Children in Minority Religions; Growing up in Controversial Religious Groups; Liselotte Frisk; Peter Akerback; Sanja Nilsson

Liselotte Frisk† [+–]

Dalarna University, Sweden

Liselotte Frisk, who died in 2021, was a professor in Religious Studies at Dalarna University, Sweden.

Sanja Nilsson [+–]

Gothenburg University, Sweden

Sanja Nilsson is a doctoral student in Religious Studies at Dalarna University and Gothenburg University, Sweden. Her dissertation subject is children in controversial minority religions

Peter Åkerbäck [+–]

Stockholm University, Sweden

Peter Åkerbäck has a PhD in History of Religion from Stockholm University and is Director of Studies in the Department of Sociology there. His dissertation The Impermanent Religions: Collective Suicide and Salvation in Peoples Temple, Ordre du Temple Solaire and Heaven’s Gate was published in Swedish in 2008. He is co-author with Liselotte Frisk of New Religiosity in Contemporary Sweden: The Dalarna Study in National and International Context published by Equinox in 2015.

This book presents four years of research. Its purpose is to highlight children’s upbringing in certain minority religions with a high degree of sectarian criteria in a sociological sense, including: high tension with the society/world outside; unique legitimacy; high level of commitment; and exclusive membership. The study examines mainly, but not exclusively, seven minority religious communities: the Hare Krishna movement (ISKCON), The Family International (formerly The Children of God), the Church of Scientology, the Family Federation/Unification Church, Knutby Filadelfia (a Pentecostal group), the Plymouth Brethren/Exclusive Brethren, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The fieldwork was conducted in Sweden, but the situation of the children and the findings are relevant to other countries. Most of the minority groups discussed have an international character with a presence in many countries, with only minor differences depending on local circumstances. The study is based on literature from the religions and on observations of children and parents in religious rituals and daily life. However, the most important material for the book consists of seventy-five in-depth interviews with adults who grew up in minority religions and who are still involved, who grew up in minority religions but are not now engaged, and who raised children in the minority religions; as well as eighteen in-depth interviews with children between the ages of 8 and 17 living in these groups.

Introduction

Introduction [+–] 1-14

Liselotte Frisk†,Sanja Nilsson,Peter Åkerbäck

Dalarna University, Sweden

Liselotte Frisk, who died in 2021, was a professor in Religious Studies at Dalarna University, Sweden.

Gothenburg University, Sweden

Sanja Nilsson is a doctoral student in Religious Studies at Dalarna University and Gothenburg University, Sweden. Her dissertation subject is children in controversial minority religions

Stockholm University, Sweden

Minority religions that differ from the mainstream are often perceived as controversial and as a threat to the individual and to society. During the 1970s and 80s, there were intense discussions about whether conversion to these groups was voluntary or an effect of brainwashing or manipulation. In recent years however the situation of children in these groups has taken over the public debate regarding minority religions. Many believe that childhoods in cults involve physical and psychological abuse, and that severe punishment, starvation, sexual abuse, manipulation, forced obedience, lack of medical care and demonization of the outside world is part of everyday life. This book presents four years of research. Its purpose is to highlight children´s upbringing in certain minority religions with a high degree of “sectarian” criteria in a sociological sense including high tension with society/world; unique legitimacy; high level of commitment; exclusive membership; and conversion by personal choice. The study focuses on religious groups which exhibit a high degree of the first four of the above criteria and examines mainly but not exclusively seven minority religious communities: The Hare Krishna movement, The Family International (formerly Children of God), The Church of Scientology, The Family Federation (formerly The Unification Church), Knutby Filadelfia (a Pentecostal group), The Exclusive Brethren, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The fieldwork was conducted in Sweden, but the general situation for the children in these religions and the general discussions are relevant to other countries. Most of the minority groups discussed have an international character with a presence in many countries, with only minor differences depending on local circumstances. The study is based on literature from the minority religions and observations of children and parents in religious rituals and daily life. However, the most important material for the book are twenty in-depth interviews with children between the ages of 8 and 17 living in these groups and sixty in-depth interviews with adults who grew up in minority religions and who are still involved, who grew up in minority religions, but are not now engaged, and who raised children in the minority religions.

Section 1: General Overview and Perspectives

1. The Politicization of Children in Minority Religions: The Swedish and the European Contexts [+–] 17-39

Peter Åkerbäck

Stockholm University, Sweden

This chapter presents and discusses the public discourse about the so-called “cults”, which has changed from the brainwashing discourse of the 1970s and 80s to a discourse in which children are in focus in the 2000s. What is considered problematic with these groups is no longer primarily the members who join or remain in these groups, but the children growing up in them. The changing face of the politicization of cults and how children came to be the focus in the contemporary public discourse will be discussed. The Swedish situation will be highlighted against the context of other countries in Europe. A number of examples from public discourse about cults will be discussed: the demise of the so-called anti-cult groups, motions submitted to the parliament concerning cults, state reports about cults, and different reports relating to human rights and children´s rights. A number of possible underlying factors for these changes will be discussed.

