Students explore
alternative religions
BY PAMELA HARRELL
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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