Eileen Barker

Eileen Vartan Barker (born 21 April 1938 in Edinburgh, UK [http://www.wikitree.org/index.php?title=Eileen_Vartan_Barker wikitree, retrieved 2007-07-21] ), is a professor in sociology, an emeritus member of the London School of Economics (LSE), and a consultant to that institution's Centre for the Study of Human Rights. She is the chairperson and founder of the Information Network Focus on Religious Movements (INFORM) and has written studies about groups she defines as cults and new religious movements (NRMs).

Academic career

She has been involved with the LSE's sociology department whence she received her Ph.D. since 1970. [Bromley, David G. "Falling from the Faith: The Causes and Consequences of Religious Apostasy". Newbury Park: SAGE Publications, (1988) ISBN 0-8039-3188-3 page 263 ]

She performed a longitudinal study on the conversion process in the Unification Church in the United Kingdom which was published in her 1984 book "" Rodney Stark testified:

:Eileen Barker at the London School of Economics has for many years now been giving questionnaires to all people who show up in London at the first workshop, say, of a Unification Church, the Moonies. They let her do it. The people fill them out. She’s now got data going ten, twelve years. In the long run she knows who actually joins the church, who stayed, and when they quit. [ [http://www.contendingforthefaith.com/libel-litigations/god-men/experts/stark.html The Testimony of Rodney Stark, Ph.D.] ]

In 1988 she was engaged in research on the preservation of cultural identity in the Armenian diaspora. [Bromley, David G. "Falling from the Faith: The Causes and Consequences of Religious Apostasy". Newbury Park: SAGE Publications, (1988) ISBN 0-8039-3188-3 page 263 ]

As of 2006, Barker is a member of the Editorial Review Board of the International Cultic Studies Association's "Cultic Studies Review" [ [http://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_icsa/icsa_brd_csr.htm Cultic Studies Review Editorial Board] , Eileen Barker, Ph.D., International Cultic Studies Association, Web site., 2006.] . The Editorial Review Board of the "Cultic Studies Review" contributes to the process of peer review of the academic journal. [ [http://culticstudiesreview.org/csr_issues/csr_intro.htm Announcing Cultic Studies Review] , Michael D. Langone, Ph.D. (Editor), Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002, International Cultic Studies Association
"By taking over the functions of these three periodicals, CSR is able to offer peer-reviewed, scholarly articles, news on groups and topics (e.g., children and cultic groups), opinion columns, personal accounts of ex-members, and high quality articles for laypersons."]

In 2000 Barker was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) [ [http://www.cesnur.org/testi/barker_2K.htm Dr Eileen Barker honored in UK ] ] and named by the American Academy of Religion to receive its Martin E. Marty Award for Contributions to the Public Understanding of Religion. [http://www.aarweb.org/news/pressrelease/2000----marty.asp Scholar Honored for Contributions to the Public Understanding of Religion]

"The Making of a Moonie"

In "" Barker writes that she rejects the 'brainwashing' theory (in the strict sense of the word as used, for example, by Margaret Singer) as an explanation for conversion to the Unification Church because it does not explain: the many people who attended a Unification Church recruitment meeting and did not become members, voluntary disaffiliation of members, and Barker did not observe coercion during the conversion process.

Opinions of others

Psychologist and brainwashing proponent Margaret Singer, and sociologist Janja Lalich, have criticized Barker's rejection of the brainwashing hypothesis in Barker's study of the conversion process for members of the Unification Church. Singer and Lalich wrote in 1995, in their book Cults in Our Midst, called her a "procult apologist", for adopting an "apologist stance" towards the Unification Church, and noted that Barker had received payment from the Church for expenses for a book and 18 conferences from the Unification Church. Barker defended this by stating that it had been approved by her university and a government grants council, and saved taxpayer money. Singer and Lalich likened the behavior of Barker and other researchers who received such funding as being "not unlike the Nazi doctors whom...have sold their very souls." [Cults in our Midst, Margaret Thaler Singer, Janja Lalich, pp. 217-218, notes on p. 352]

Barker responded to the financial issues in a 1995 paper

What is less well known is that vast amounts of money are at stake in the fostering of brainwashing and mind control thesis in the anti-cult movement secondary constructions,” and noted that “deprogrammers” and “exit counselors” charge tens of thousands of dollars for their services and that “expert witnesses” such as Singer “have charged enormous fees for giving testimony about brainwashing in court cases. [ Barker, Eileen. The Scientific Study of Religion? You Must Be Joking! "Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion", Vol. 34, No. 3, 287-310. Sep., 1995”]

