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Involvement in a New ReligiousMovement: From Discovery toDisenchantmentJohn Paul Healy aa Charles Sturt University , NSW, AustraliaPublished online: 18 Feb 2011.

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Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 13:2–21, 2011Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 1934-9637 print/1934-9645 onlineDOI: 10.1080/19349637.2011.547125

Involvement in a New Religious Movement:From Discovery to Disenchantment

JOHN PAUL HEALYCharles Sturt University, NSW, Australia

This article discusses involvement in a new religious move-ment (religious cult) from a sociological perspective developedfrom a qualitative study of individuals’ involvement in SwamiMuktananda’s Siddha Yoga. The study explored individuals’attractions, affiliation, and disenchantment in a new religiousmovement. The significance of exploring individuals’ involvementwas to inform an alternative discourse that challenges the concep-tualization held by many helping professionals and cult awarenessgroups in the brainwashing thesis. Although brainwashing as anempirical concept has been discredited among most researchers ofnew religious movements, it continues to be used as an explanatorymodel for cult awareness groups and helping professionals.

KEYWORDS cults, NRMs, Conversion, Siddha Yoga

INTRODUCTION

Those professionals who are influenced in their work with former membersof new religious movements (NRMs; cults) by a brainwashing or mind-control model of involvement attempt to undo the impact of involvementby providing clients with information on how they had been brainwashed.In a sense they offer a brainwashing interpretation to individuals’ experi-ences rather than allowing former members to make sense of their ownexperiences in their own way. Before presenting a discussion of involve-ment that is based on a sociological study of individuals experiences ratherthan an imposed model, I will first present a discussion on brainwashingand its importance toward informing what is sometimes called the “anticult

Address correspondence to John Paul Healy, Charles Sturt University, School ofHumanities and Social Sciences, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia. E-mail: jhealy@csu.edu.au

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movement” or “cult awareness groups.” Although these terms do not give atrue representation of the diversity of helping professionals, pastoral carers,or family- or community-based movements, they are meant to refer to thosethat are influenced to varying extents in there work with ex-members ofNRMs by a brainwashing or mind-control notion to cultic involvement.

Why people join NRMs and what they do with that experience is alreadythe basis of many sociological studies. It is apparent from empirical studiesof NRMs that this is still a fertile field (spanning 40 years or so) and notyet fully understood. However, it also seems that little of the sociologicalknowledge on NRMs is gaining the attention of helping professions or cultawareness groups who continue to rely on aspects of the brainwashingthesis when working with members or ex-members of NRMs. This is pos-sibly because there is little else that is recommended for practitioners inthis area. Brainwashing presents a type of “grand theory” of involvementwhich could be problematic when attempting to encompass individual andgroup difference. This article goes some way to redress this by presentinga sociological perspective on NRM involvement that attempts to inform analternative discourse to that of brainwashing.

The next section gives a sociological definition of NRMs followed bythe discussion on brainwashing. I will then give an outline of the study andthe discussion of involvement in Siddha Yoga which highlights the quali-tative interview materials related to individual experiences of involvement,followed by the article’s conclusion. It is, of course, not possible to givethe volume of qualitative material that was generated to support the discus-sion of involvement in this article. However, I have given short vignettesthat I hope will provide useful representations of the themes developed;more substantial materials and a full methodology may be found in Healy(2010). The short vignettes used are taken from the larger study in which 32ex-members of Siddha Yoga took part in semistructured interviews. Themeswere developed and informed by a grounded theory methodology using thecomputer-assisted qualitative program, Nvivo.

Definition of NRMs

Melton (1999) offers a broad definition of the group of movements thathas come to be known as new religions or (NRMs), often termed cults.He asserts, “New religions, groups or movements are primarily religiousgroups/movements that operate apart from the dominant culture (in ourcase, the Christian West) in which they are located and, in addition, seekadherents from their new host culture” (Melton, 1999, p. 5). A NRM, there-fore, may originate from another country or develop internally; the key isthat they are, at least initially, set apart from the dominant culture.

According to Barker (1997) what may constitute a NRM can vary inideology and approach, and includes groups that are religious, political,scientific, and alien-oriented, as well as groups that emphasize personal

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growth, such as psychotherapeutic and human potential movements. Hume(2000, p. 27) asserts that “the diversity of new religious movements defiesany easy generalizations concerning them.” The term NRM, therefore, coversa variety of unconnected groups, many of which may not necessarily appearreligious and are often labeled as cults.

