An Interview with Ronald Enroth
To get a current assessment of cult growth and influence, CHRISTIANITY TODAY interviewed Ronald Enroth, professor of sociology at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California. He is the author of four books about cults, including Youth Brainwashing and the Extremist Cults (Zondenvan, 1977) and The Lure of the Cults (Christian Herald, 1979). He also is a widely traveled conference speaker on the subject of cults.
Why have cults found such fertile ground for growth in the U.S. in the last 25 years?
In general, new religious movements in the past have emerged during times of cultural upheaval and social change. The past few decades have been characterized by a great deal of change and uncertainty. That is a primary factor. Coupled with that, there has been no nationwide focus of thought for young adults in the last decade such as we had in the 1960s. There has not been anything like the civil-rights or antiwar movements. Consequently, many young people have channeled their idealism into the religious sphere.
Another reason is that there is a spiritual vacuum. Many young adults are very naïve spiritually. They are spiritually illiterate. The Judeo-Christian religious and cultural base has eroded. The new religious movements are exploiting this vacuum and erosion.
These new groups also meet basic human needs. There is so much emphasis on the recruitment, alleged brainwashing, and mind control in the cults that we fail to recognize that they appeal to large segments of people simply because they meet the kinds of needs we all recognize: the need for authority, for community, fellowship, commitment, family wisdom, and a sense of mission and purpose. It is obvious that spiritual needs are at the heart.
A psychological factor is one important reason why some people are attracted to cults. These are people with strong dependency feelings and security needs. Many of the cults, especially the communal groups, provide a total frame of reference for life, where one does not have to make decisions about college careers, or even where food is coming from. It is a very comfortable sanctuary. These people are uncomfortable with the thought of having to leave and return to society. Even if they see some abuses occurring in the cult they are reluctant to leave, because the cult is the only way of life they know.
Is there a simple definition of a cult?
The word “cult” has become almost useless because of the many connotations attached to it, especially since Jim Jones and the mass suicide at Jonestown. But there are three approaches.
The first is theological. We use some baseline of authority to evaluate truth claims or the religious belief system of any given group. For the Christian, it is very important to have the baseline of Scripture and the doctrine of the church. But for many Americans, that particular approach is not very important.
The second approach is behavioral. It draws on the categories and analyses of the behavioral sciences. It emphasizes such things as leadership patterns, why people are attracted to cults, the psychosocial dynamics of cult membership, and what happens when people join cults.
The third is a more popular approach. This is the one used by the mass communications media. It emphasizes groups that are bizarre, weird, sensational.
Basically, from a Christian perspective, a cult could be defined as a group that deviates significantly from the Judeo-Christian tradition as revealed in Scripture and as delineated by the historic, orthodox Christian churches, and which at the same time is separated from, or outside of, the mainstream of the religious life of our culture.
Rabbi James Rudin in his book, Prison or Paradise: The New Religious Cults (Collins, 1980), claims that 10 to 12 percent of the Moonies come from Jewish homes, 20 percent of the Hare Krishnas, and 30 percent of the Divine Light Mission. How does that square with your statement that young people are susceptible to cults because they don’t have a strong religious background?
No one really knows the precise make-up of these cults. It has been my experience and the experience of other researchers, however, who have spent many hours interviewing literally dozens of young people who have been involved in cults, that although they claim to have had a religious background, for the most part it has been quite nominal. With respect to the Jewish community, it has been my experience that very few Orthodox or observant Jews are in the cults. The preponderance of Jews that I have had contact with in the cults are what might be called ethnic or nominally religious Jews. The same thing could be said for Protestants and Catholics.
Do you find many evangelical young people susceptible to cults?
The kinds of groups that evangelicals are attracted to are what I call, for lack of a better term, aberrational Christian groups, pseudo-Christian, or marginally Christian groups. This is because, speaking generally, evangelical young people are not as solidly grounded theologically as we would like to believe. It is not unusual for me to find students at Westmont [an evangelical Christian liberal arts college] who are surprised to learn that the Mormons are a cult.
Another reason evangelical young people are attracted to some of these groups is that increasingly they are coming from a home situation that is not Christian. They have come to Christ through parachurch youth ministries. They have not had solid church grounding, or a framework for their theology. They do not have the evaluative tools to discern truth and error.
Even when they do come from a solid Christian background, they are often attracted to groups that are heavily experiential in their orientation—they emphasize experience over doctrine.