Prof. Alexander Dvorkin, Ph.D., of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, mentions Barker's appearance as an expert witness in an unsuccessful lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed in 1997 by several cults in Moscow against Dvorkin and the Russian Orthodox Church. Barkin and her colleague James T. (Jim) Richardson testified that one could be a member of all of these groups at the same time. Dvorkin called this "an unusual response from persons claiming to be experts in the field of NRMs." [http://www.dci.dk/?artikel=647 A Presentation on the Situation in Russia] , Spirituality in East and West, Nr 11/1998, by Professor Alexander Dvorkin]

Australian psychologist Len Oakes and British psychiatry professor Anthony Storr, who have written critically about cults, gurus, new religious movements, and their leaders have praised Barker's work on the Unification Church's conversion process. [Oakes, Len "By far the best study of the conversion process is Eileen Barker’s The Making of a Moonie [...] " from "Prophetic Charisma: The Psychology of Revolutionary Religious Personalities", 1997, ISBN 0-8156-0398-3 [http://www.sustainedaction.org/Explorations/followers_and_their_quest.htm excerpts] ] [Storr, Anthony Dr. "Feet of clay: a study of gurus" 1996 ISBN 0-684-83495-2]

Political career

Barker, a member of the Liberal Democrats, was an unsuccessful Queen's Park ward candidate in May 2002 [https://www.brent.gov.uk/elections.nsf/2d43be7a2cad472f80256a940044408f/d76710876d25e9af80256ad20035ac80!OpenDocument 2002 Candidate Details, retrieved 2007-07-21] and an unsuccessful Kenton ward candidate in May 2006. [http://www.brent.gov.uk/elections.nsf/249521561f6cd81b80257145005078d8/ad14c25aedacbccb802571420053d02d!OpenDocument 2006 Candidate Details, retrieved 2007-07-21] .

About Barker

* James A. Beckford and James T. (Jim) Richardson, eds., "Challenging Religion: Essays in Honour of Eileen Barker" (London: Routledge, 2003).
* Prof. Alexander L. Dvorkin, "Are There Objective and Scientific Studies of NRM?", Moscow, Russia, Center of Religious Studies, Ozernaya, Russia, October 25, 2006.

