The following is an excerpt from

The power of cults How Chico State Prof. Janja Lalich went from cult member to author-expert Chico News and Review (USA), Aug. 12, 2004 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/8605-.html

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Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults was released last week by University of California Press and is poised to become a guide for everyone from frustrated families of cult members to scholars interested in her new theory.

Michael Langone, executive director of the American Family Foundation (AFF), a Florida-based clearing house for information on cults and psychological manipulation, called Lalich "a major figure in the field" and said her book is eagerly anticipated in cultic-studies circles.

In the book, Lalich hypothesizes that, rather than the long-held, simplistic idea that cult members are "brainwashed" into submission, they actually make conscious choices that seem reasonable in the context of the environment they are in.

"The typical response is that these are crazy, weak people who like to be led around by the nose, people who've got nothing better to do, people who are lost, and that's not the profile at all," Lalich said. "[People say], 'Oh, that could never happen to me. I'm smarter, I'm more savvy, I'm more this, I'm more that.' I've worked with incredibly intelligent people who've gotten involved in these groups. The profile, if there is one, is people from good families, generally with good educations who don't have pre-existing psychological problems. They're idealistic, curious, looking for a way to help make a better world." ====End Quote===

Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults by Janja Lalich University of California Press; (September 1, 2004) http://tinyurl.com/6f2xd

Anton -- Anton and Janet Hein-Hudson Apologetics Index Research resources on religions, cults, sects, doctrines, and related issues: http://www.religionnewsblog.com (News and news archives) http://www.apologeticsindex.org (Other research resources)

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