Evangelicals are less likely to get involved in cults like the Hare Krishnas and the Moonies [Unification Church], and more likely to be attracted to groups like The Way International, The Church of the Living Word, known as The Walk, or the “local church” movement of Witness Lee. They see a certain spiritual dynamism in these groups. They are not perceptive enough to make any kind of theological evaluations. Also, you will occasionally find solid evangelical kids who are attracted to the Mormons.
There is an overriding personal need that the vulnerable person perceives as being met in the cult—for example, the need for family or for acceptance. The person sort of blocks out intellectually what he knows about the belief system of the group. The personal needs prevail.
Are converts to cults mostly young people, or are middle-aged and older people also joining?
The primary target population is between 18 and 25. For the most part, we are talking about young adults. However, if we cast the net more widely, which we must, to include transformational and self-improvement groups, then there are members of all ages. These groups are not always considered cults, but they reflect the impact of Eastern metaphysics. These are things like est, transcendental meditation (TM), the Church of Scientology, and the large number of Eastern groups.
Quite a few middle-aged people are following the latest “in” gurus—Swami Muktananea, who has been buying ads in Time magazine, and Raj Nesh.
What are the social factors in cults?
The self-improvement groups primarily attract middle- and upper-middle-class people. This is a significant historical shift. Most of the adherents to new religious movements in the past came from minorities, the underprivileged. That is not true today. In fact, a very important characteristic of the new cults is that they appeal to the affluent middle class. Things like est and TM are fashionable among celebrities.
Richard Ostling, religion editor of Time, says the cult scare is the most overblown development in religious news in the last 25 years. Do you agree with his assessment?
It depends on how we define a cult. Do we include the self-improvement and transformational groups? If we do, then we are talking about millions of Americans. But if we focus largely on organizations that have received great mass-media attention—like the Unification Church and Hare Krishna—then we are talking about a comparatively small number.
However, both of these groups and other smaller cults have generated a great deal of discussion on the legal front. The Church of Scientology and the Unification Church have been very much involved in litigation. They are challenging certain church-state relationships. They have stirred up the legal waters far out of proportion to their size.
More important is the impact that Eastern mystical occult world views are having on American culture in subtle ways. Brooks Alexander of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project has put it this way: “The possibility of unknowing involvement in a form of non-Christian spirituality is a very real thing today.” This is because of the increased influence of Eastern metaphysical world views in the human potential movements. From my perspective, the so-called cult explosion is not overblown.
Is cult membership pretty much of an in-and-out thing, or do people really stay?
There is no way of measuring this for sure, but my impression is that there is a great deal of turnover. Related to this is the “spiritual butterfly” phenomenon. People flit from group to group. They spend a few months or a year with one group and then go on to another. This is a real problem, because they get accustomed to the totalistic cult lifestyle.
What can churches do to prevent defections to the cults?
The best preventive strategy is an educational effort. One person should be given the responsibility for developing cult awareness and providing resource materials: the church should subscribe to periodicals and purchase books. Specific classes should be conducted at the high school and college level, and even the junior high level. Seminars and films should be included.
The problem really is with an incredible degree of apathy. Unless a cult touches them personally, many people feel the danger is far removed. This is true of many pastors. I get a lot of phone calls only after there is a problem. Then a pastor will call and say, “I really don’t know anything about Scientology, but the daughter of one of my parishioners is involved. What can you tell me in 10 minutes?” There is an information gap, even though many resources are available.
Perhaps the greatest foundational need facing churches today is to assist young people (and adults, for that matter) to develop discernment skills. We must start at the junior high level to equip our youth with the rudiments of a theological framework that will enable them to hold on to the truth in the face of deceit and error.
What are some of the best resources?
The Spiritual Counterfeits Project [P.O. Box 4308, Berkeley, Calif. 94704] is one of the finest. SCP has a journal and a newsletter, as well as material on specific groups. They have an information and referral service available on a special phone number: (415) 527-9212 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. Pacific time. Also, the Institute for Contemporary Christianity [Box A, Oakland, NJ. 07436] and the Christian Research Institute [P.O. Box 500, San Juan Capistrano, Calif. 92675] have good materials.
Will some of the newer cults gain public acceptance a lot faster than the Mormons did?
Yes. It took the Mormons over 100 years. The question of legitimacy is a real concern, especially with the Unification Church, because of their efforts at ecumenical dialogue, even with some evangelicals. Some of the smaller cults, like the Love Family and the Church of Armageddon, are applying for membership in local councils of churches.
Where are we headed in the future?
The average American is spiritually naïve, and vulnerable to the cults. Cults will remain a growth industry, even though mass-media exposure has subsided.
