Info-Cult/Info-Secte
Info-Cult/Info-Secte, a
resource centre on cultic thinking, was founded
in 1980 in Montreal, Canada following my brief
experience with the Unification Church (UC) in
1977 and specifically that involving a very close
friend. After the story of my friend’s kidnapping
and deprogramming from the Unification Church was
featured in a series of newspaper articles in
1977 (the Montreal Star: Freed, 1977
December, 1978 January), his close friends and I
organized a part-time volunteer public
information service.
After obtaining funding in
April 1980 a full-time center called the Cult
Project was started.
The center’s contention was
that not all cults were problematic; hence, a
distinction between “cults” and “destructive
cults” was made.
The center's activities
included providing information programs to high
schools, colleges, universities, community
centers, and professional organizations
principally in and around the Montreal region.
These programs were geared towards sensitizing
and educating the community to the issue of
destructive cults and the techniques of mind
control.
A documentation center was
made available to the public containing books,
newspaper and journal articles, and audio-visual
materials. In the beginning, information focused
on the experiences of families and ex-members.
However, it soon became apparent that the
collection must be diversified to include other
perspectives.
During the first ten years,
the majority of our clients were parents of cult
members, ex-members, students, and teachers.
Contacts with groups perceived as “cults”,
“destructive cults”, or those with opposing
points of view were minimal.
In 1990 the Cult Project
changed its name to Info-Cult ("Info-Secte" in
French). The objectives of Info-Cult are:
- To promote the study of
cultic phenomena;
- To sensitize, inform and
educate the public to these phenomena;
- To assist those with
problems related to these phenomena.
Info-Cult’s funding comes in
the form of an annual grant from the Quebec
Ministry of Health and Social Services,
discretionary funds from different Provincial
Ministers, foundations, private groups, and
individual donations, as well as fees for certain
services. Info-Cult is the only organization in
North America that receives government support.
Info-Cult’s clientele has
greatly expanded through the years. Besides
parents, ex-members, students and teachers,
clientele now includes members of different new
religions, academics, mental health
professionals, attorneys, law enforcement, media
and others.
From 1990 to the present
Info-Cult has had numerous contacts and meetings
with members and representatives of “cult”
groups, spiritual organizations, and new
religious movements. Increasing interest and
communication from academics with varying
viewpoints has helped to broaden Info-Cult’s
analysis and perspective on the issue.
Info-Cult is the only
full-time organization of its kind in Canada. It
houses a documentation center that is one of the
largest in the world with over 2,500 books, 9,000
files, academic reports, journals, newsletters,
government and legal documents and more than
1,500 programs on audio and video cassettes. The
material, mostly in English and French, is
collected from sources around the world and
includes group-generated and critical literature.
The documentation center is
open on a restricted basis until opening to the
public is considered feasible.
Info-Cult is widely regarded
as a major source of information and assistance
for dealing with “cults,” new religions,
Satanism, the Occult and other non-traditional
and secretive groups.
With this reputation comes
enormous responsibility to respond to individual
and family concerns in a nuanced and balanced
way. Info-Cult, as well as AFF, avoids simplistic
“yes” or “no” responses to complex questions such
as “Is Group X a cult?” or “Is the group my
loved-one joined dangerous?”
Although Info-Cult has
evolved over the years, certain positions on
accessibility, kidnapping, and legislation have
remained constant:
§
Info-Cult has always operated out
of a known location and is easily reachable by
phone.
§
Contrary to a popular belief
concerning “anti-cult” groups, Info-Cult has not
supported or assisted in the use of coercive
measures to remove someone from a group (see
Kropveld, 2003). In situations where we have been
asked about that option, we have consistently
counseled against it and have suggested
non-coercive alternatives
§
Existing laws are sufficient in
dealing with the multiple problems associated
with “cults” and cultic groups
Though the beginnings of AFF
and Info-Cult are different, at present both
organizations have positions that are very
similar concerning how to respond to the multiple
concerns raised by the issue of “cults." | 