NRMs or cults have often been accused of using brainwashing or mindcontrol as a way to recruit or retain members. The following section dis-cusses the concept of brainwashing and its continuing relevance for thehelping professions, cult information services, and what is loosely call theanticult movement.

BRAINWASHING

Within the discourse of brainwashing among the anticult movement it iscommon to view the individual as having been recruited to the move-ment rather than having joined of their own choice (Hassan, 1998; Lalich& Tobias, 2006; Ward, 2002; Whitsett, 2003). From this perspective, cult affil-iation is not perceived to be voluntary; it is caused by the accumulationof coercive and destructive psychological processes typically conceptualizedas brainwashing or mind control (Lalich & Tobias, 2006; Lalich, 2004). Thebrainwashing or mind-control thesis took hold in the anticult movementduring the late 1960s and early 1970s in parallel with the growth of NRMsin Western societies. The predominant notion or model of brainwashing inregard to NRMs or cult involvement is influenced by the work of Lifton(1961) and his study of Communist China’s thought reform program duringthe Korean War (Anthony, 1999). Schein (1961) too has influenced notionsof coercive persuasion from his own study of China’s thought reform.

Integral to the Chinese thought reform program was the use of lengthyincarceration and force. Lifton’s 25 Western participants reported a com-mon experience of being chained for weeks on end, allowed very littlesleep and very little food, and being subjected to emotional and physicalharassment by cellmates and officials in order to extract confessions. Manyendured more than 3 years of incarceration. Lifton’s analysis of this experi-ence of thought reform has shown that those who seemed to “convert,” didso as a matter of survival (Lifton, 1961, p. 150) and points to the resilientnature of humans under difficult circumstances (Lifton, 1961, p. 238). The 25Western individuals interviewed by Lifton undoubtedly experienced horrifictreatment over many years and may not easily be compared with the volun-tary and usually limited involvement of people in NRMs. However, Lifton’swork has been used as the basis of a model of cultic involvement by keyhelping professionals such as Singer, Hassan, and Langone (Anthony, 1999;Anthony & Robbins, 2004), all highly influential in informing what Barker(2002) has termed “cult awareness groups.” The application of brainwashingor thought reform to NRM affiliation has consistently been rejected by many

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of those who study NRMs (Barker, 1984; Bromley, 1983, 2007; Palmer, 2008;Richardson, 2001; Richardson & Introvigne, 2001; Stark & Finke, 2000), yethas found lasting favor with health professional and cult information services(Anthony, 1999; Barker, 1997; Saroglou, Buxant, & Tilquin, 2008).

Groups such as Muktananda’s Siddha Yoga have often been labeledcults by ex-members or cult-awareness groups. The popular understandingof cultic involvement has been influenced by media representations fueledby dramatic incidents involving nontraditional religious groups and allega-tions of brainwashing (McCloud, 2007; Olson, 2006; Richardson & van Driel,1997). The Jonestown mass murder-suicide in 1978, the Branch Davidiansiege in 1993, the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway by Aum Shinrikyoin 1995, the Heaven’s Gate suicide in 1997, and the deaths of the Restorationof the Ten Commandments of God in 2000 all highlighted the need for anexplanation for such irrational behavior (Bromley & Melton, 2002; Lewis,2005; Wessinger, 2009). The conceptualization of affiliation as brainwash-ing has been an influential theory of involvement in nontraditional religiousgroups or NRMs, which attempts to explain why otherwise normal individ-uals would change their lifestyle and beliefs in a relatively short period oftime after coming into contact with one of these groups.

However, the problem with the notion of brainwashing in referenceto cults or NRMs evident from previous empirical studies is that it doesnot appear to fully account for the variety of individuals’ experience ofinvolvement (Barker, 1984, 1997; Boeri, 2002). Although the notion of brain-washing is not well supported by scholars of religion or the legal fraternity(Anthony & Robbins, 2004; Lewis, 2005; Palmer, 2008) it continues to beinfluential amongst some cult awareness groups and helping professionalswho assist families and ex-members of these groups (International CulticStudies Association, 2010; Jenkinson, 2007; Lalich & Tobias, 2006). DeWitt,Richardson, and Warner (1997, p. 5) recognize that, “even though the termbrainwashing has little scientific support [it] is often used as a social weaponagainst unpopular groups.”

