SuperstarNeilC
Well-known member
Faith Yen is an ex-cult member who left the Moonies cult in August, 2019. Here she answers frequently asked questions from normies.
i think it's a good book, full of solid advice and compassion, in spite of a somewhat sensational title -- which i'm guessing is a product of the publisher's marketing.Steve Hassan was a fairly high up member in the Moonies..
His book "Combatting cult mind control" gives a pretty comprehensive expose about them.
I'm reading it at the moment.
As I said, I'm still reading it. It can get a bit slow going.i think it's a good book, full of solid advice and compassion, in spite of a somewhat sensational title -- which i'm guessing is a product of the publisher's marketing.
it's a group i wish there were more comprehensive information on. it seems like they've declined as the baby boomers who originally joined have matured and grown old, much as with scientology and maybe even more so, and starting well before Moon died, but there's almost no information to be found about their membership, number of churches and communities, etc.
the CoS keeps those records secret and even lies like a rug about their actual size, but there are still some leaks and clues, counts of orgs and missions past and present, etc. i can't find anything that gives me any clue about the size of the UC over the decades, and particularly recent trends.As I said, I'm still reading it. It can get a bit slow going.
Scientology is quite obsessive with records and that makes many things about it researchable.
So far, I get the impression that the moonies don't do the same deal.
Qualities & Characteristics of a Cult | Cult ResearchCharacteristics Associated With Cults
- The group displays an excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader, and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.
- Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
- Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, or debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).
- The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (e.g., members must get permission to date, change jobs, or marry—or leaders prescribe what to wear, where to live, whether to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).
- The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s), and its members (e.g., the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).
- The group has a polarized, us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.
- The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders, or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).
- The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (e.g., lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).
- The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and control members. Often this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.
- Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.
- The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.
- The group is preoccupied with making money.
- Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.
- Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.
- The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave—or even consider leaving—the group.