2026

Scientific Category

Adam J. Lyons
The Assassination of Abe Shinzō and Japan’s New Cult War: Yamagami Tetsuya and the Second-Generation Problem (Article published in Nova Religio journal)

Based on an exhaustive analysis of media sources and interviews, this article examines the repercussions of the 2022 assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe by Tetsuya Yamagami, who justified his act because of Abe’s support for the Unification Church—the perpetrator being the son of one of the movement’s adherents. Drawing on a very solid theoretical framework, the author demonstrates how this event served as a catalyst for the anti-cult movement in Japan, which has resulted in significant legislative initiatives and widespread media coverage. At the same time, he shows how the incident also contributed to a gradual transformation in the social representation of children raised in high-demand groups, notably through the growing activism of the shūkyō nisei, second-generation youth who left such movements. Through blogs and other media, activists share accounts of the multiple forms of abuse they endured during childhood. This narrative helped shift public perception, portraying the nisei as victims of controversial religious movements rather than as marginal and suspect “cult children” themselves. In this sense, Lyons’ work highlights the double alienation experienced by young people born or raised in high-demand groups. On the one hand, activists claim to have suffered abuses, not only psychological, but also practical, due to their parents’ religious commitments. On the other hand, they face stigmatization from society at large, and this makes social integration into the mainstream even more difficult. This very well-written and thoroughly documented article is extremely relevant for understanding the complexity of the experiences of children born into high-demand groups.

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Popular Category

Myra Shuster
Lost Promises: Revisiting the Circumstances of My Sister’s Death in a Religious Cult (FriesenPress)

Combining strong literary quality with personal insight, this memoir explores the enduring suffering associated with the death of a loved one who belonged to a cultic group. In particular, it focuses on the search for meaning surrounding this loss, a journey that led the author across time and geography in North America—from Montreal to California—as she sought to understand what had happened not only to her sister, but also to herself, in a Moonie organization, during the late 1970s. The book also provides an excellent reconstruction of the socio-cultural and historical context that led many young people of that era to embrace various alternative religious movements, as well as the different indoctrination strategies employed by some of these groups. Beyond its literary quality, the book stands out for the author’s great honesty as well as her resilience.

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2025

Popular Category

Sarah Patrick
Binding Shame. Life Inside a Cult of Obedience (Independant)

With outstanding literary quality, this book addresses in depth several aspects related to the life experience of children raised in cultic environments, particularly the issues of victimization that many of these young people face. At the same time, it investigates a rarely explored dimension, namely the transition some of these young victims make into the role of victimizers once they become adults. In this autobiographical account, Sarah Patrick describes in detail her adolescence spent at Grenville Christian College, a boarding school situated in Ontario and associated with the religious movement Community of Jesus, where a discipline centered on the humiliation of children, the internalization of shame, and corporal punishment prevailed. She also talks about her return years later to this institution as a teacher. Eventually, when years of concealed abuses were being exposed through media reports, the author realized that she herself had participated in this punitive mechanism. In addition to its literary merit, this book is distinguished by the author’s great honesty and by her careful exploration of how, in the context of a cultic system, abuse can be rationalized.

2024

Scientific Category

Omar Saldaña, Emma Antelo and Álvaro Rodríguez-Carballeira
Group Psychological Abuse Perpetration: Development and Validation of a Measure Using Classical and Modern Test Theory (Article published in Psychology of Violence journal)

This article promotes the advancement of knowledge about cultic phenomena by proposing the Psychological Abuse Perpetrated in Groups Scale (PAPGS), a scale that evaluates psychological control behaviors committed in a group context. The article demonstrates the construction and practical uses of this instrument, as well as its psychometric properties. Supported by relevant literature, this research is meticulously constructed and explores, in a logical manner, an often-neglected aspect of psychological abuse. The proposed tool is a test that can measure the damage suffered by both victims and aggressors, since the results tend to suggest that the latter may also have experienced victimization or high levels of distress in the past. This study also constitutes a solid basis for future empirical research in the field, particularly with regard to the factors that can transform victims into aggressors.

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Popular Category

This work is the result of many years of research and clinical work with former members of cultic groups or those with a high level of control. Considered to be one of the first personal development books aimed at survivors of coercive violence, cultic experience or spiritual victimization, this book accompanies them on the road to healing. Written in exhaustive detail, it can also be a useful reference tool for therapists in supporting this type of clientele. Finally, this book may also inspire researchers to deepen their knowledge in the field of intervention with victims of trauma in a cultic context or people who have suffered spiritual damage.

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2023

Scientific Category

Jean-Marc Barreau
Considérations sur l’abus spirituel dans un contexte de soins palliatifs (Article published in Criminologie journal)

This article stands out for its original definition of spiritual abuse, a concept seldom addressed in the French-language literature. Furthermore, it broadens this concept beyond cultic communities, using an autoethnographic methodology in the context of palliative care. To define this concept, Professor Barreau draws on the work of Dianne Casoni with regard to the idealization process in psychoanalysis. This theoretical framework enables the author to view spiritual abuse as a problem arising from the relational dynamic between a narcissistic leader and a follower, a situation that can elicit a “double abuse”, as well as a split between the leader/follower couple and “the others”, who are excluded and can be seen as “collateral scapegoats” (p.18). In addition, by means of a clinical example, this article illustrates the destructive effects of spiritual abuse on different levels: inner life, relational life, community life and political life. Finally, the author invites us to reflect on the spirituality of patients and ways of healing, as well as on early prevention of this type of abuse.

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Popular Category

Lorraine Derocher
Ces enfants oubliés. Grandir dans une communauté sectaire. (Éditions de l’Homme)

Based on several accounts (including seven identified and twelve anonymous), this book gives voice to adults who grew up in cultic communities. Thanks to the style and structure of this book, the numerous testimonies take different forms: quotations, notes, open letters to civil authorities, to parents or to people whose support was important, etc. This work moves away from a “sensationalist” vision and several preconceived ideas about cultic communities, because each voice contributes to a better understanding of everyday life as well as the complex and diverse experiences within such groups. It also provides a better understanding of the difficulties encountered in the process of building an identity outside the group. What’s more, this book can be a source of inspiration to those leaving groups, as it documents the many social contributions made by these children as adults. In addition, the author demonstrates integrity and transparency in her methodology and analysis of the various testimonials, which help better understand her approach. Finally, the unforgettable first-hand stories in this book highlight these “forgotten children” who were able to liberate themselves and achieve serenity despite the challenges of their experiences.

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2022

Erika Bornman
Mission of Malice : My Exodus from KwaSizabantu

Of great literary quality, Erika Bornman’s book deals in depth with several aspects of cultic phenomena, in particular, those related to the life experiences of children raised in cultic groups. This autobiographical account, which covers about forty years, meticulously describes the inner workings of the KwaSizabantu Mission as well as the harm such a group can cause, in particular, the neglect, the abuse and the sexual assaults. Bornman also discusses in detail the difficulties that second-generation cult survivors face when they leave these groups and try to integrate into society. The author’s exodus from the KwaSizabantu Mission not only captures the difficult challenges faced, but also the empowering feeling of telling her story and helping other former cult members tell theirs. This book contributes to a greater understanding of cultic phenomena and how children have been victimized in these groups, which in turn, can help mental health professionals deal more effectively with the difficulties former cult members may face in their social integration processes.

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