Swami Muktananda’s Siddha Yoga, which I will refer to throughout thisarticle as Siddha Yoga, forms this present case study; therefore I will give abrief outline of this movement. For a more detailed account of the movementsee Brooks (1997), Caldwell (2001), and Healy (2010).

SWAMI MUKTANANDA’S SIDDHA YOGA

Siddha Yoga was introduced to the West in 1970 by Swami Muktananda(1908–1982) as part of his first venture outside of India (Thursby, 1991;White, 1974). After his visit, devotees established centers and ashrams. Likeother Indian-based movements, such as the International Society for KrishnaConsciousness or Rajneesh/Osho, Siddha Yoga would be considered a NRM

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in the terms proposed by Melton (1999) because when it entered the West,it gained converts from the host country. Although guru-disciple traditionswere well known and had been established in India for centuries, duringthe late 1960s and early 1970s these groups offered the West an alternativespirituality to the predominant Christian perspective. In his lifetime SwamiMuktananda conducted three tours to the West, passing on the teachings ofhis own guru Bhagawan Nityananda (1888–1961) in what was considered alineage of Siddhas, or perfect masters (Brooks, 1997; Foster, 2002). SiddhaYoga’s practices include Shaktipat initiation (the awakening of the spiritualenergy known in this tradition as kundalini awakening by the grace of theguru), meditation, chanting and seva or service to the guru (Melton, 1993).The charismatic presence of the guru is, however, possibly more central tothe practice of Siddha Yoga than the individual spiritual practices (Thursby,1995, p. 206). The guru-disciple relationship in Siddha Yoga is thereforecentral to the movement and to the potential devotee’s spiritual awakening.The concept of guru Bhakti or guru worship is the major emphasis withinthis tradition (Wessinger, 1993). Swami Muktananda led his movement untilhis death in 1982, prior to which he named two siblings Nityananda andChidvalasananda (a.k.a. Gurumayi) as co-leaders or co-gurus. The brotherand sister together led Siddha yoga for 3 years until 1985 when what maybe considered a leadership dispute split the co-gurus, leaving Gurumayi assole head of Siddha Yoga and her brother Nityananda to begin his ownmovement, Shanti Mandir. Some of Muktananda’s senior swamis such asSwami Shankarananda, now head of Shiva Yoga, and also regular devoteesbegan their own movements or schisms of Siddha Yoga continuing in thetradition of Muktananda’s Siddha Yoga Practice.

RESEARCH APPROACH

The present study was qualitative and included ethnographic, groundedtheory, and phenomenological approaches. The research approach was anattempt to gain an understanding of the lived experience of the partici-pants and their own understanding of their experience. The strength of aqualitative method is that it allows the presentation of a “rich” or “thick”description of a social setting (Bryman, 2008; Geertz, 1960; Lofland, 1971;Silverman, 2006). Considering the richness of experience I had planned toexplore around the participants’ experience of Siddha Yoga, a qualitativedesign seemed to have advantages over a quantitative design, bearing inmind the limited sample size of 32 participants. All of the participants in thisstudy were previously devotees of Siddha Yoga. The study used a form ofnonprobability sampling known as snowball sampling. Snowball samplingis a purposive sampling technique targeted at a particular group of indi-viduals who are helpful for a particular exploration (Atkinson & Flint, 2001;

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Bryman, 2008). Ethics approval for this study was gained from the Universityof New South Wales, Australia and all information provided by participantswas treated with strict confidence. Because Siddha Yoga in Australia is arelatively small community, the possibility of recognition by other past orcurrent community members was heightened. Therefore the descriptions ofthe participants and their circumstances in this article are limited and havebeen altered as part of the ethical commitment to the participants’ anonymity(National Health and Medical Research Council, 2010).

Next I present a discussion of involvement in a NRM derived from mystudy of Siddha Yoga which highlights the various stages from discovery todisenchantment and give some conclusions.

