Cooperites

The Cooperites are a small Christian sect based on the West Coast of the South Island in New Zealand.They were founded in the 1960s by Neville Cooper.

The community is a self-sufficient farming community in which contact with the outside world is greatly restricted. The group hold very strict conservative moral values. Women wear blue dresses and head coverings, and men wear ties. Both men and women marry as young teenagers, and very large families are the norm. There are about 400 members, half of whom are children. Those who leave the community are shunned and denied contact with their family that remains in the community.

External links

* [http://www.cults.co.nz/c.php#cooperites Cults.co.nz listing]
* [http://www.wikichristian.org/Cooperites WikiChristian - Cooperites]