- Combatting Cult Mind Control
-
Combatting Cult Mind Control 
Book CoverAuthor(s) Steven Hassan Country United States Language English Series Freedom of Mind Press Subject(s) Cults, Mind control Genre(s) Non-fiction Publisher Park Street Press Publication date 1988 Media type Print (Hardcover) Pages 256 pp ISBN 0-8928124-3-5 OCLC Number 18382426 Dewey Decimal 306/.1 19 LC Classification BP603 .H375 1988 Followed by Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves, 2000 Combatting Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best-selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults is a non-fiction work by Steven Hassan. The author describes 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. The book was published by Park Street Press, in 1988.
Hassan is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is a former member of the Unification Church.
Contents
Reception
“ 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. ” The sociologist Eileen Barker, who has studied the Unification Church, has commented on the book[2]. She expressed several concerns but nevertheless recommended the book. The book has been reviewed in the American Journal of Psychiatry,[3] and in the The Lancet.[4]
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:[4]
"...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, originally published in 1988, is still in print and, according to the author's website, it has been re-published in seven different languages[5].
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.[6]
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.[7]
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".[8]
See also
References
- ^ Louis Jolyon West, M.D. American Journal of Psychiatry. 147:7 July 1990.
- ^ Church Times (UK) 23rd November, 1990 p. 13]
- ^ American Journal of Psychiatry 147:7 July 1990
- ^ a b Review of Books The Lancet, Peter Tyrer, June 24th 1989
- ^ Presskit, Freedom of Mind Center, Steven Hassan, 2006
- ^ Brown II, John B. (2006-07-13), "Jehovah's Witnesses and the Anticult Movement: Human Rights Issues", Religion, Globalization, and Conflict: International Perspectives, San Diego State University, San Diego, California: CESNUR, http://www.cesnur.org/2006/sd_brown.htm, retrieved 2010-03-02
- ^ Cowan, Douglas E. Bearing False Witness?: An Introduction to the Christian Countercult, pp.22-3, Praeger/Greenwood (2003), ISBN 0-275-97459-6
- ^ 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
- Freedom of Mind website, Steven Hassan, 2006
- Bromley, David G., The Politics of Religious Apostasy, pp. 95–114, Praeger Publishers, 1998. ISBN 0-275-95508-7
- Book reviews
- The Mind Control Hypothesis, in-depth discussion of the work, 1999, John Engle
- Detailed review, The Lancet, Britain
- Media
- Geraldo Rivera, 1991 program, Combatting Cult Mind Control discussed
Categories:- 1988 books
- Psychology books
- Cult-related books
- Books about mind control
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