Strong
Families: Best Antidote
to Cults
Notes for a talk by
Hon. David Kilgour, M.P.,
Edmonton Southeast
to "Cults: A Mental
Health Issue – Families
in Crisis: The Need is Now"
Conference of the Edmonton
Society Against Mind Abuse
Coast Terrace Inn, Edmonton,
May 1, 1999
It is a great honour to
be invited to address your
conference, which deals
with a matter of great concern
to all of us – cults
and mind abuse. I bring
best wishes for a successful
conference.
The Edmonton Society Against
Mind Abuse should be commended
for hosting a conference
of this nature, and also
for the ongoing and often
very stressful and demanding
work of its volunteers.
Your conference includes
a number of speakers with
much expertise in this area.
My own comments are not
those of an expert. Nor
do they represent the formal
position of the government.
Rather, they are the observations
of a Member of Parliament
concerned not only about
the threat posed by cults,
but also by the underlying
problems in society that
allow such groups to flourish.
Many of you have had more
direct experience with cults.
I look forward to hearing
about your own insights.
At first glance, the tragic
high school shootings in
Colorado and Taber may seem
unrelated to the issue of
cults and mind abuse. Yet
they may be evidence of
a larger problem closely
related to the cult phenomenon
– the sense of alienation
that some young people experience
and the resulting lack of
self esteem.
Youth
alienation
Why is it that some young
people don’t fit in,
and are ostracized by their
peers? What impact does
this have on a young person
during their formative years?
And how might we address
such youth alienation, or
at least recognize its early
signs? These are questions
that are now being asked
and need to be asked.
Cults prey upon people
with low self esteem. Offers
of instant friendship and
"belonging" may
be very appealing to someone
who lacks social assurance
or close friendships.
One of the questions no
doubt on the minds of everyone
here is how we might immunize
young people from cults.
Victims of cult recruitment
come from all ages, and
many come from supportive
families. Yet, strong and
healthy families remain
– in my view –
our best hope for instilling
young people with the kinds
of values and sense of self-worth
that can shield them from
the influence of cults.
A young person who is confident
and has clear social values
is less likely to fall victim
to the lure of easy solutions
and instant belonging offered
by cults. Families can play
a vital role in educating
children about cults and
the signs to watch out for.
To be forewarned is to be
forearmed, and some experts
say that those most resistant
to recruitment are those
who know how to recognize
a cult.
Let’s not pretend
this is easy. As I’m
sure your experts here will
tell you, cults are very
skilled in their recruitment
methods and later at controlling
the minds of those who are
entrapped.
Not all cults claim to
be religions. Many door-to-door
and other types of sales
operations use very similar
methods to lure and entrap
young people into virtual
slave labour. These commercial
cults offer attractive wages,
glamourous travel opportunities,
and other perks to unemployed
youth experiencing difficulty
entering the job market.
After recruitment, they
experience long hours, sleep
and food deprivation, isolation
from old friends and family,
and sophisticated mind control.
Attack
on self esteem
Common to all cults –
whether pseudo-religious
or purely commercial –
is an attack on self esteem.
By controlling the environment,
and using intense peer pressure,
cults make it all but impossible
for members to be critical,
to complain, or ask pointed
questions. All individuality
is surrendered to the group.
With low self esteem and
ties broken with old friends
and family, it becomes difficult
to leave.
The human mind is very
powerful, but at the same
time very fragile. One critic
of cults, Bob Penny, argues
that the cult creates an
insane environment in which
anything can be made to
seem true, reasonable or
ethical. This insane environment
– and not a flaw in
the individual – leads
to the apparently insane
behaviour "just as
similarly perverted environments
trap otherwise good people
in lynchings, gang behaviour,
Nazism, and other social
ills." Clearly then,
it is much more effective
to immunize young people
against cults before
they are recruited than
after they are under the
cult’s omnipresent
influence. Here, the role
of families is vital.
Parents who have good communication
with their children can
often recognize early warning
signs, such as changes in
behaviour or in friends.
They can discuss the influences
their children might be
subject to, and can reassure
them of their self-worth,
helping them to understand
who they are as individuals.
Parents can recognize the
strengths of their children,
and guide them into activities
which they enjoy and are
good at, thereby boosting
their children’s self
esteem. A strong sense of
values fostered by years
of good parenting is difficult
for a cult to erase overnight.
A closely knit family can
also provide a more supportive
environment that a cult
member can return to once
he or she becomes disillusioned
with the group.
Good parenting is not the
only defence against cults,
and by itself it may not
be enough. It is, however,
one of the most important.
Yet at a time when the family
unit is being eroded, the
challenge of providing good
parenting becomes even more
difficult.
Time
for families
Divorce and two-wage-earner
families are realities of
the 1990s that have sharply
reduced the time that parents
spend with their children.
Studies show that North
American parents typically
spend more time in their
cars than interacting with
their kids. Many jobs are
still structured with little
flexibility to meet the
needs of families. In an
age of mobility, the extended
family of the past is now
often geographically dispersed,
and even the nuclear family
is struggling to stay together.
Is it any wonder than many
young people look outside
the family for emotional
support during the difficult
years of adolescence? That
peers are more influential
than parents to a generation
of latch-key kids? And that
children with difficulty
establishing friendships
sometimes fall into anti-social behaviour, or victim to
the influence of cults?
Character and good values
are best developed from
an early age and in the
home. The lack of those
in young people is often
blamed on lack of parental
concern. Observed historian
Maris Vinovskis: "The
irony is that we have the
best group of educated parents
in history doing the least
for their own children."
Strong and supportive families
are not a panacea. As many
of you know from experience,
even the strongest families
are not immune from the
lure of cults. By no means
do I wish to suggest that
those of you whose children
have joined cults are bad
parents. The fact that you
are here today shows your
level of concern. Nor are
young people the only victims
– cults aim for people
when they are most vulnerable,
and vulnerability can occur
at any age.
Families
are best defence
To the cult, which aims
at total control of the
individual, the family is
a threat. Cults go to great
lengths to isolate members
from their families, but
the stronger the family
bonds, the harder this is
to achieve.
That is why when looking
at the issue of cults, at
violence in schools, or
illegal drug use, it is
important to look at the
broader context. Society
has changed in many ways.
Looking at these changes,
we need to examine society
at its most fundamental
level. The family is the
cornerstone of the community.
It is the institution which
provides sustenance and
love to its members, and
which passes on the values
and codes of ethics to future
generations. It is a source
of self esteem to the individual,
providing strength and sense
of self. The stronger one’s
sense of self worth, the
greater the ability to withstand
the influence of cults
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