Cults in Our Midst The Continuing Fight Against Their Hidden Menace [Paperback]

Cults today are bigger than ever, with broad ramifications for national and international terrorism. In this newly revised edition of her definitive work on cults, Singer reveals what cults really are and how they work, focusing specifically on the coercive persuasion techniques of charismatic leaders seeking money and power. The book contains fascinating updates on Heaven's Gate, Falun Gong, Aum Shinrikyo, Hare Krishna, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, and the connection between cults and terrorism in Al Queda and the PLO.Foreword xi

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction to the Revised Edition xvii

Introduction to the First Edition xxi

Part 1 What Are Cults? 1

1. Defining Cults 3

Definitions and Characteristics

Cult Types

Who Joins Cults?

Why Do They Join?

2. A Brief History of Cults 29

Cults in the 1800s

The 1960s: Fertile Ground for Cults

The 1970s: Cults to Expand Awareness

The 1980s: Psychological, Occult, and Prosperity Cults

Examples of New Cults

Cause for Concern

3. The Process of Brainwashing, Psychological Coercion, and Thought Reform 52

Historical Examples of Brainwashing

Packaged Persuasion

Attacking the Self

How Thought Reform Works

Producing a New Identity

Impermissible Experiments

4. What's Wrong with Cults? 83

Cults Threaten Legitimate Institutions

Cults Harm Our Children and Tear Apart Our Families

Cults Are Violent

Cults Engage in Conspiracy and Fraud

Small Cults Can Be Just as Harmful as Large

Cults Take Awals€