Cultic Studies Journal
Psychological Manipulation and Society
Vol. 9, No. 1, 1992

5/8

The Council of Europe's Report  on Sects and New Religious Movements

Conclusions
The solution of the problem of sects does not lie in legislation. The problem of sects which commit offenses exists, but so do the laws which punish these offenses. What is needed is a greater awareness, preventive measures, and the collective responsibility of society. Greater vigilance will of course be necessary, but the most effective action, in the medium-term and long-term, is education in this field, general information, creative and free association between young people, friendships between the people and groups concerned, and cultural growth with an enhanced capacity for thought and critical analysis.

We are against specific legislation and in favor of vigilance and the monitoring of this new and growing problem. We believe that the public authorities must step up their supervision of any associations suspected of being "destructive sects" by subjecting them to closer inspection and by setting up administrative and police mechanisms permitting continuous observation and enquiries.

I agree with the conclusion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights that major legislation on sects is undesirable, but I think there is a certain naivete in advocating the registration of sects on the basis of which they might be monitored. In the first place there is no legal definition of a sect. Therefore, there can be no register of destructive or harmful sects. None of them would register. What could be done would be to toughen the legislation governing associations by imposing more restrictive minimum requirements, and to monitor their activities through registers of religious, cultural, therapeutic, or other similar bodies under which form sects often masquerade.

With regard to information on sects, there are two aspects involved. There is general information, which must be given by the public authorities, and dissemination of that information through the media, which are probably in the best position for alerting the public to the problem. On the other hand there is a need, especially in the predominantly secular societies of Western Europe, but by no means exclusively in such societies, to provide a basis for value judgments. Informing adolescents about sects and new religious movements must be an integral part of the general education system and cannot simply be left to independent bodies. This problem must be put before young people and children when they learn about ethics and personal and social rights in religious freedom, in other words, at school.

I agree with Mr. Hunt's conclusion on the problem of the transfer of children abroad, but I should like to add that much can be done in the field of international cooperation to monitor sects more effectively and to obtain information and divulge it. The necessary international agreements to this effect should therefore be concluded.

Lastly, it seems evident to me that the members working for sects and exploited by them should be protected. The problem is knowing how and when a person is "working for a sect" and is "employed" by that sect. This is not easy. In all cases, the general employment and tax legislation of each country should be applied.

Reporting committee: Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights (Doc. 6535).

Committee for opinion: Committee on Culture and Education.

Budgetary implications for the Assembly: None.

Reference: Doc. 5737, Reference No. 1568 of 1 July 1987.

Opinion: Approved by the committee on 6 December 1991.

Secretaries to the committee: MM. Grayson and Ary.

Official Report on Sects and New Religious Movements

(Speeches and Summarized Speeches by Various Members)

Sir John Hunt (United Kingdom) (Rapporteur of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights): I am pleased to have the opportunity to present my report on behalf of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. As members of the committee will know, the report has had an exceptionally long gestation period. I am relieved, therefore, that is has been allotted a place in today's order of business. I am pleased about that because I believe that the Assembly is the forum in which the anxieties and apprehensions of so many people about the activities of cults and sects should be fully aired and debated.

As we all know, we are about to debate a highly emotive subject. Feelings run high on both sides of the argument, but nowhere higher than among the parents of children and young people who have been enticed into various groups and have subsequently become alienated from their families and home environment.

There is no doubt that the proliferation of these sects during the past 25 or 30 years has been a most disturbing phenomenon in Europe and elsewhere. In the introductory section of my report I have tried to analyze the reasons for it. Among those reasons is the waning interest in what one might call the established, traditional churches. As a result, the sects have moved in to fill the vacuum, as it were, by appealing in a subtle and sometimes sinister way to impressionable and idealistic young people. There is clear evidence that many sects set out deliberately to enlist the more vulnerable members of the younger generation. They recruit on campuses among those who are feeling distressed with college life and examinations. They recruit on the streets among those who are homeless or who are facing difficulties in their family relationships.

Initially, the sects offer security and stability to those who are upset in whatever way. Sometimes they are emotionally disturbed; sometimes they are separated from their families. Unfortunately, the initial welcoming period can often be followed by a period of indoctrination, leading to the sort of alienation from families and friends that causes so much unhappiness and distress. It is difficult for us to quantify the extent of this distress, but an organization known as Family Action Information and Rescue, which operates in the United Kingdom, reports that last year it received 1,700 letters and 1,200 telephone calls in respect of different cults and fringe groups. If we multiply those figures by the number of member countries within the Council of Europe, I think we shall begin to appreciate the size and scale of the problem.