INVOLVEMENT IN A NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT

Seeking or Accidental-Seeking

I had always been attracted to the whole Zen thing. For me it was theaesthetic of it and all that . . . I was searching to find out more about thehuman condition and some explanation of what life is all about. (Dan)

I had no idea, absolutely no idea what any of it was; so I went along forthe meal and the program. (Susan)

I have made a distinction between “seekers” and “accidental seekers.” Ihave considered these as two important pathways to discovery. Many ofthe participants in the present study were spiritually interested, especiallyin Eastern traditions, and were already networking within what Campbell(1972) has described as a cultic milieu of spiritually-interested individu-als, and as likely to come across Siddha Yoga, or Swami Muktananda’sas any other tradition. Although Campbell’s (1972) concept of the cul-tic milieu as a pathway to affiliation seems a valid idea for those whoare consciously seeking out some form of alternative spirituality, I arguethat Arendt’s (1998) ‘web of human relationships’ is a better concept forthose who appear as accidental seekers. A cultic milieu or what wouldbe today though of as the New Age movement is not considered a for-mal network of institutions but, rather, relationships between individualsconnected by shared interests (Heelas, 1996; Possamai, 2001). When consid-ering human relationships, Arendt (1998, p. 183) asserts, “this in-betweenis no less real than the world of things we visibly have in common.”For this study, Arendt’s (1998, p. 183) metaphor of the “web of humanrelationships”—which she uses to conceptualize the invisible ties whichare a condition of human experience—is helpful for gaining an idea ofthe interconnectedness of individuals’ experience of seeking and discov-ery. A web of human relationships is a broad notion which recognizes the

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interconnectedness of all human relationships and action. This is importantbecause accidental-seekers, with one simple introduction from a friend,family member, or associate, were introduced to the world of yoga andgurus. (Accidental-seekers, as noted earlier, are those who were not seek-ing or networking within a cultic milieu.) Further, recommendations frommedical practitioners, counselors, or other mainstream or alternative healthprofessionals have also been seen to have made individuals aware ofNRMs.

Seekers appear to have an idea of what they are looking for and pos-sibly have some experience of the type of group or process they like.The accidental seekers, on the other hand, may have never thought aboutbecoming part of an alternative religious group. Where these two groupsof seekers appear to come together is that when they do finally come intocontact with the NRM, both seekers and accidental seekers may feel thatthey have discovered something very much in tune with themselves. Oftenindividuals feel as if they have come home. There appears to be somethingfamiliar in the strange.

This is important, my feeling was, I felt like I came home. I felt like I hadarrived home. (Robert)

I walked in the door and I knew I had come home, even though I knewnothing about it, I just knew I had come home, I felt so comfortable.(Susan)

It was good, it was like, this is it, I’ve found what I’ve been after . . . Itjust felt right. (Patricia)

DISCOVERY OF A NRM

The use of the term discovery rather than recruitment in this study came outof the individuals’ usage of the word in interviews to relate to their initialcontact with Siddha Yoga or Swami Muktananda. It may be a misnomerto regard becoming involved with a NRM as a discovery, given that forsome there certainly seems to have been unfortunate outcomes. But for allthe participants in this study there was a sense of discovery either withinthemselves or through engagement in the new-found community. As partof an individual’s discovery of a NRM there are several dimensions to theirinitial encounter that I have considered important. These are: the attractionsof the NRM, how the NRM may support their prior beliefs, and how the newgroup can give context to an individual’s prior religious experience. Thesedimensions to the individual’s experience of the new group begin to givescontext to their new spiritual life. Outlined next are these dimensions.

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Attractions

My first impression was, it was very different, very unusual. I liked thesmell of the incense. (Nicole)

The people were nice and the food was nice. That was my hook.(Jennifer)

Individual’s attraction to a NRM can involve many aspects. The novelenvironment of the NRM—the smells and colors—are attractive to certainsentiments. Also the foods, the lifestyle, and most often-recognized by indi-viduals in this study, the camaraderie of the new religious community.Different environments may, therefore, appeal to different individuals. Theinitial attractions of a NRM religious movement would also include the reli-gious or spiritual orientation, which I will highlight next as separate themes.In studies of NRMs, religious experience been understood as being impor-tant in the process in conversion and continued affiliation (Howell, 1997;Rambo, 1993).

