Jan 15, 2021
Maharishi Inc. The bearded popularizer of transcendental meditation has earthly holdings that will blow your mind. His corporate empire includes land holdings, hotels, publishing houses and plans fro spiritual theme parks
Jan 14, 2021
Cult or High Demand Group & Relationship Education & Recovery
Jan 12, 2021
Obituary: Elbert Eugene Spriggs
Jan 11, 2021
India's ashrams: Havens for spirituality or scandalous snake pits?
Deutsche Welle
January 11, 2021
The Indian web-series "Aashram" has created a stir after showing sexual abuse by Hindu holy men. Religious activists say depictions of sex and drug abuse by holy men discredit Hinduism, but is that true?
"Let go of everything, your attachments, your wealth, your desires. Then you will experience eternal bliss."
These words are spoken by the guru Baba Nirala, the main protagonist in Aashram, a Hindi web series currently being streamed in India. Despite his spirituality, the guru's ways are often immoral. He treads the gray zone between crime and justice, sin and morality when his love for a female devotee turns into sexual abuse — and while using his power over his followers to break the law.
Directed by veteran Indian filmmaker Prakash Jha, Aashram is fictitious yet has been criticized by many who say it wrongly depicts Hindu spiritual leaders as drug peddlers and sexual predators. Meanwhile, a lawyer in the northwestern city of Jodhpur has filed a petition against the series claiming it "hurts the religious sentiments of Hindus” and summons have been sent to Jha and his lead actor, Bobby Deol. The case will be heard on January 11.
Ashrams, gurus and scandals
Scandals in religious organizations, Hindu or otherwise, are not uncommon. But of late, Hindu spiritual retreats and yoga institutions have been riddled with accusations of sexual misconduct. Asaram Bapu (pictured above), a guru who was based in Jodhpur, was convicted of rape and sent to prison in 2018. Another guru, called Swami Bhakti Bhushan Maharaj, was arrested last year in July for raping several minor girls in his ashram in a city close to New Delhi.
In the West, arguably the most publicized reports of sexual promiscuity and exploitation circled around Bhagwan, or Osho Rajneesh, notorious for sexual orgies on his ashram premises in the 1960s. In a recent Netflix documentary called Wild Wild Country, witnesses speak about possible psychological damages they suffered while living with their parents at his retreat in Oregon in the United States and in the Indian city of Pune.
Reports of abuse also came up in Australia in the last decade, when many victims testified against Swami Akhandananda Saraswati, who sexually abused minors and women in the 1970s and 1980s.
Yoga gurus also assaulting students
Recent scandals related to Hindu spiritual practices in the West have related to yoga teachers and their schools. Although these are not ashrams by definition, many have cult-like followings and hierarchies that often enable sexual abuse.
Indian-American Bikram Choudhury, a celebrity yoga teacher who created "hot yoga" (a form of yoga performed in hot and humid conditions) and opened his first studio in Los Angeles, has been accused of rape and sexual abuse multiple times since 2010. Lawsuits against him describe a cult-like atmosphere whereby followers helped Choudhury find young women to assault.
Similar complaints have emerged against Pattabhi Jois, an iconic teacher of the Ashtanga yoga method who has legions of international followers, especially from Europe and the US.
Speaking to DW, Karen Rain, an American writer who learned yoga under Jois for several years, said the guru used the pretext of adjusting yoga postures to sexually assault his students.
"Pattabhi Jois sexually assaulted students under the guise of asana adjustments or affection, such as kissing women on the lips and squeezing their buttocks when saying good-bye," she said. "On one level, it's a tautology, Pattabhi Jois was able to sexually assault so many students because he was able to blatantly assault them in class, in public. Bystanders did not hold him responsible and enabled him to continue without experiencing consequences for his abuse of power."
Marion Goldman, professor emeritus of Sociology and Religious Studies at the University of Oregon, who spent some time as a researcher in Rajneeshpuram, a religious community in Oregon led by Osho Rajneesh, explains why such religious set-ups enable sexual abuse and why victims take so long to report the abuse they have endured.
