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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 1995)
Students explore alternative religions BY PAMELA HARRELL V> ' ■ * • * • .• . i K'.' ' l a. K*V v . iVu »i«?■ * : ■ mm ft) (iMn Ri>!IMW. ! Ht Wa* |S'J \ *, 1 ;< SOKKV Nil l/M III IUDAV. 1 Ht PI IR xs| “lioD Is l>IAl)” holds .is much water .is .1 stale < ontmunion ssafer From the Bible Bell to the D.( Beltway. Net heads discuss the meaning of Bahai sshilc television viewers bear witness to ( NN updates from assorted holv wars. Some students would like to forget the religious regimen dic tated by well meaning parents. Id main of us, (tod was some one who held up dinner and wasn't too keen on coveting. But according to ( ynthia Kisser, executive director of the ( ult Awareness Network (( A.N.i, more college students arc turning to less structured or nondcnommation.il religions. Kiss er reports an increasing number of complaints about Bible based groups preying on this resurgence of student interest in spiritual issues. t ollcge students are at an open point in their lives intellectual lv. Kisser says. 1 hey’re c|uestioning. They're searching. I he new pressures and freedoms associated with college mas increase a stu dent s vulnerabilits to memtvership m religious cults, she savs. Marks of a Destruc tive Cult • Thought reform — Mem ben are manipulated, coerced or persuaded to act or think In accordance with the cult • Charismatic leadership — One person or a small group of individuals at the top makes all of the decisions and fitters selective information to the lower levels • Deception or hidden agendas (often financial! • Isolation ot members — Members often dissociate themselves from family and frtends who are not involved in the organization • Eiptoltabon ot members — Members may be required to give an eicess amounl ot money or energy to special projects • Special or divine purpose — The rights and Indepen dence ot members are sec - ondary to the goals ot the group fteprtnted witti permission ot the Cutt Awjieness network 2 H t M.ll’.l/llll • Cult or not n cult? But don t miitusr m!:s w. 11i■, jlicHuiiir rr!. gtom, sas s l jiul (.. umbafvo, an cut counselor fur individuals trying in lease a suit I he issue is nof one of belief systems it s one of psychological coercion and thought reform,*' she case According 10 ( A \ representative and former mil member Martin But?, culls are groups that use some means of coercive persuasion or deception to res tun and maintain mcmlscrs \X e estimate that theic ate 2.500 to 5,000 destructive cults and that as many as 5 million pco pic arc affected by the cult issue. Burr says A consensus on culls, their number and their ■mpait :s unlikels According to I tiordon Melton, ditectot of the Institute for the Study of American Religions in Santa Bartsara and author of /fo Cub ! \penentr tl’tlgrtm Press), "reports of cults numher Bill Cifccnc, director of public relations at I he XX a v International. case the hat. no mem bers although there arc fellowships in every rna|or iifv in the United States and ^ countries People ate tree to tome and go as they wish, t.reene save Vou do not join It's a ttcc willed decision/ Will find Tho Way Ramona Meta/ a 21-year old Arizona State t senior, is a followct ot I he \X as International. According to Meta/, the \X ay teaches followers how to ask questions and find answers in I he \X ord (C hh! s) Anyone who has been to a 'X av fellowship car meeting can tell vou that nothing strange goo on, Meraz says ^ nncssmg, evangelizing. pioneering — w hates cr the term makes up part of the weekly work for followers Meraz asks new friends to come us at least one fellowship service A lot of friends I vc brought to fellowship do come back, Meraz says I hes don't necessarily have the same commitment I do. but they sec that they sc been blessed ” (iiambaivo suss that new members typically devote only a few dass a week to the group, but with time, the commitment involves more peripheral activ ities. such as picnics date nights and Bible studies (»rccne counters that people who fellowship with people in the milliom uimim grow tv exaggerated hgurei circulated hi anti-cult group* to promote 4 cli mate o( hysteria." Melton estimates that there ate onh '00 'alternative" religions in the t ntted State* and Canada: 'S have hern identified av cult* Ahout .IS of thove groups are considercsi contro* s crvial, and the remain mg SO are onh involved in passing controversies lor more than IS years, 1 A N has Iscen collecting articles on the controversial ministry The VS as International, a Bible based ( hristian group svith headquarters in Ness Knoxville, Ohio. A I >>< Ramona Mara*, a manior at Arizona Btata u., ham found Tha Way. i nc « Jt\ work only mice to four hour* per week in addition to doing vourve work for Ihe Way. attending fel lowship meeting* and reading I he Word daiU. Mcrar support* her »eil and rcveivcs grade* worthy ol grant* and Kholarthipa Mcraa i* .onudering dednjnng her life to ministry in I he \Ya* Corps, but her po*igraduate plans airn t set in none i ijiiallv cuntuied about post giaduatc life is 2 .V year-old Jennifer Steedlv a former Jehovah * Witncs* and revent U of Oregon graduate Steedlv wav a Witness before she started vollegc As a Witnco, she wav n t allowed to slate, idcbrate birthdays or partici(»air in spoils or extracurricular activities 1 sxas sosulls arrophicsi Stecdls sass. At tirst n ssas easier basing people knoss ! sxas a Willies* bcsausc it exsoxed my ignorance N'ovs only my close friend* know." During high school, Stredk pioncetesl door to door tor <>0 hours a month After graduating, ‘steedls pioneered ‘>0 hours a month and hast a part tune job to pav tor lising expenses Emergency exit Getting out sail be as dilhsull as iseing in a suit, hut many do cscntualls leave I sit sounsehng is a voluntary metlusd of intervention With deprogram filing members arc forced to listen to a counselor Stecdls ssas a Witness tor a sear before her tacher, xxho ssas nor a \\ irness, got het exit counsel mg He became concerned sshen Stecdls dcsided not to attend college fiomg to college ssas deeply frowned upon she sass 1 hey tell the end of the world ssas near and sour highest priority should be prose! sit/mg At tirst, Stecdls refused to speak with the exit counselors Eventually. she watched a succession of sideos about mind control, cults and the Witnesses and became convinced Stecdls that she had been deceived by the leaders of the Witnesses Her faith in God was the only thing that kepi her sane after leaving the Witnesses. Strrdh says Bx leasing, she lost contact with ail of her family and friends still involved with the Witnesses I VC learned that there A a huge difference between believing in God and being religious Stecdls sass 1 don t consider ms self a religious person, but I still believe in God Destructive cults and myths go hand in hand, according to kisser One of the predominant my ths is that people who get involved in these otgamra lions are weak minded or have some sort of psycho logical problem fXc at t A N want to emphasize that even one is a potential rectuit." But/ adds "I here ate plenty of good people ;in cults'; . good people caught up in a bad thing." i’jmtU Harrrll u a paacrir uuUr'tt a/ Wu Y&rk l
