|
Perspectives on Cults As Affected by
the September 11th Tragedy
Herbert L. Rosedale
Abstract
The events of September 11th have given new urgency to the business of examining
cultic activities in societies around the world. We need to examine cultic
phenomena from a three-fold perspective: first, the relationship between a cult
leader and the members of his or her group; second, relationships between group
members and those in the society who are not members of the group; and finally,
society's role in establishing relations among varying groups, a number of which
may claim to represent the unique source of ultimate truth. What I propose to do
in this paper, therefore, is to outline these three areas of analysis from the
perspective, developed over the past generation, of students of destructive
cultic activities. In doing so, I believe we will find striking analogies to the
current situation that exists in China, both with regard to the country’s
perception of the need for regulation of leaders, practitioners, and supporters
of Falun Gong, and to past experience with, and the appearance on the horizon
of, other groups that threaten the rights of citizens and stability of the
society as a whole in China. Finally, we must strike a balance between
recognizing and protecting individual rights and differences and those of
society as a whole as we deal with supporters of Falun Gong.
A Paper Presented in Beijing at the meeting of the China Anti-Cult Association in
December, 2001
Full text available through
ICSA E-Library.
|
