Study Resources	cult general information
psychological manipulation, cult groups, sects, and new religious movements

Cultic Studies Cult general Cults Questions & Answers Michael D. Langone, Ph.D. Full Text File 85K

What Can Educators, Clergy, and Others Do to Protect Young People Against Cultic Recruitment?

Educators and clergy interested in preventive education regarding cults can join the International Cult Education Program (ICEP), a program of the AFF. Joining ICEP will enable educators and clergy to communicate with others who share their interest, purchase tested educational materials, obtain videos, and speakers for educational programs, and keep abreast of developments in this new and exciting educational area.

The cultic danger to young people is decreased when:

• outside criticism causes cults to decrease the level of manipulation in their environments;
• young people develop resistance to cultic sales pitches by learning about how groups in general (not just cults) can influence one’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior;
• young people learn to cope with stress and recognize and try to overcome personal vulnerabilities, such as dependency, low tolerance of ambiguity, and naive idealism—seeking professional help when appropriate.

Consequently, educators and clergy can help protect youth by not being afraid to criticize cult abuses, but teaching youth about cultic manipulations, and by helping youth cultivate three values that will make them less vulnerable to cultic enticements:

• personal autonomy—the individual’s capacity to determine his life with minimal pressure or manipulation from without;
• personal integration—the individual’s continuing attempt to order his memories, values, beliefs, heritage, etc., into a unified whole; and
• independent critical thinking, without which autonomy cannot be maintained or integration achieved.

By Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.

Educators and clergy interested in preventive education regarding cults can join the International Cult Education Program (ICEP), a program of the AFF. Joining ICEP will enable educators and clergy to communicate with others who share their interest, purchase tested educational materials, obtain videos, and speakers for educational programs, and keep abreast of developments in this new and exciting educational area.