elected bibliography by Barker

*Barker, Eileen "", Blackwell Publishers, November 1984, ISBN 0-631-13246-5
*Barker, Eileen (editor) "Of Gods and Men: New Religious Movements in the West" Mercer University Press Macon, Georgia, U.S.A. 1984 ISBN 0865540950
*Barker, Eileen "Defection from the Unification Church: Some Statistics and Distinctions", article in the book edited by David G. Bromley "Falling from the Faith: The Causes and Consequences of Religious Apostasy". Newbury Park: SAGE Publications, (1988) ISBN 0-8039-3188-3
*Barker, Eileen "New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction" (Paperback) Bernan Press (October, 1990) ISBN 0-11-340927-3
*Barker, Eileen "The Scientific Study of Religion? You Must Be Joking!" "Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion", 34 (1995), pp. 287-310.
* Barker, Eileen "New Religious Movements in Britain," in "New Religious Movements in Europe", Helle Meldgaard and Johannes Aagaard, eds., (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 1997), pp. 99-123. ISBN 8772885483
*Barker, Eileen, "New Religions and New Religiosity," in "New Religions and New Religiosity", Eileen Barker and Margit Warburg, eds., (Aarhus:Aarhus University Press, 1998), pp. 10-27. ISBN 8772885521
*Barker, Eileen "Standing at the Cross-Roads: Politics of Marginality in 'Subversive Organizations'" article in "The Politics of Religious Apostasy: The Role of Apostates in the Transformation of Religious Movements" edited by David G. Bromley Westport, CT, Praeger Publishers, (1998). ISBN 0-275-95508-7
*Barker, Eileen. "New Religions", Haft Asman (Seven Heavens), A Journal for the Center for Religious Studies, Vol. 4, no. 19, translated into Persian by Baqer Talebi Darabi, Autumn 2002.
* Barker, Eileen "Watching for Violence: A Comparative Analysis of the Roles of Five Types of Cult-atching Groups," in "Cults, Religion and Violence", David G. Bromley and J. Gordon Melton, eds. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), pp. 123-148. ISBN 0521660645
* Barker, Eileen. (Editor) "Freedom and Religion in Eastern Europe." Special Edition of The Sociology of Religion 64 no. 3 2003.
*Barker, Eileen. "And the Wisdom to Know the Difference? Freedom, Control and the Sociology of Religion" (Association for the Sociology of Religion 2002 Presidential Address). "Sociology of Religion" 64, no. 3, 2003, pp. 285-307. http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0SOR/3_64/109568880/p1/article.jhtml
*Barker, Eileen. (Slovak language) "Zákonné opatrenie nových náboženských knutí Vel'kej Británii", in "Erópa a nové náboženskýhnutia", Zostavil Miroslv Lojda (ed.), Bratislava: Ministerstva kultúry Slovenskej republiky, translated into Slovakian by M. Lodja. 2003, pp. 87-92.
*Barker, Eileen. "Democracy and Religious Pluralism in Post-Soviet Society." In "The Rebirth of Religion and the Birth of Democracy in Russia". Edited by Hoekema, D.; Bodrov, A. Calvin College, 2003.
*Barker, Eileen (German language) "'Vereinigungskirche'" in "Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart: vierte Auflage", edited by Hans Dieter Betz, Don S. Browning, Bernd Janowski, Eberhard Jüngel. Tübingen: RGG, 2004: 21068.
*Barker, Eileen. "Why the Cults? New Religions and Freedom of Religion and Beliefs." In "Facilitating Freedom of Religion or Belief: A Deskbook". Edited by Lindholm, T.; Durham, W.C.; Tahzib-Lie, B. Koninklijke Brill, 2004, pp. 571-593. ISBN 9004137831
*Barker, Eileen. "General Overview of the 'Cult Scene' in Great Britain." In "New Religious Movements in the 21st Century: Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global Perspective". edited by Lucas, C.P.; Robbins, T. Routledge, 2004, pp. 27-34. (ISSN 1350-7303)
*Barker, Eileen. (German language) "Neue Religiöse Bewegungen: Religiöser Pluralismus in der westlichen Welt." In "Religion und Gessellschaft". Edited by Reuter, K. G. H.-R.. Ferdinand Schöningh, 2004, pp. 333-352.
*Barker, Eileen. "The Church Without and the God Within: Religiosity and/or Spirituality?" In "Religion and Patterns of Social Transformation". Edited by Borowik, I.; Jerolimov, D.; Zrinšcak, D. IDIZ (Institute for Social Research in Zagreb), 2004, pp. 23-47. ISBN 953621816X
*Barker, Eileen. "What Are We Studying? A Sociological Case for Keeping the 'Nova'", "Nova Religio" 8 no. 3 (2004) pp. 88-102. {ISSN 1092-6690)
*Barker, Eileen "Crossing the Boundary: New Challenges to Authority and Control as a Consequence of Access to the Internet." in "Religion and Cyberspace", edited by M. T. Højsgaard and M. Warburg, London: Routledge, 2005. ISBN 0415357675
*Barker, Eileen "Yet More Varieties of Religious Experiences: Diversity and Pluralism in Contemporary Europe" in Hartmut Lehman (ed.) "Religiöser Pluralismus im vereinten Europa: Freikirchen und Sekten", Göttingen: Wallstein Verlag, 2005: 156-172 ISBN 3892448825
*Barker, Eileen (with Bryan R. Wilson) "What are the New Religions Doing in a Secular Society?" in Anthony F. Heath, John Ermisch & Duncan Gallie (eds) "Understanding Social Change". British Academy Centenary Monograph, Published for the British Academy by Oxford University Press, 2005: 291-317. ISBN 0197263143
*Barker, Eileen "New Religious Movements" Religions and Beliefs in Britain" (GCSE/A'level resource book), Craig Donnellan (ed.), Cambridge: Independence, 2005: 19-22.
*Barker, Eileen "Unification Church" in "The Encyclopedia of New York State" Peter Eisenstadt, Editor in Chief, Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2005.

References

External links

* [http://www.lse.ac.uk/people/[e-mail]/ Professor Eileen Barker page] at the London School of Economics
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060219080908/http://www.chaplaincy.ic.ac.uk/images/nrm_by_eb.pdf An Introduction to New Religious Movements] by Eileen Barker
* [http://www.fathom.com/feature/121938/ Introducing New Religious Movements] From: London School of Economics and Political Science interview (video + text)
* [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/b28.html Eileen Baker] critical entry by the countercult activist Anton Hein
* [http://www.rickross.com/apologist.html#Eileen_Barker Eileen Barker] critical entry by anti-cult activist Rick Ross
* [http://www.xfamily.org/index.php/Eileen_Barker Eileen Barker] — on [http://www.xfamily.org xFamily.org] and her involvement with the Children of God.
* [http://www.dci.dk/?artikel=647 A Presentation on the Situation in Russia] by Professor Alexander Dvorkin, Greek Orthodox Publications, Video-tape "Synaxis or gathering of the Heads of all Orthodox Churches at Fanar, Constantinople, 1992
* [http://www.samizdat.qc.ca/cosmos/sc_soc/barker.htm Article Review: Thus Spake the Scientist: A Comparative Account of the New Priesthood and its Organisational Bases]