"Full membership in an alternative religion involves deep emotional attachment to both the leader, and also other followers," she says, adding, "In some ways the group represents a second chance family and women endure emotional and physical abuse and deprivation because they don't want to leave their family."
The end of spirituality?
Meanwhile, Karen Rain's experience of abuse in an unethical yoga circle has left her devoid of any desire to pursue spirituality. She has given up yoga altogether and prefers to stay away from holy groups because of "pervasive abuse and corruption."
But does this mean that victim testimonies, news reports on sexual abuse and critical television series on ashrams — even fictitious ones — discredit Hindu spirituality altogether?
Far from it, says Om Prakash, an actor who plays the role of a police officer in the Aashram series. Contrary to hurting religious beliefs, the show is meant to warn people against gurus who claim to represent God and solve their problems.
"There are some hypocrites in the Hindu religion whose activities give religion a bad name. This series has been created to caution people against such characters," he said.
"We need such series to expose people who use religion — be it Hinduism or any other religion — for their selfish ends."
https://www.dw.com/en/indias-ashrams-havens-for-spirituality-or-scandalous-snake-pits/a-56169280
TM and Cult Mania
Jan 7, 2021
Inside the 'Twin Flames Universe' run by a couple who claim to 'channel' messages from God and 'persuade people to CHANGE gender' to help them find their soulmate - as ex-followers say it's 'cult-like'
Jan 5, 2021
Inform January webinar: "Becoming Religious"
Jan 4, 2021
A Loving Provision'? How Former Jehovah's Witnesses Experience Shunning Practices
ICSA
December 21, 2020
This presentation offers a general introduction into the field of ostracism and presents a high-level overview of the research findings presented in Julia's MSc dissertation. The presentation concludes by offering some fresh thinking on future directions to grow our understanding of ostracism and its impact.
Julia Gutgsell (BSc, MSc) is a criminologist based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her dissertation on ostracism in high control groups and relationships was awarded the Jeanine Seghers prize. She recently co-authored 'A semantic and discursive analysis of Watchtower May 2019' which was given as evidence to IICSA's (Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse) investigation, 'Child protection in religious organisations and settings'.
She aims to contribute to criminological perspectives by examining, challenging and discovering new areas for research on crime, social harm and the boundaries between victim-perpetrators.
Contact details:
Email: Julia.gutgsell@gmail.com
To access the dissertation and paper: https://vub.academia.edu/JuliaGutgsell
Jan 3, 2021
Mormon Church Sued For Allegedly Covering Up Boy Scouts Sex Abuse
Huffington Post
PHOENIX (AP) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was hit with several lawsuits Monday for allegedly covering up decades of sexual abuse among Boy Scout troops in Arizona, marking the latest litigation before the state's end-of-year deadline for adult victims to sue.
The church "must be held accountable in order to bring healing and closure to Mormon victims of childhood sexual abuse," Hurley McKenna & Mertz, a law firm that focuses on church sex abuse, said in a statement.
In the seven lawsuits each representing seven different male victims, attorneys say church officials never notified authorities about abuse allegations. Public records show members of church-sponsored Boy Scout troops who were abused would tell church bishops about what they had experienced. The lawsuits allege bishops would then tell the victims to keep quiet so the church could conduct its own investigation. In the meantime, troop leaders and volunteers accused of sex abuse would be allowed to continue in their roles or be assigned to another troop, the suits said.
Church spokesman Sam Penrod said in a statement that the faith has zero tolerance for abuse of any kind and that the serious allegations require thorough investigation. He called it inaccurate to say the faith had access to files that had names of banned Scout leaders and said the church hasn't seen the records that allegedly back the accusations.
"The claim that the church has had access to the BSA ineligible volunteer files for many decades is simply false," Penrod said. "The church learned about the details of those files at the same time as the general public. These claims will be carefully evaluated and appropriately addressed."
All seven victims are asking for a jury to award an unspecified sum for medical expenses, pain and suffering. They are also seeking punitive damages for the "outrageous conduct" of church officials.