Supports Prior Beliefs

I couldn’t work out from what people were telling me, what was true.I mean, people were saying wacky things. And I decided, well, if halfof it was true, and I had experienced something myself. I thought, well,if half of it is true, if Jesus Christ was alive on the planet now, I wouldwant to meet him, and if this man is anything like, has anything like thepower of Jesus Christ, I want to meet him. (Greg)

A NRM may support or reinforce prior beliefs, especially the individual’sbelief in a God or supernatural entity. It seems that the notion of God orsupernatural entity is traversable across many religious orientations. Manyindividuals have been acculturated into a society with the notion of a Godor supernatural entity and yet may not be attached to a particular faith. NRMscan support these notions and begin to give them a context.

Explains Prior Religious Experience

I crossed my legs, and it was as if my whole spine lit up and I shot outof it, at a million miles an hours and I became like a little dot of light.I traveled for I don’t know how long and there were these other littledots of light and it was as if I heard a talk . . . Like a Baba talk . . . and Ibegan to get a little worried thinking is there something wrong with me. . . I went to a spiritualist church, I went to church, spoke to the priest,

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they all looked at me as if I were a little crazy, and I thought, “Oh maybeI am.” (Angie)

For those individuals who have had what they considered to be a religiousexperience prior to their discovery of a NRM, the NRM can help to explainthis experience. This can be particularly powerful if the group’s notion ofthe spiritual aligns with the individuals. Although, religious experience canoften be hazy and making links may be a simple process for both the groupand the individual. Differing notions of a God may contain more similaritiesthan differences, even across cultures. Individuals begin to learn about orunderstand their prior religious experience through the lens of the NRM.Prior religious experience could begin to be understood as the calling thateventually led the individual to the NRM.

New Group Gives Context to a Spiritual Life

Oh my God, it was like Heaven . . . was just like how I imagined livingin a utopia would be, just the old ashram lifestyle, and it was, it is, it isjust, I reckon it is the best, can’t wait [to get to Heaven]. (Arjuna)

Overall, for those who have a concept of the spiritual or god which is notattached to a particular faith, the recognition of aspects of these conceptsin the NRM can begin to give their spiritual orientation a context. There aretwo aspects to the individual initial experience of the NRM that I find areimportant to the developing context, that is, their new religious experiencewithin the group and the camaraderie of the group.

New Religious Experience

I remember sitting there and we were chanting, and he looked at meand I felt like he had shot a star or something and it hit into my heartlike a fire, like a beautiful feeling. It was just incredible. (Nicole)

Unlike prior religious experience, new religious experience within the con-text of the NRM is recognized as coming from the group or the group’spractices. The new religious experiences are recognized and interpretedthrough the group’s lens. The teachings, practices, and philosophy of thegroup becomes intertwined with the individual’s religious experience. TheNRM appears to become the catalysts for religious experience and growth.Therefore association with the group may become increasingly importantfor further spiritual growth. Howell (1997) found that spiritual experience isvery important in fostering commitment in a group. Although religious or

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spiritual experience and growth are a major part of the context of a NRM,the community entered into and the friendships developed seem to be asequally important.

Camaraderie

There was a very attractive crew of people who worked the hall andthere was the manager and they all looked really, they were just beautifulpeople that looked really attractive and young. You sort of look andthink, oh they look really attractive, interesting; I would like to be likethem. (Jessica)

Within a NRM friendships develop. The closeness of the group, includinggroup activities and times of communal living, binds the new members toother new and old members. The regular tasks of the day to day running ofa NRM can bring individuals together towards a common goal. The commongoals, individual and group, are the foundations of the spiritual communitythat makes up the NRM. Helping to sustain the NRM can be seen as a spiritualpractice as well as community participation and building. Researchers havenoted that conversion is a process in which the individual interacts with thenew belief system over time (Balch, 1980; Malinowski, 2004; Rambo, 1999;Richardson, 1985). In the present study it is certainly evident that individualsbegan to understand their spiritual experience, the guru and Siddha Yoga,through close contact and discussion with other members.

Spiritual Experience and Community Involvement SustainsCommitment

Participation in the community and individual spiritual experience appearsto sustain commitment to the NRM. These are two aspects to the individual’sexperience of the NRM that appear concrete. Because of the camaraderieof the community and the perceived personal spiritual growth, individualssustain their commitment even in the face of initial or growing doubts aboutthe NRM.

