Jesuits, Sensory Stimulants, Catholics, Scientology, Andrew Cohen
JSTOR: Making Scents of Jesuit Missionary Work
Where Peter Is: What Faithful Catholics can learn from Ex-Scientologists
Arkansas Times: Former cult leader's name still on public art in downtown Little Rock
The use of sensory stimulants like incense gave Jesuits a common framework with the North American nations they encountered on missionary trips.
"Missionaries operating in cultures very different than their own often find themselves trying to communicate across a wide gulf. For Jesuits who arrived in parts of North America claimed by France in the seventeenth century, writes historian Andrew Kettler, one thing that helped bridge the gap was the fact that they and the Indigenous societies they hoped to convert to Catholicism shared a deep respect for the power of scent.
Kettler writes that, from the beginning, smells played a significant role
Catholicism. Incense was a crucial part of the immersive experience of worship. Pleasing or terrible smells could also signify holiness or evil. For example, when the fifteenth-century saint Lydwine of Schiedam became gravely ill, she was said to have vomited out parts of her internal organs, which emitted holy scents.
The Reformation called for controlling the "lower" senses of smell and taste, replacing sensual aspects of Catholic worship with the reading of scripture. But the Jesuits continued to valorize the sense of smell, using multi-sensory stimuli including scents during their periods of seclusion and arguing that a sufficiently purified person could recognize good and evil on Earth by their respectively sweet and sulfurous scents.
Kettler writes that the Jesuits who arrived in "New France" in 1625 followed the networks created by French fur traders toward the interior. They set up their central mission, Saint-Marie, on Huron land. As they introduced themselves to Native nations across the region, they marveled at the Indigenous people's sensory capacities, particularly their ability to locate fires from a great distance away. The Italian Jesuit missionary Francesco Giuseppe Bressani described people he encountered as having 'a rare sense of smell.'"
Where Peter Is: What Faithful Catholics can learn from Ex-Scientologists
" ... Mike Rinder's journey from a high-ranking official in Scientology to a vocal critic offers valuable insights for faithful Catholics. His story underscores the importance of discernment and personal integrity in one's faith journey. Rinder's eventual departure from Scientology, prompted by his recognition of systemic abuses, highlights the necessity of critically evaluating our own religious leaders — as well as our groups and practices — to ensure that we aren't being coerced or manipulated into unhealthy spiritual practices and ways of thinking.
As Catholics, it is important to engage in continuous self-examination and to uphold the moral principles of our faith, even when faced with institutional challenges. Rinder's advocacy for transparency and accountability resonates with the Catholic call for transparency and accountability from our leaders within the Church and the broader community. His commitment to exposing wrongdoing, despite personal costs, exemplifies the courage required to confront issues that may arise within any religious institution. Ultimately, Rinder's experience encourages Catholics to balance faithful adherence with critical reflection.
I have argued in the past that although Catholicism as a whole is not a cult, there are many cult-like groups within Catholicism. Identifying and exposing spiritually abusive groups and leaders is absolutely necessary for the health of our Church. Rinder's work serves to remind us of this principle.
But the most important lesson we might take from Mike Rinder's life journey is that people can change. After spending most of his life working on behalf of a destructive and corrupt organization, he spent his final years working to bring the truth to light.
One of the most poignant moments for me in watching Scientology and the Aftermath was in the final episode of season one, in which cult expert and former Moonie Dr. Steven Hassan was interviewed. After describing cult mind-control tactics in groups like Scientology and the Moonies, Hassan remarked that he had seen every episode of the program to that point, and then he started to become emotional. Hassan said, "Scientology has threatened me, gone through my trash … They've had people in Nazi uniforms picketing outside my office, telling my neighbors that I'm evil person, I'm an anti-religious bigot."
He then turned and looked directly at Mike Rinder and said, "I have to say, I was scared shitless of you for so many years. I love that you are modeling for ex-members of thousands of other cults that you can be a leader. You can do horrible things and you can wake up and be a human being. … I just think that what you're doing is heroic."
He then turned and looked directly at Mike Rinder and said, "I have to say, I was scared shitless of you for so many years. I love that you are modeling for ex-members of thousands of other cults that you can be a leader. You can do horrible things and you can wake up and be a human being. … I just think that what you're doing is heroic."
I have been moved deeply by the stories of Catholics who have had the courage to speak out after leaving high-control groups in the Church, from charismatic communities to the traditionalist movement. Speaking out for the truth comes at a high cost. These are the people "who hunger and thirst for righteousness." Jesus said they will be satisfied."
Arkansas Times: Former cult leader's name still on public art in downtown Little Rock
"A disgraced former cult leader's name is still on a piece of public art in Little Rock, despite a city spokesperson's assurance in July that the name would be removed.
"Responding is spirit in action. We are the change agents that give rise to the possibilities that don't exist," the quote reads. Engraved on a basalt pillar in Inspiration Plaza, the newest piece of public art in downtown Little Rock, the quote and its origins are puzzling.
The quote is attributed to a man named Andrew Cohen — a self-proclaimed guru and spiritual teacher accused of physical and mental abuse and financial exploitation by many of his former students and followers, including his own mother — but it isn't clear if he ever actually said it.
So why is the quote etched in stone in a statue garden by the Arkansas River? Because At-Large City Director Dean Kumpuris' wife chose it. (This article from July will catch you up on the convoluted details.)
Essentially, Cohen's name made it all the way on to the statue, seemingly without anyone checking who he is, if the quote is his, or if the quote is even real. During our reporting, a spokesperson for the Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department provided a statement that said the city would replace Cohen's name with "Anonymous" but leave the quote itself intact, since staff liked its message and, in researching it, could not find where it came from."
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