Word: cult
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Bunch, the sitcom about an adage-spewing stepfamily cavorting on an Astroturf lawn, and Gilligan's Island, the tale of seven mismatched castaways on an island that seemed oddly close to Hollywood. Both shows had a goofy otherworldliness painfully out of step with their tumultuous times. Both spawned fanatical cult followings and countless spin-offs. Both, amazingly, were created by the same man, Sherwood Schwartz...
Harvard students are often skeptical about terms like "mind control" and "cult." Brought up under the virtues of free expression, students see no reason why HCIA should not operate under University recognition. Students should have the right to participate or not participate in these meetings as they...
...then the group's formal independence was never strictly the issue here. You don't see Hillel or the Catholic Students Association dissociating themselves from the influence of their parent religious groups. HCIA is different because its parent group, the BCC relies on aggressive missionary tactics, recruiting efforts many cult experts say resemble mind control...
...according to cult experts, those tactics begin with "non-denominational," Bible study groups, exactly like the kind offered by HCIA. These study groups turn out to be anything but "non-denominational," organized by BCC church leaders and designed to assault the psychological barriers of vulnerable students. New participants are showered with love and attention from BCC members, while at the same time they are reproached for their "un-Christian" life outside...
Members often avoid telling new recruits the name of the group for as long as possible, calling their meetings a "non-denominational Bible study." At these meetings, new recruits are counselled to confess their sins before the group, creating what one cult expert calls a psychological "double bind." If they confess, they tie themselves emotionally to the group, but if they do not, they are torn with guilt...