Is the SPLC federal indictment a reckoning for the anti-cult “experts” network?
Op-eds Global
Crimes Against Humanity Targeting the Unification Church in Japan. 2. What the Precedents Tell Us
The documented treatment of members of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification in Japan falls squarely within the established precedents.
Crimes Against Humanity Targeting the Unification Church in Japan. 1. Deprogramming
The violation of devotees’ human rights may meet the threshold for crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute.
Misinterpreting Court Decisions: The Madrid Ruling Against the Jehovah’s Witnesses
Media and anti-cultists misinterpret a (wrong) decision as a judicial condemnation of the religion rather than a free-speech case.
Quebec’s Bill 9: When Secularism Treats Religion as a Problem
A sweeping prohibition on prayer, worship, and faith‑based identity in public life raises profound constitutional and human rights concerns
“Brainwashing,” Steven Hassan, and the OneTaste Case. 2. The Prosecution of Nicole Daedone
The anti-cult movement needed a “legal precedent” to reintroduce the discredited idea that “cults” use “mental manipulation.”
“Brainwashing,” Steven Hassan, and the OneTaste Case. 1. Weaponizing Anti-Trafficking Laws
Anti-cultists persuaded prosecutors to reintroduce discredited mental manipulation theories by interpreting anti-prostitution and forced labor statutes.
When Courts Interpret Doctrine: A Japanese Scholar’s Concerns About the Unification Church Decision
An academic who left the church in 1992 denounces the misinterpretation of its theology in the verdict that dissolved the Family Federation.
France, Famille Missionnaire de Notre-Dame: When Ninety Percent Is Not Enough
Despite broad acquittals, the lone conviction for “psychological subjection” risks turning France’s justice system into an arbiter of acceptable spirituality.
The Tokyo High Court Unification Church Decision. 6. Who Will Protect the Believers?
The court assures us that individual devotees will not be discriminated against. The reality is different.