Brainwashing” Theories in European Parliamentary and Administrative Reports on “Cults” and “Sects

Bibliographic Data

ID7867458
AuthorsJ T Richardson (0000-0002-6307-087X, University of Nevada, Reno), Massimo Introvigne
Year2001
Volume40
Issue2
Pages143-168
Publication date2001-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal for the Scientific Study of Religion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8294 • E-ISSN: 1468-5906
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/0021-8294.00046
OpenAlexW1972745546
LanguageEN
Citations received33
References cited28

This study examines the recent rash of official reports done by governmental agencies in Western Europe to guide policy development in those societies. Particular attention is given to reports in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, and Italy, and to the changes in such reports that have occurred, perhaps because of the influence of scholarly critiques offered for some of the earlier reports. The reports are divided into “Type I” and “Type II” reports, with the former being thorough‐going in their anti‐cult orientation, and the latter reports being more moderate in tone, with some attention paid to scholarship on new religions. However, the major thesis of the study is supported, as an examination of both types of reports reveals that they incorporate “brainwashing” and “mind control” imagery imported from the United States, even though such theories have been largely discounted within the United States. Use of such theories leads directly to some questionable policy recommendations, as demonstrated in the reports. Reasons for the spread of “brainwashing” ideas to Europe are discussed

Cult · Political science · Scholarship · Social science · Sociology · Tone (literature) · Law · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Society, and Development · Religious Tourism and Spaces

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