Volume I
Issue I
Welcome
to the new Cult
Awareness Network's
first newsletter! We use the term "new" because CAN is now under completely
different management and there have been a lot of positive changes over the
past year.
The old CAN, after
being fined $1,000,000 for their part in the deprogramming of a Pentecostal
Christian (rather than make any reparation for the harm they had done), voluntarily
declared bankruptcy in June of 1996. The name CAN and its hotline number went
on the auction block that October. At the sale were CAN's former Executive Director
and an attorney representing diverse individuals and groups. Apparently abandoned
by their financial backers, CAN stopped bidding at one point and the attorney
walked away owning the name and hotline. He has since licensed the use of the
name and hotline to the Foundation for Religious Freedom, a non-profit public-benefit
corporation run by a multi-faith Board.
The new CAN
provides factual information about religions of all kinds and reconciles
families. Read on to get briefed on some of the new CAN's results.
A Letter From
Management
Dear Friends, This
past year has been a true success! We've had over 4,000 hotline calls from all
over the US and as far away as Germany, Denmark, Japan, and Venezuela; dozens
of reconciliations and mediations; 2,000 visits to the CAN website; hundreds
of new members; and many dozens of professionals agreeing to act as qualified
referrals for the new CAN.
Now that the Cult
Awareness Network is in the hands of the Foundation for Religious Freedom, people
are being encouraged daily to get factual information, stay in communication
and reconcile family situations. And this is why we're here: to stop the hate
between people over religious reasons. In this newsletter, you'll find some
examples we felt were worth sharing.
After all, America
was built on religious freedom and everyone has the right to their own choice
of faith.
We intend to spread
this message further in 1998.
A Thanksgiving
Reunion
Two sisters living
in Texas had severed communications over a disagreement in Catholic theology
and were refusing to allow their children to see one another. The parents of
the sisters were divided on the issue as well, not knowing who to side with.
The older sister,
having had no results working through local resources, called CAN. A Buddhist
and professional mediator volunteered to work with her to resolve the situation.
Many long phone calls were invested into sorting things out with the right cause
of the disagreement spotted.
And the result: the
whole family, including sisters, cousins and parents, made an agreement they
could all live with. They are back in touch and spent their first Thanksgiving
together in three years!
HOTLINE NEWS
Many callers are
sent surveys after being spoken to on the Hotline. Some sample responses include:
"Dear CAN, 1 welcome
your new leadership. 1 read your mission statement and opening letter. 1 feel
it is far more positive to emphasize respect and communication in the matter
of someone's religious belief
[which is exactly what we do]
than attempt to force someone to renounce a belief, which is usually unlawful.
"
"1 really got what
you guys (are) doing and 1 think it's fantastic! -- all my admiration to you!
I'm sure you will help to re-establish understanding of religion on this planet."
A member of the York
Regional Police i11
Canada, in response
to the question: "Do you feel your questions were adequately answered?" said:
"Definitely. 1 do
appreciate your assistance and the resource material that was sent to me for
future reference."
Another caller reported:
"The phone call
with you changed me forever - in that 1 am now more tolerant of others' religions
and less arrogant about my own [faith]."
Scholars Back
the New CAN
In November, religious
scholars met in San Francisco for their annual conference. A CAN representative
also visited one of the meetings and briefed scholars on the latest activities
at CAN. Some of the many scholars she met with (in addition to several of those
mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter) included: Catherine Wessinger of Loyola
University, Constance A. Jones of the California Institute of Integral Studies,
Judith Linzer, a Ph.D. and Rabbinical scholar, and Robert
Ellwood of the University
of Southern California.
Each of the scholars
she briefed were very happy and willing to agree to act as professional referrals
for the new CAN!
CAN Works with
Professionals
To
handle over 4,000 calls in less than one year, concerning nearly every religion
imaginable, CAN has created a network around the country of over 100 true religious
experts to whom we refer callers. These experts help individuals and families
by providing factual
information
to help them understand each other's beliefs. Some examples include:
CAN received a call
from a concerned mother whose 33-year-old son was joining the Messianic Community
in Island Pond, Vermont. As this religious group lives communally, Professor
Tim Miller of the University of Kansas (who has personally lived with almost
every communal religion in the country) was the man for her to talk to. He was
able to allay the mother's fears about her son's future by giving her objective
information. The son has since moved in with the group, and the mother has stayed
in touch, respecting his religious choice.
When the fire chief
of McMinnville, Tennessee called into CAN with questions about some markings
on a church door in the town, Professor Gerard O'Sullivan, of Felician College
in New Jersey, an expert in the occult and paganism, was faxed a copy of what
had been drawn on the door and was able to analyze it for the town. He let them
know it was not the work of an organized group, but more likely a teenage prank.
Thus, the town didn't overreact, and they have had no further incidents.
When a woman from
northern California called in, distressed, as she was questioning whether an
eastern philosophy she had adhered to for years was a "cult", Dr. James Lewis
of the Association of World Academics for Religious Education in Santa Barbara,
California was able to speak to her at length and calm her down. He is an expert
on the religion she was involved in and, with his assurance, she was able to
make her own decisions about her future without any "cult" stigma.
Become a CAN
Member - NOW!
CAN' s 800-hotline
is answered by caring people. Other information lines apparently only have machines
because CAN gets comments regularly about how nice it is to talk to a "live"
person.. Your memberships are vital to keep the hotline live and operating,
plus cover the office rent, mailings, web-site expansion, etc. (the staff are
volunteer) .
Join CAN now
with
a $40.00 annual donation and get your CAN membership card. Or donate $50.00
for your membership card plus a CAN T-shirt with the First Amendment emblazoned
on the back. A lifetime membership of $500 pays for the above, plus a special
certificate of appreciation. It also covers one month of the hotline!
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