The church sponsored at least seven troops in Arizona in metro Phoenix and Tucson, according to attorneys. The suits were all filed earlier this month — six in Maricopa County Superior Court and one in Pima County Superior Court. The allegations of sexual abuse touch all troops between 1972 and 2009.
The church was the largest sponsor of Boy Scouts of America troops and its greatest ally until the Utah-based faith ended the partnership on Jan. 1, 2020, and pulled out more than 400,000 young people. The faith moved them into its own global youth program that focuses on religion and spiritual development, while weaving in camping and other outdoor activities in parts of the world where that's feasible.
The split between the Boy Scouts and the faith known widely as the Mormon church ended a nearly century-old relationship between two organizations that were brought together by shared values that diverged in recent years. Amid declining membership, the Boy Scouts of America opened its arms to openly gay youth members and adult volunteers as well as girls and transgender boys, while the church believes that same-sex intimacy is a sin.
In its first step toward creating a compensation fund for men who were molested as youngsters years ago by scoutmasters or other leaders, the Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy protection in February. Around 90,000 sexual abuse claims have been filed against the Boy Scouts. It's the latest major American institution to seek bankruptcy protection amid mounting legal pressures over allegations of sexual abuse. Roman Catholic dioceses across the country and some universities have paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years.
These suits come as a window to pursue litigation for some victims of childhood sexual abuse in Arizona is about to close. The state joined several others last year in extending the rights of now-adult victims to sue their alleged assailants and any churches, youth groups or other institutions that turned a blind eye at the time of the abuse.
Lawmakers gave victims until their 30th birthday to sue — a decade longer than before. Victims who missed the cutoff have a one-time opportunity to file suit before the end of the year. Arizona has no deadline for criminal charges in child sexual abuse cases.
Andrew Van Arsdale, a lawyer with Abused in Scouting, says the legal network is filing 261 sex abuse lawsuits in Arizona on Monday against various local Scout councils.
_____
Associated Press writers Brady McCombs in Salt Lake City and David Crary in New York contributed to this report.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mormon-church-sued-boy-scout-sex-abuse_n_5fea7996c5b6acb5345a56eb
Danny Masterson Harassment Suit Must Go Through Scientology Mediation, Judge Rules
Variety
December 31, 2020
The stalking and intimidation cases brought by four women who have accused TV actor Danny Masterson of rape must now go through mediation within the Church of Scientology, a Los Angeles judge ruled Wednesday.
The ruling comes just days before Masterson’s scheduled arraignment on three charges of rape between 2001 and 2003. In early November, that hearing was set for Jan 6.
On Wednesday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Steven Kleifield ruled that the harassment complaint from Chrissie Carnell Bixler, her husband, musician Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Marie Bobette Riales and two Jane Does must be settled by the Church in “religious arbitration,” since an arbitration agreement already exists among the parties that compels disputes to be handled by the Church of Scientology.
The August 2019 suit alleged the plaintiffs had been stalked and intimidated by the church’s agents after going to the police to report the allegations. Carnell Bixler has alleged that Masterson repeatedly sexually assaulted her while they were dating in 2001 and 2002. Bixler-Zavala alleged that “agents of the defendants” assaulted them by means including poisoning their dogs, assaults using automobiles and harassing phone calls.
Jane Doe #1 also alleged harassment by property damage, threats of violence, assaults and sexual harassment as retribution for reporting her alleged rape to police. Jane Doe #2 was also part of the lawsuit that alleged infliction of emotional distress, stalking and invasion of privacy by the defendants.
Masterson’s attorney Andrew Brettler said, “This was absolutely the correct result. We look forward to arbitrating the claims, as the Court directed.”
A decision was not made on the claims by Bobette Riales, who was not a member of the church and thus not subject to the arbitration agreement.
