movement: Human Rights Issues", Religion, Globalization, and Conflict: International Perspectives, San Diego State University, San Diego, California: CESNUR, retrieved 2010-03-02
  6. ↑ Cowan, Douglas E. Bearing False Witness?: An Introduction to the Christian Countercult, pp.22-3, Praeger/Greenwood (2003), ISBN 0-275-97459-6
  7. ↑ Hexham, Irving and Poewe, Karla, New Religions as Global Cultures: Making the Human Sacred, pp.27, Westview Press (1997), ISBN 0-8133-2508-0. "In his book combating Cult Mind Control, Steven Hassan says a "destructive cult . . . is a group which violates the rights of its members and damages them through the abusive techniques of unethical mind control" ( Hassan 1990: 37 ). "The problem with definitions like this is that they raise more problems than they solve. Before we can decide whether a group is a cult or not, we must first define 'rights,' 'abusive techniques,' and 'mind control.' Hassan attempts to do this, but his explanations are not very helpful."

Further reading

Book reviews
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