Doubts Come and Go Supported and Denied By Various Members

I’d come across these things when I was still practicing Siddha Yoga:“Siddha Yoga, stay away from them, they are loonies, they are looniesand I’ve spent 20 years in there.” And we had this sort of thing whereyou don’t listen to doubters and fault finders and all those words, a catchcry for anyone who said anything negative. Anything negative is, “You

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are just negative and going through your shit.” You know, the world is amirror and it will be reflected back to you. And Baba would say, “Well ifyou have got doubts, well that’s what you’ve got isn’t it, doubts.” (Ben)

Doubts appear to be a part of the process of becoming part of a NRM.Individual use some kind of rationale as to why they become involved witha NRM. This rationalizing could be seen as a process of placating or eliminat-ing doubt. Some members of the group who may be on their way out of thegroup will support the individuals doubt whilst those who appear to be truebelievers will allay their doubts. New members may also help each otherto allay their shared doubts. Personal spiritual experience which appears tobe facilitated by their involvement tends to ward of doubt. Therefore, indi-viduals tend to eventually trust their own experience, usually the spiritualexperience. However, doubts tend to linger. Doubts can be about the orga-nization or the leadership. The organization can change over time; even thegrowth of a NRM can change the relationship between the individual, theorganization, and the leadership.

Eventually Doubts Cannot Be Pushed Away

The thing that really made me deeply cynical was the rift between thebrother and the sister (Gurumayi and Nityananda). It really starts to smellwhen a supposedly enlightened person can’t even maintain relationswith their own sibling. What is that about? There is something very wrongwith that. Then there were these sort of rumors, which are probablytrue, of tire slashing and Nityananda, young Nityananda, being sort ofpunched up . . . Just the whole power thing, power and privilege andstatus, all of those things. It started to look like just the same old shit insecular life. (Fredrick)

If there are lingering doubts for an individual that can no longer be allayedby themselves or other group members, the individual may begin to searchfor alternative answers. This search could be among former members of thegroup, other similar groups or friendship networks prior to involvement. Inother words, the individual may extend beyond the group for counsel andverification. Whether the doubts are about the organization or the leadership,the individual may begin to move away from the NRM.

Individual Moves Away From the Group

Moving away from a NRM can entail the loss of all of the valuableattributes that were initially attractive, including the friendships, community,and spiritual growth that once sustained their commitment. However, howindividuals choose to move away can vary.

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THROWS THE BABY OUT WITH THE BATH WATER

I think it is sad, I think they are projecting their own anger onto theteacher, which I think happens very often, when they don’t have a deepenough experience. They wanted a certain kind of experience, maybethey didn’t get it, and then they became angry, and disenchanted. But Ieven saw some people who, I thought, threw away the baby with thebathwater. It’s one thing to leave Siddha Yoga but it’s another thing tohold in your heart the genuineness of the experience that Baba gaveyou. You’d be crazy to throw that away. (Elizabeth)

For some who become disenchanted with their experience of involvementin a NRM they may not consider any of the group’s ideas or practices usefulafter moving away. Moving away for these may be a process disassociatingfrom all aspects, not sifting through their experience to consider what mayhave been good and what may have been not so good. The experience ofthrowing the baby out with the bath water may be akin to a total loss offaith.

SUSTAINS SOME ELEMENTS OF THE BELIEF SYSTEM

I think I find it really hard to believe that a guru or the guru that I hadwas an enlightened being. And that, like, anyone can be that far moreahead spiritually than anyone. But I think lots of things have stayed. Ithink the belief that you are God, I think that because, I think that thereis something. I don’t know what it is, we are being created, not evencreated, that we are all one. Like that realization that I know what loveis, like that is still there, and love is all, it’s everything. And I think that’ssomething that carried on from that time. And still really clean living and,yeah. (Patricia)

Moving away from a NRM for some may not be a total negation of allattributes of the group. Some individuals may move away from the organiza-tion yet sustain many of the group’s practices and beliefs. These individualshave in a sense lost faith in the organization. Some may retain faith in theleader or what the leader represents if the leader has been found to be falseor fallible. There may be varying degrees of what individuals wish to keepor reject from their experience in the NRM.