In the second paragraph of my report I have provided some reasonably neutral definitions of a sect. I have tried so far as I can to be fair in these matters. A somewhat less impartial description has come from the Cult Information Centre. It defines cults as organizations that "use deceptive and psychologically manipulative techniques to recruit unsuspecting people."

Of course, sects vary in their techniques and practices. Some are less dangerous than others, but some are extremely dangerous. A distinguished consultant psychiatrist, Dr. Elizabeth Tyldan, practices in my Bromley constituency in the United Kingdom. She has warned in letter to one of my constituents of some of the dangers of these cults. I shall read a short part of her letter. She writes:

In some cults children and even babies are subjected to sexual practices at an early age which are abhorrent to practically every culture. In other cults, the excessively rigid moral code can be applied so strictly that the normal development of sexuality is warped and hampered. The literature of several cults prescribes a strict discipline imposed by harsh means, abhorrent to anybody. An example of this is "rodding," where a rod is given to the mother to punish her baby for crying.

In other groups the dangers come from a different kind of exploitation. The Church of Scientology, for example, has developed its promotional activities with great skill and success. A local vicar in the East Grinstead area where the church has its headquarters is reported to have said: "It's not a church, it's a front for charging people a lot of money for something it cannot deliver." When one looks at its magazines, as I did the other day, one sees that the charges are extremely high. An extraordinary array of books and cassettes on the teaching of the now-deceased guru Mr. L. Ron Hubbard is advertised. They range from what is called "the way to happiness extension course" for a mere L25 to "the Philadelphia doctorate course lectures" for no less than L2,500.

Last summer some members of this Assembly were privileged to receive a foretaste of the "way to happiness" teachings of the said Mr. Hubbard. They were sent an expensively bound deluxe edition of what was described as "a very popular non-religious common sense guide." Unfortunately, one did not come to me, but I have managed to obtain a copy. The sayings of Mr. Hubbard are certainly basic. I have extracted just three gems for the debate. The first reads:

Happiness. True joy and happiness are valuable. If one does not survive, no joy and no happiness are obtainable.

The second reads:

Eat properly. People who do not eat properly are not of much help to you or themselves. They tend to have a low energy level.

That one really touched my heart. The third one states:

Preserve your teeth. If one brushed one's teeth after every meal, it has been said that one would not suffer tooth decay.

That is hilarious but, incredibly, people are apparently drawn into that organization by trite and puerile quotes of that kind. Some will say that if people are naive and foolish enough to be persuaded by that kind of juvenile rubbish, that is their own business. To some extent I go along with that, but at the same time one has always to watch for the motives of these people. Why are they trying to attract young people and others into their ranks? We have a duty to watch and monitor these groups and where necessary -- it is not always necessary -- to warn parents and young people about the groups' methods and motives.

I am grateful to Mr. de Puig for the opinion that he has presented on behalf of the Committee on Culture and Education and for the helpful amendments that he has tabled. He rightly refers to the need for greater vigilance and also presses the need for education. He says: "Informing adolescents about sects and new religious movements must be an integral part of the general education system." I warmly endorse that.

As members of the committee will know, during its preparation and in discussions of the report, I carefully considered the use of legislation to deal with this problem. I came to the conclusion, however, endorsed by the committee, that the introduction of major legislation would conflict with the freedom of conscience and of religion which is guaranteed by Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Instead of legislation, I suggest that we require the registration of all sects and new religious movements so that we can monitor their activities. Coupled with that, we should set up independent bodies to circulate objective information, particularly to schools and colleges, so that parents, teachers, and young people can be fully and accurately informed. Having done that, it is then up to each individual to make his or her own judgment and decision in the light of the information made available.

It seems to me that any genuine sects will have nothing to fear from this monitoring exercise and the undesirable activities of the more dubious groups should, it is to be hoped, be curbed and restrained by the existence of the monitoring machinery.

In conclusion, I concede that my solutions are not dramatic or radical. I fear that they may disappoint those who were looking for harsher action against cults and sects, but I believe that they are a realistic response to the deep concerns that have been expressed in all our countries by so many parents, teachers, and youth workers. On that basis, I commend my report to the Assembly.

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