2. Children’s Rights in Relation to Religion in Contemporary Sweden: Debates and Arguments [+–] 40-63

Sanja Nilsson

Gothenburg University, Sweden

Sanja Nilsson is a doctoral student in Religious Studies at Dalarna University and Gothenburg University, Sweden. Her dissertation subject is children in controversial minority religions

Sociocultural and historical circumstances frame our understanding of ”child”, ”childhood”, and “upbringing”, and determine our normative expectations of what these term mean and should mean. Childhoods in Sweden may in some respects be distinct from childhoods in other parts of the world. Children in Sweden live in one of the most secularized societies in the world, in relative economic security, daily encounter a multicultural environment and have access to free education. The social welfare system based on social democratic values has influenced the country, and extends to norms about children and childhood. Sweden was the first country in the world to ban physical disciplining of children in 1979, and has, especially since the beginning of the 20th century, been a predecessor and strong advocate for children’s welfare in terms of democratic child rearing and a high level of self-determination for youth and children. Religious education in Sweden has been a contested issue over the last three decades, and is closely connected to the level of secularization within the country. Proponents of independent schools with religious profiles argue that the rights of parents to exert religious socialization extends to the educational system, while opponents claim the childs right to freedom from religion within the same system. The debate has been especially harsh whenever so called “cult schools” are involved. This introductory chapter will introduce the context for childhood in Sweden and include an examination of the conditions for religious education established in Sweden’s educational system. The United Nations Convention for the Rights of the Child and Maria Klasson Sundin’s theory of children’s rights in connection to religion will be described. Finally, newspaper articles that discuss the question of children and religious freedom in Sweden are presented, analyzed and discussed.

3. Growing Up in Controversial Minority Religions: Constructions of Childhoods [+–] 64-94

Liselotte Frisk†

Dalarna University, Sweden

Liselotte Frisk, who died in 2021, was a professor in Religious Studies at Dalarna University, Sweden.

This chapter discusses in an overview manner socialization, identity construction, and the daily life of children in the minority religions in focus in the present book: The Hare Krishna movement, The Family (formerly Children of God), The Church of Scientology, The Family Federation (formerly The Unification Church), Knutby Filadelfia (a Pentecostal group), The Exclusive Brethren, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Different patterns, structures, and different kinds of constructions of childhoods are discussed. The material is based on life narrative interviews with about 60 adults who grew up in these groups in Sweden. The sample consists of interviewees who decided to join the religious groups of their parents, as well as those who decided not to, and parents who have brought up children in the different groups. The method used is that of narrative analysis and thematic analysis

Section 2: Different Groups and Different Perspectives

4. Recently Reborn: To Return as a Child of Scientologist Parents [+–] 97-121

Peter Åkerbäck

Stockholm University, Sweden

This chapter deals with Scientology´s view on children and parenting. The view on children will be split into three separate questions. The first question which will be addressed is what a child is according to Scientology, the second question concerns the upbringing of a child and how a child should be, what a good child is, and the third question concerns parenting and focus on how to behave towards a child in order to develop it into an adult. Other questions discussed in the chapter are: what types of strategies are available for the Scientology parent and how is one supposed to use them? What is considered a good parent? How should one act and behave towards a child? Scientology’s written material is complemented by interview material from members as well as ex-members, and the ways in which these concepts are implemented is discussed.

5. The Family International: A Narrative Approach [+–] 122-148

Liselotte Frisk†,Sanja Nilsson

Dalarna University, Sweden

Liselotte Frisk, who died in 2021, was a professor in Religious Studies at Dalarna University, Sweden.

Gothenburg University, Sweden

Sanja Nilsson is a doctoral student in Religious Studies at Dalarna University and Gothenburg University, Sweden. Her dissertation subject is children in controversial minority religions

This chapter examines the background of the international charismatic Christian movement, The Family International, formerly known as The Children of God and The Love Family, which was one of the most notorious outcomes of the Jesus Revolution in the 1960s and ‘70s. The first part of the chapter briefly delineates the history of the movement, followed by a summary of the theology of David Moses, the group’s charismatic leader. The second part of the discussion concentrates on the movement’s history in Sweden. It includes material from seven interviews with first generation members and second generation members from different cohorts. The interviews, which portray the religious groups in conflicting ways, are discussed using narrative perspectives. The chapter concludes with a summary of the current situation of the movement internationally and in Sweden, and with reflections on the future of the movement.

6. Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles: The Examples of the Osho Movement and Jehovah´s Witnesses [+–] 149-170

Liselotte Frisk†

Dalarna University, Sweden

Liselotte Frisk, who died in 2021, was a professor in Religious Studies at Dalarna University, Sweden.

This chapter will compare two religious perspectives on children, child upbringing, and parents´ roles in the child’s life. A religion´s perspective on childhood is deeply connected with its overall ideology. Two very different minority religions – the Osho Movement and the Jehovah´s Witnesses – have been chosen to demonstrate the vast range of difference a religious upbringing may entail. The material consists of primary texts from the two religious groups which will be analyzed thematically. Based on the results, Diana Baumrind´s model of four parenting styles – authoritative, authoritarian, permissive-indulgent, and permissive-uninvolved parenting – will be discussed.

7. ”I have lived all my life in a reality that doesn’t exist”: Perspectives from Ex-members Raised in Controversial Minority Religions [+–] 171-207

Liselotte Frisk†

Dalarna University, Sweden

Liselotte Frisk, who died in 2021, was a professor in Religious Studies at Dalarna University, Sweden.

This chapter discusses the experiences of ex-members from different perspectives. Some research indicates that a substantial minority of former members experience significant adjustment and psychological difficulties in connection with leaving an intensive religious group. This paper investigates the possible harm that an upbringing in a minority religion may cause, in terms of existing research and the narratives from ex-member interviews. The chapter also discusses different explanations for the very different narratives of childhoods in these groups.

8. Religion, Parenting and Child Corporal Punishment: An Example of the Twelve Tribes [+–] 208-230

Liselotte Frisk†

Dalarna University, Sweden

Liselotte Frisk, who died in 2021, was a professor in Religious Studies at Dalarna University, Sweden.

Corporal punishment of children is a controversial subject. Many countries in the world have relatively recently legislated against this child-rearing practice. This chapter discusses the practice of corporal punishment in child rearing in historical perspective. This will be discussed from the Swedish perspective, as Sweden was the first country to legislate against the practice and is the country where our interviews about growing up in minority religions were taken. The theoretical perspective introduced by the Norwegian psychologist, Karsten Hundeide, which relates the sociocultural frames concerning child rearing and the concepts “contract” and “metacontract” between child and caretaker, will be used. The Twelve Tribes and their approach to childrearing and parenting, and specifically their practice of discipline (“spanking”), will be described as an example of a religious group defending and practicing these methods. The Twelve Tribes does not exist in Sweden, and the main data for this paper was gathered during field visits to the Twelve Tribes in Klosterzimmern in Germany, in Czech Republic, and in Devon, Great Britain.

9. Medicine and Healthcare in Controversial Minority Religions: Perspectives from Medical Anthropology [+–] 231-256

Liselotte Frisk†

Dalarna University, Sweden

Liselotte Frisk, who died in 2021, was a professor in Religious Studies at Dalarna University, Sweden.

Religion and medicine have close ties historically (McGuire 2002), and sometimes alternative religious perspectives are related to alternative health care perspectives. This chapter will provide an overview of different perspectives on medical treatment advocated by different controversial minority religions. In some cases in different parts of the world, neglect of medical and health care for religious reasons has unfortunately resulted in deaths of children. Some of these cases will be discussed. The seven minority religions that are the focus of this book have sometimes, but not always, based on the interview material, taken some level of alternative health care perspective, but most of the time they combine these methods with mainstream medical care. The relation between religion and health care is discussed.

10. The Charismatic Leader in Knutby Filadelfia: The Children’s Perspective [+–] 257-279

Sanja Nilsson

Gothenburg University, Sweden

Sanja Nilsson is a doctoral student in Religious Studies at Dalarna University and Gothenburg University, Sweden. Her dissertation subject is children in controversial minority religions

Knutby Filadelfia is a charismatic Christian denomination of approximately 100 members residing outside of the city of Uppsala, north of Sweden’s capital Stockholm. Originally founded in 1921, the denomination has been a part of the Pentecostal movement in Sweden for most of its existence, and shares the common traits of Sweden’s Pentecostal denominations. The group became known to the public when a former member shot two members, one of whom died. Knutby Filadelfia were expelled from the Pentecostal movement after these tragic events which took place in 2004. Since the murder, the congregation has been slandered by Swedish media to the extent that the charismatic leader, Åsa Waldau, chose to go into seclusion. Reports of harsh child rearing practices and corporal punishment dictated by the charismatic leader have been circulating for the last 10 years. This article paints a portrait of the charismatic leader through the eyes of the children and analyses the impact of charismatic authority in the lives of young members. The data includes eight interviews and one group focus interview with children and teenagers as well as participant observations.