A status conference on the arbitration was set by the court for June 30.
https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/danny-masterson-harassment-suit-mediation-1234877322/
CultNEWS101 Articles: 1/2/2020
To New and Returning Participants,If you would like to attend Saturday, 1/9, 12:00 Noon – 2:00 Pacific Time, please send in your payment of $50 for one session or $150 for three sessions to reserve your place. I keep the total participants to about 10 each time to allow for your exploration of relevant issues in your lives. Some of you have already paid but if you could please confirm your attendance, I'd appreciate it. Janja and I look forward to seeing you on the 9th !Colleen Russell, LMFT, CGP415-785-3513
"Gregg Schoof claimed the Rwandan government had "taken a stand against God with its heathen practices" before being arrested last year.Gregg Schoof, the controversial evangelical pastor deported from Rwanda last year, is now living and working in Uganda.In a "prayer letter" published today on Fundamental Baptist Missions International, Schoof wrote that his family plans to start new radio stations and local churches in Uganda, and has recently found funding for their work. "In Rwanda, we were entirely by ourselves, but in Uganda, there are several good churches that we can work with," wrote Schoof, who launched the NGO Mount Gerizim Baptist Ministries in Uganda this summer. "From the radio station we had in Rwanda, I still have a love for the radio ministry … I am looking at seven different cities where we could start radio stations with local pastors. We also have an open door to start three stations in Burundi." He then requested funding for radio equipment for four different stations, where each setup, he said, "costs about $15,000."In Rwanda, Schoof's radio station, The Amazing Grace Christian Radio, was shut down in 2018 after one of the station's presenters, Nicolas Niyibikora, referred to women as "evil" during multiple broadcasts. This prompted the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority to revoke the radio station's license.Schoof, a missionary, also had his Baptist church shut down for not complying with city regulations regarding noise pollution and building safety standards. (This closure was not specific to Schoof, and was one of many in Rwanda at the time.) During his 16 years in Rwanda, Schoof frequently critiqued the government for teaching evolution and allowing access to family planning services like condoms and abortion. (Schoof has also continued to struggle with science: At a livestreamed September event in the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Ohio, Schoof told attendees and viewers that believed he had the coronavirus in 2019, and said he "took God's medicines … good old fashioned exciting raw garlic." There is no scientific evidence that eating raw garlic will cure COVID-19.)After his radio station was closed in Rwanda, Schoof tried to host a news conference in 2019 to discuss his situation. The conference did not occur, as he didn't have government approval. "I did not come here to fight the government," he said in a written statement. "But this government has taken a stand against God with its heathen practices." Schoof was then arrested for, according to Reuters, "disturbing public order," before he was deported.Uganda, where Schoof and his family have lived since November 2019, has its own contentious history with evangelical missionaries from the United States, many of whom have been linked to promoting anti-LGBTQ legislation and exporting homophobia. In his letter today, Schoof said, "Truly, God has given us a wide open door in Uganda. Thank you again for your interest in our ministry and for your prayers and support."
"Last month, news broke that Carl Lentz, one-time "spiritual confidant" to celebrities including Justin Bieber and head pastor at Hillsong megachurch, was "released" from his job due to unspecified "moral failures." Soon afterward, it was revealed that Lentz cheated on his wife, having had an affair with Brooklyn-based fashion designer Ranin Karim (and potentially, many others). As of last week, it appeared like his redemption arc was beginning to unfold, having reportedly entered treatment for anxiety, depression, and "pastoral burnout." Except, of course, new information about a seedy, "sexual inappropriate" culture at Hillsong has begun to emerge, and I just don't get how a "religious man" gets out of this one!According to Page Six, back in 2018, whistleblowers within the Hillsong organization sent a letter to church leaders citing "verified, widely circulated stories of inappropriate sexual behavior amongst staff/interns," allegedly labeling Hillsong "...dangerous and a breeding ground for unchecked abuse."Apparently, one high-ranking church leader was instructed to leave after the letter exposed he had "multiple inappropriate sexual relationships with several female leaders and volunteers and was verbally, emotionally, and according to one woman, physically abusive in his relationships with these women." Another high-ranking male church leader was accused of "not respecting physical and sexual boundaries within dating relationships with female church volunteers."The letter also stated that church volunteers face "harsh words, belittlement, name-calling from certain pastors and staff," and one pastor in particular was guilty of "losing his temper, bullying, yelling and outright screaming at other volunteers and leaders... that's just how they are—it's their personality/culture."How very Christian of them! The time for a reckoning is nigh."