MOST WILL EXPERIENCE VARYING LEVELS OF LOSS: MOST WILL SUSTAIN

SOMETHING VALUABLE FROM THE EXPERIENCE

I am still coming out of it. I am much better than I was but I wentthrough a period of grief and anger, the whole mourning thing. Because

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it had been 20 years of my life and I felt like I was free-falling and didn’tknow where I was going to land or what I was going to land with orinto. And I am still not there really . . . I am finding it difficult to separateeverything. I haven’t really found my way . . . I do miss the chanting, Iloved chanting and so I do feel like there is this big hole in my life thatI don’t know how to fill. And so I’m still finding the real who I am now,I guess. (Susan)

Sometimes I do miss it myself. All that Indian beautifulness, you know?You go, “that was kind of a nice flavor to live in for a while.” (Ben)

In one way I wish I had never gone through it and in another way I amglad, I am happy that I’ve done that, because a lot of people don’t haveany spiritual depth at all or any comprehension at all. (Jessica)

Both those who have a total loss of faith and those who sustain elementsof the belief system will have varying levels of loss. Loss of friendships andcommunity. For some this can be traumatic and take some time to developnew networks. There are also the loss of individual goals and achievements,which may have been subsumed by the group’s goals and achievement.Some individuals may feel their time in the group was a waste. However,both may also share and sustain something valuable, including some friend-ships, found memories, and skills learnt in the group that may be transferableto a career after the group.

It was like I couldn’t think of my life without Siddha Yoga. I was actuallydamaging myself by spending money on intensives (retreats) and justnot mixing with people who are actually in my life but preferring to mixwith Siddha Yoga people and do all the Siddha Yoga stuff . . . WhenI went away on my own I started feeling really angry and I was like,Oh, oh, my God, 38 and I haven’t done anything with my life. I haven’tstudied, I’ve just like worked for free for this organization. Like, I don’tknow anything about the world. (Shannon)

In one way I wish I had never gone through it and in another way I amglad, I am happy that I’ve done that, because a lot of people don’t haveany spiritual depth at all or any comprehension at all. (Jessica)

DISCUSSION

What the present article suggests is the need to de-emphasize the myste-riousness of cult or NRM involvement which is often proposed by thosewho rely on a brainwashing explanation. The article highlights the everydaynature of the discovery of NRMs such as Siddha Yoga with many potential

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members being introduced by family, friends, and associates. It is wellknown that familial and friendship bonds have led individuals to becomepart of a group their family member or friend is part of (Howell, 1997;Lofland & Stark, 1965; Malinowski, 2004; Stark & Bainbridge, 1980). I wouldargue that the brainwashing thesis, when applied to cult or NRM involve-ment, is not adequate for addressing the variety of experiences of individualsin these movements. It is especially inadequate in addressing the issues of anindividual’s movement away from a group, given the effects of brainwash-ing are assumed to be so powerful (Hassan, 1998; Lalich & Tobias, 2006).Unassisted moving away appears antithetical to the brainwashing claims ofthe proponents of this perspective. Researchers have argued that individualshave a capacity for personal agency, which proponents of brainwashing tendto understate (Barker, 1997; Richardson, 1985). By understanding the pre-existing web of relationships it becomes less of a mystery as to why somepeople become part of a movement and how movements grow. However,there has to be something attractive about the group—which may be assimple as aesthetic appeal, a healthy lifestyle, or being surrounded by asupportive community.

It may be unhelpful to have such a fixed notion of cult or NRM involve-ment as proposed by the anticult movement as being inevitably harmful(Hassan, 1998; Lalich & Tobias, 2006; Langone, 1995). Fixed notions of cultor NRM involvement are problematic in at least two ways: (a) a group thatmay not be considered harmful may actually be harmful depending on theindividual’s experience; and (b) a group that is considered harmful may notbe experienced as harmful by those who participate as regular visitors, dis-tant consumers, or confirmed believers. It would be difficult to say outrightthat one group is harmful and that another is not. It may be more reasonableto consider possible harm occurring in any organized religious group, as hasbeen shown by sexual and psychological abuses of children and adults inmainstream established churches (Ainsworth & Hansen, 2006; Berry, 2000;Pitman, 2008; Schoener, 2008).

