| Advanced Bonewits Cult Danger Evaluation Frame |
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Several checklists of "cult behavior" have been circulated by members of the Anti-cult Movement . These lists vary by the terminology they use, and how they group the behaviors they describe. The check lists for problematic groups and new religious movements that are generally not labelled "cult checklists" and that have been made by people or organizations not associated by the anti-cult movement, such as sociologists and scholars of new religious movements are treated here too. The creators of these lists generally do not explain how they created the lists. See also: Problems Surrounding The Definition Of A Cult EILEEN BARKER A checklist, allegedly based on Empirical Research , was made by professor Eileen Barker , in which traits of groups that can evolve to be dangerous are described. These traits include: #A movement that separates itself from society, either geographically or socially; #Adherents who become increasingly dependent on the movement for their view on reality; #Important decisions in the lives of the adherents are made by others; #Making sharp distinctions between us and them, Divine and Satanic , good and evil, etc. that are not open for discussion; #Leaders who claim divine authority for their deeds and for their orders to their followers; #Leaders and movements who are unequivocally focused on achieving a certain goal. CANADIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE - REPORT # 2000/03 ON DOOMSDAY CULTS A report {Link without Title} by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service , dated December 18, 1999, regarding Doomsday Cult s include the following Apocalyptic cult checklist: Characteristics Apocalyptic Beliefs
Charismatic Leadership
Actions by Authorities
Threats Weapons Acquisition
Institutional Infiltration
Criminal Activity
Early warning signs
SHIRLEY HARRISON In her book "Cults - the battle for God", Shirley Harrison has a list of the characteristics of a potential destructive cult:
STEVE EICHEL In his "Building Resistance to Manipulation", the psychologist Steve K.D. Eichel created a checklist of signs of a sect designed to Brainwash its members into loyal followers:
JAMES R. LEWIS In his book ''Cults in America'', a scholar named James R. Lewis describes a number of properties he would expect a dangerous sect to have: #The organization is willing to place itself above the law. With the exceptions noted earlier (in the full document linked below), this is probably the most important characteristic; #The leadership dictates (rather than suggests) important personal (as opposed to spiritual) details of followers' lives, such as whom to marry, what to study in college, etc.; #The leader sets forth ethical guidelines members must follow but from which the leader is exempt; #The group is preparing to fight a literal, physical Armageddon against other human beings; #The leader regularly makes public assertions that he or she knows is false and/or the group has a policy of routinely deceiving outsiders. ISAAC BONEWITS ." As he puts it, "The purpose of this evaluation tool is to help both amateur and professional observers, including current or would-be members, of various organizations (including religious, occult, psychological or political groups) to determine just how dangerous a given group is liable to be, in comparison with other groups, to the physical and mental health of its members and of other people subject to its influence." His checklist, known as the ABCDEF ("Because understanding cults should be elementary"), allows the user to evaluate groups on a scale of 1–10, on the basis of 18 factors: #internal control #external control #wisdom or knowledge claimed by leaders #wisdom or knowledge credited to leaders #dogma #recruiting #front groups #wealth #sexual manipulation #sexual favoritism #censorship #isolation #dropout control #violence #paranoia #grimness #surrender of will #hypocrisy The ABCDEF is available in multiple languages, including German, French, Italian, Polish, and Portuguese, on Bonewits's website. It was used by the FBI in its special "Meddigo" report on apocolyptic Christian cults. It was also referrenced by a committee of the Union Of South Africa as part of their efforts to reform that nation's marriage laws, which had previously recognized only marriages within the official state church. ANTHONY STORR Anthony Storr, a psychiatry professor in the United Kingdom, discusses common traits of good and bad gurus in his book, ''Feet of clay - A Study of Gurus''. Storr defines the term guru as people having "special knowledge" who tell, referring to this special knowledge, how other people should lead their lives. He applies the term "guru" to figures as diverse as Jesus , Muhammad , Buddha , Gurdjieff , Rudolf Steiner , Carl Jung , Sigmund Freud , Jim Jones and David Koresh . He argues that most gurus promise followers "new paths to salvation", share common character traits (e.g. being loners without friends) and that some suffer from a mild form of Schizophrenia . He also wrote in the book that the gurus who are Eloquent , authoritarian, or interfere in the private lives of followers are the ones who are more likely to be unreliable and dangerous. He further refers to Eileen Barker's List to recognize dangerous situations in religious movements. SEE ALSO REFERENCES
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