Deprogramming, Brainwashing and the Medicalization of Deviant Religious Groups

The Downfall of Rajneeshpuram in the Print Media: A Cross-National Study

“…Interestingly, the medicalization of "cultdeviance" in the United States (Robbins and Anthony 1982) has created a situation in which the new religions have also been taken to court on many occasions for reasons outside the realm of religion such as "brainwashing" allegations and consumer protection.…”

The Emerging Meanings of Religiousness and Spirituality: Problems and Prospects

“…An empirical association between cults and pathology is lacking; cult members have generally not displayed significantly higher levels of maladaptive behavior than the general population. In fact, some evidence indicates that membership in "deviant" religious and spiritual groups is associated with increases in social compassion and self-actualization, and lower levels of illicit drug use, suicide, neurotic distress, and moral confusion (Richardson, 1985;Robbins & Anthony, 1982).…”

Religious Conversion and Personality Change

“…There is no doubt that joining and participating in a religious group or adopting a new system of beliefs can help bring about dramatic consequences. This idea is supported both by those who have found positive effects of religion on participants (Kilbourne & Richardson, 1984;Muffler, Langrod, Richardson, & Ruiz, 1997;Richardson, 1985bRichardson, , 1995Robbins & Anthony, 1982) and those who think such participation leads to problematic, even dangerous consequences or is a symptom of some psychological problem (Salzman, 1953;Singer, 1972;Wooten & Allen, 1983). Important questions about conversion include whether the change is fundamentally good or bad (does it have positive or negative consequences in the person's life?…”

“…Perhaps psychologists and sociologists would not define "switching" as "real conversion," because almost by definition nothing pervasive in one's personality has occurred. Robbins and Anthony (1982) list several positive changes that have been documented by research on participation in newer religious groups. Included are: (a) termination of illicit drug use, (b) renewed vocational interest, (c) mitigation of neurotic distress, (d) suicide prevention, (e) decrease in anomie and moral confusion, (f) increase in social compassion and responsibility, (g) self-actualization, (h) decrease in psychosomatic symptoms, (i) clarification of ego identity, and (j) a general positive and therapeutic and problem-solving assistance.…”