Sep 30, 2016

How Well-Meaning, Intelligent People End Up in a Cult

ATLANTIC DOCUMENTARIES

 September 26, 2016

Video by The Atlantic

 

EnlightenNext was an organization, founded by self-styled guru Andrew Cohen, that aimed to facilitate spiritual awakening. Cohen’s most devoted students meditated for hours—at times, months—on end, were often celibate, and lived together. However, what started as an idealistic venture quickly turned into a complicated, often-sinister world that revolved around Cohen. The story of EnlightenNext’s rise and fall begs a deeper question: How do otherwise well-intentioned and rational people end up in a cult? In this documentary, The Atlantic talks to former members, as well as Cohen himself, about their stories in order to uncover the life span of a new religious movement that, after 27 years, collapsed nearly overnight.

 

Authors: Jaclyn Skurie, Nicolas Pollock

 

 

http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/501413/life-and-death-of-a-cult/

 

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