For those in the helping professions, it would be important to not onlygain an understanding of an individual’s group’s belief system but also theirparticular perspective of and participation in that belief system. Most impor-tant is what that religious perspective may mean for the individual andtheir own lives, rather than what the religious perspective is supposed tomean. This insight could be gained by helping professionals engaging withthe sociological literature on NRMs rather than limiting their knowledge ofmovements or individuals’ experiences in the perspective of brainwashing.Although some groups may appear dogmatic, fundamentalist, or to deviatefrom societal norms, the practical day-to-day life of a follower may not beconsistent with these labels. I would stress the importance of assisting for-mer members to make sense of their own experiences in a balanced way

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and to assist them in moving away from what is no longer useful while atthe same time not throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Consistent with other studies, there were some in the present studywho appeared to have experienced detrimental consequences because oftheir involvement (Aronoff-McKibben, Lynn, & Malinoski, 2000; Boeri, 2002;Wright, 1991; Zablocki, 2007). However, helping professionals who comeinto contact with ex-members of NRMs seeking assistance may already havethe tools to help these types of clients without overlaying a brainwashingmodel of involvement. It may not be necessary to perceive helping thosewho have moved away from NRMs as an area unrelated to other forms ofassistance, such as addressing practical needs or individual and group coun-seling. In fact, reliance on ideas of brainwashing may unduly complicatethe therapeutic helping process and may also lead some professionals tofeel they may not be adequately equipped to help ex-members. However,the psychological and practical issues some individuals have reported facingafter moving away from an NRM—including grief, loss, low self-esteem, theaftermath of sexual and emotional abuse, lack of social supports, financial,educational, and career difficulties (Aronoff-McKibben et al., 2000; Boeri,2002; Wright, 1991; Zablocki, 2007)—are well within the repertoire of manyin the helping professions. Durocher (1999) has found that group process (acommon social work intervention) can be an effective strategy used for thosewho have been adversely affected by NRMs. Trauma, systemic and Gestalttherapies have also been acknowledged as helpful by therapists workingwith ex-members of NRMs (Jenkinson, 2007; Knapp, 2010). Within a main-stream religious context, Chicago’s Walk-In Counseling Center is an exampleof helping professionals already addressing issues similar to those reportedby some ex-member of cults or NRMs (Schoener, 2008).

There are, of course, some issues specific to theological precepts ofthe variety of NRMs which are not well understood by the helping profes-sions. However, with the assistance of organizations such as Inform (2010),the helping professions can make inquiries of sociologists of religion toassist in understanding the theological precepts of specific NRMs. The gath-ering of resources is already an expectation of helping professionals whenaddressing the various needs of clients. Therefore, informing oneself of anindividual’s religious or spiritual perspective could be an important inclu-sion in this process. Practitioners and cult awareness groups need to engagewith sociological literature on the new and mainstream religious movementswhen working with or assisting these types of individuals. However, indi-viduals, even when involved in the same NRM, may have a very differentexperience of that group or church. It would therefore be important to gainan understanding of an individual’s experience and not attempt to overlaywhat might be considered the expected or common experience, especiallyone that is informed by brainwashing.

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CONCLUSION

It is important to note that this discussion of involvement is developed outof the experiences of individuals that eventually moved away from theirNRM. There may be some individuals who have no inclination to leavetheir NRM. However, even for those who may never move away, the initialstages of involvement prior to movement away would still be important forunderstanding conversion and sustained commitment. Overall, this analysis,developed out of a study of 32 individuals’ experiences, attempts to offer analternative or more useful picture of NRM involvement to those who workwith former members. However, because of the limitations presented by thepurposive sample, this study does not claim to be representative of all theparticipants of Siddha Yoga or subsequent schisms, nor all of those whoare and have affiliated with NRMs. Rather, it seeks to add to the growingknowledge and understanding of involvement in NRMs, especially for thosewho work with former members influenced by the brainwashing model.Although the brainwashing model of involvement continues to be used bythose who work with ex-members, it is possibly because there is little elsethat is recommended for practitioners in this area. In this article I have pre-sented an alternative discussion of involvement and I urge practitioners toengage with the sociological literature on NRMs and also to consider thatthey already have the tools to work with these clients and do not needto overlay a model of brainwashing on individuals’ experiences. This, ofcourse, leaves practitioners to find their own ways to best work with theirclient; however, I would argue that this approach could help join the practi-tioner and the ex-member in a useful journey of the client’s own experienceof what their involvement has meant to them and their current life situation.

The discussion has particular relevance to the substantive area of SiddhaYoga, however it is hoped that it has addressed NRM involvement in general.The importance in developing new understandings of affiliation groundedin research on NRMs is that they are bound to say more about NRM involve-ment than models of involvement borrowed from other areas of study suchas brainwashing.

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