Text of 1997 Guardian article highlighting abuse issues in the FWBO
As with many new religious movements, their enthusiasm and unconventional convictions have the potential to lead to problems associated with 'cults'.
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Submitted on 11th Apr 2020
Reflections on Cultish Behaviour in Triratna
Alexandra Stein, in her “Cults and Brainwashing: The hidden - and not so hidden - epidemic”, offers a succinct list of five criteria which define a cult:
Buyer Beware: Issues to Bring Up with Order Members (OMs) Prior to Getting Deeply Involved in Triratna
(Warning: asking these questions may delay your ordination process)
Academic critique FWBO's antagonistic stance toward Christianity
. . . part of the appeal of FWBO therapeutic blasphemy was the sheer delight of expressing negativity and reveling in being right.
Our Bog is Dood
Reflections on the dangers of charismatic authority in the FWBO sparked by the publication of Subhuti's book Women, Men & Angels, written by a former order member in the...
Sangharakshita and Buddhist Romanticism
This is presented as a focused summary of Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s book “Buddhist Romanticism”. The book can be freely downloaded here: Link
"Dangers in Devotion" by John Crook
An article by a prominent Western Buddhist, investigating the unusual emphasis placed by Triratna on Sangharakshita, with its attendant dangers.
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What's behind the blowback you'll get when you engage cult members
Article by Matthew Remski explaining how and why all cult members are abuse victims to varying degrees
Attachment theory and post-cult recovery. Alexandra Stein
Attachment theory provides a key to understanding the emotional damage from growing up in a cult, explain Alexandra Stein and Mary Russell
There are various definitions of cults. We use one grounded in the work of psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton3 and Hannah Arendt:4 ‘A cultic system is formed and controlled by a charismatic authoritarian leader or leadership body. It is a rigidly bounded, steeply hierarchical, isolating social system, supported and represented by a total, exclusive ideology. The leader sets in motion processes of coercive persuasion (also known as “brainwashing”), designed to isolate and control followers.
What is Charismatic Authority and Why Is it a Problem?
In all religious organisations there is a tension between what we might call spiritual hierarchy and institutional or ecclesiastical hierarchy. It is not always the case, and...