Quote (MxVivianWulf @ Jul 18 2022 04:38am)

Sup. Been a minute. Been doing cult and extremism research and prevention. Which has been super rewarding honestly.

Been a few years since I posted here regularly. Still some of the same faces around though I see.

Anyways so I have been struggling to think how we can deal with international cults like the Moonies that are so deeply embedded in our political systems. Japan suffers with Soko Gakkai as well as the Unification Church among others. The US obviously has QAnon, Scientology, Dominionism, happy science etc...

These cults commit varied abuses on their members and society (the UC is very involved in human trafficking and slavery for example) and children grow up in the cults only to have that abuse visited on them.

It's no wonder one cracks every now and then... This is just a very high profile example. But because of their political and economic power there is very little drive to actually deal with these cults or to investigate their abuses.

So what can we do for the people born into them?

Quote (EndlessSky @ 19 Jul 2022 12:34)

This is only half true.

Shinzo Abe was friends with the Moonie cult because they gave him reliable votes, money and support.

Abe never actually LIKED the Moonies, but he maintained a shaky political alliance in order to keep winning elections.

Apparently the guy that assassinated Abe had his family scammed by a Moonie and was furious at Abe for supporting the group over the years.

This is probably something that communities and towns should do on a case by case basis, reporting and investigating child abuse and illegal activity. It gets into dangerous territory when political leaders punish certain religious groups, it should stay local as far as a response. The way that our country took down the mafia was mainly through local and FBI witness protection programs that could protect and utilize whistleblowers.

Quote (Sioux @ 19 Jul 2022 04:36)

Honestly, eliminating the option for homeschooling would go a long way for these kids, at least in America. One of the major roles public education plays that no one talks about is having a third party see a child almost daily. If we can't do that, mandatory check-ins with CPS 4-6x a year for home-schooled children would really help these kids not fall off the grid and end up deeper in these cults/prevent the absolute worst of the abuse.

Beyond that, having resources for deprogramming/adaptation if and when they decide to leave once they reach adulthood.

Quote (Santara @ 18 Jul 2022 11:26)

WB Viv. Don't know absolutely anything on the topic, so I can't comment otherwise.

Quote (MxVivianWulf @ Jul 23 2022 01:39am)

I go back and forth on homeschooling. For some kids it is a necessity. But I think there ought to be a very good reason for it. Incessant bullying, learning difficulties not catered for by schools within a reasonable distance etc. Children ought not be the property of their parents but the responsibility of their community.

Quote (Sioux @ 23 Jul 2022 18:25)

sure but it also enables the most horrific abuses on some kids who just disappear from the system. The people I know that were raised in cults were all home-schooled.

Quote (NatureNames @ 23 Jul 2022 19:44)

In this case I would treat religion and cult as the same. And how do people in religious upbringings become non-religious or change their views? Education. And an environment that is welcoming to non-religious beliefs. Education alone may not be enough if the person is put back into a environment where they are surrounded by cult/religion followers.