"With every verse and refrain, Bryan Dougan's voice becomes more urgent. "We are so weary of this coronavirus and so hungry for the physical community of the Holy Family. Feed our desperate hungers with your divine mercy and grace. Bread of the world, hear our prayer." Despite the intention in his timbre, his prayers echo hollowly in the cavernous nave; its pews sit empty. A member of Church of the Holy Family in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Dougan is one of the congregants who helps create Sunday's weekly video service, a necessity of the pandemic given the dangers of mass gatherings."We're basically producing a TV show," observes Reverend Clarke French, who says the process has been the steepest learning curve of his twenty years in the clergy. "I had to learn five new software platforms since the pandemic started."In March, two days after the state reported its first COVID-19 death, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued an executive stay-at-home order that banned gatherings of more than ten people — essentially outlawing in-person religious services. A May order that moved the state to 'Phase One' of the reopening process relaxed general restrictions by allowing retail stores to resume business at 50% capacity, but permitted religious institutions to exceed the ten-person gathering limit only if their services were held outdoors. That decision provoked a lawsuit from a coalition of religious conservatives who argued that churches were being unfairly targeted, an infringement on the First Amendment protection of the free exercise of religion."
"Parents of girl who was set to marry 24-year-old man arrested, daughter transferred to custody of welfare authorities; mother insists child was mature enoughPolice prevented a Haredi wedding of a 14-year-old girl to a 24-year-old man in Jerusalem, at the last minute.The ceremony had been slated to take place last week, Channel 12 said Thursday, reporting that police were tipped off shortly beforehand and arrested the girl's parents.They have since been released to house arrest, but the child has been placed in the custody of welfare services.In a recorded phone conversation with Channel 12, the girl's mother insisted that she was not aware Israeli law bars marriages of children under the age of 18, and insisted there was nothing wrong with the arrangement."I didn't know this was like a person stealing or murdering or that it is something that harms anyone," the woman claimed. "I know a lot of girls who get married at the age of 15. It happens a lot [in our community]. There are a lot of girls who are ready for it."She lamented that relationships between teenagers in the "secular world" are deemed legitimate, while the marriage of children in Haredi communities are not. The mother went on to demand that authorities return her daughter home."
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Spirituality is all very well but don't let it turn you into a smug monster
Barbara Ellen
January 2, 2021
"It would appear that the mindfulness movement is overrun by preening narcissists. Who could have guessed? A Dutch study by Roos Vonk and Anouk Visser, entitled An Exploration of Spiritual Superiority: The Paradox of Self-Enhancement, is the first to measure how people feel they’re more advanced than others in terms of wisdom, self-knowledge and psychic intuition.
These people are sashaying in yoga pants, banging on about “inner peace” and the “true self”, smiling with sad, wise eyes at your earthbound concerns and, the biggest “tell” of all, chiding you for making jokes. The self-styled spiritual hate jokes: they can’t do funny, so they desperately want to stop you using funny against them. Thus, humour, one of the most spiritually enriching qualities, one of the greatest human assets, is demoted to a mere “defence mechanism”. Humour threatens and undermines the professionally spiritual - they need to shut it (and you) down."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/02/spirituality-is-all-very-well-but-dont-let-it-turn-you-into-a-smug-monster
Helping People Escape Authoritarian Cults - with Joseph Kelly
January 2, 2021
Jon Atack: Helping someone to leave an authoritarian group or abandon destructive beliefs. Cult intervention specialist Joseph Kelly also talks with Jon about the difficulties of his profession.
Ex-NXIVM Cult Member Tells All!
True Crime Report
December 27, 2020
Ex-NXIVM member Susan Dones talks to Roberta about teaching the NXIVM curriculum, starting her own NXIVM center and how and why she ultimately left the cult. In retaliation to Dones closing her center and leaving, NXIVM filed a lawsuit against her. Susan took on NXIVM's well-moneyed legal team, representing herself in court, and won.
The Roberta Glass True Crime Report is produced by Ati Abdo MacDonald
The Sunk Costs Fallacy
September 25, 2013