Section 3: Systems of Education

11. Learning the Principles: Socialization of Children within the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification through Sunday School [+–] 283-310

Peter Åkerbäck

Stockholm University, Sweden

One fundamental part of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly Unification Church) theology is its strong focus on the family and, in relation to that, children growing up in the movement. This article focuses on the movement’s attempts to socialize its second generation into becoming members of the parent’s religion. This question is especially urgent in this religious group. A central part of Reverend Sun Myung Moon´s theology concerns his assignment to restore humankind to its “true linage”. Since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden humanity has been part of a “false lineage”, but couples that are blessed and married within the movement are “restored”. The children born in such marriages are seen as being born without the burden of original sin. These children are therefore considered not only as very special but also as the hope for all humankind and a possibility for lasting peace and a heavenly kingdom. So how does this movement socialize their second generation to this assignment? This question is examined investigating Sunday school material and interviews with parents and second generation members.

12. In the Rear-view Mirror: Experiences of Attending an Ashram-based Religious Minority School in Sweden [+–] 311-332

Sanja Nilsson

Gothenburg University, Sweden

Sanja Nilsson is a doctoral student in Religious Studies at Dalarna University and Gothenburg University, Sweden. Her dissertation subject is children in controversial minority religions

The topic of confessional education is an increasingly discussed and debated issue in the field of religious studies. While some controversial religious groups have managed to acquire and to keep the right to run schools on confessional grounds, others are still struggling with sceptical authorities, sometimes for years on end. In recent years, it has become more difficult for religious minorities to educate children on religious basis in Sweden, especially with the recent ban on home schooling on religious grounds in 2010. This article outlines the history of education in The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Sweden. The article starts by giving a brief presentation of the history of ISKCON, its theological foundation and the practice expected by members. This is followed by a general description of the movement’s history and present status in Sweden. The article then recounts for the Swedish gurukula in its different phases from a historical perspective and finally, empirical material in the form of interviews with former gurukula students shed some light onto the variations in experiences of the school. Conclusively, the current state of education of young people within the group in Sweden today is briefly accounted for.

13. Raising and Schooling Children in the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church: The Swedish Perspective [+–] 333-361

Liselotte Frisk†,Sanja Nilsson

Dalarna University, Sweden

Liselotte Frisk, who died in 2021, was a professor in Religious Studies at Dalarna University, Sweden.

Gothenburg University, Sweden

Sanja Nilsson is a doctoral student in Religious Studies at Dalarna University and Gothenburg University, Sweden. Her dissertation subject is children in controversial minority religions

This chapter discusses the upbringing and schooling of children in the Exclusive Brethren in Sweden, based on field work, interviews and archival material. An important religious principle for the Brethren is the principle of “separation” from the world. The paper will discuss the consequences of this principle from the perspectives of members of the church as well as from the perspective of contemporary society. It further discusses how the children are socialized into a religious perspective and form their identity as Brethren, and what the principle pf separation means in terms of schooling. In Sweden, there is one free school, the Labora School, where the about 50 pupils are members of the Brethren. Since the school opened in August 2007, after being turned down twice by the Swedish school authorities, it has been widely criticized in media. The second part of this chapter outlines the history of the Labora School in Sweden, and places its existence in the wider debate about confessional and non-confessional free schools in one of the most secularized countries in the world.

14. The Waldorf Education System and Religion [+–] 362-381

Liselotte Frisk†

Dalarna University, Sweden

Liselotte Frisk, who died in 2021, was a professor in Religious Studies at Dalarna University, Sweden.

The Anthroposophical movement originated with Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) in Berlin 1913. The Waldorf educational system, which originated in 1919, will be the subject of this chapter. The main focus in this educational system is on creativity and art, especially for younger children. The educational system is based on Steiner´s ideas that the human being develops through three stages during childhood and early youth. The guiding principles are thought, feeling and will, three functions or processes which are conceived of as working in different ways at different developmental levels. Thus different kinds of activities are conceived of as optimal at different ages and during different parts of the day. In this chapter the relationship between Anthroposophy as a philosophical-spiritual system and the Waldorf educational system is investigated. There has been a discussion in Sweden about whether the Waldorf educational system should be understood as religious or not. Against this background, the question is discussed. Annaskolan, a Waldorf school in Garpenberg, Dalarna, a local area in northern Sweden, is used as an example and illustration. Today there are more than 900 Waldorf schools all over the world. This chapter has previously been published.

15. Applied Scholastics and Study Technology: The Educational Perspective Developed by L. Ron Hubbard [+–] 382-397

Liselotte Frisk†

Dalarna University, Sweden

Liselotte Frisk, who died in 2021, was a professor in Religious Studies at Dalarna University, Sweden.

Applied Scholastics International is a non-profit organization founded in 1972. Its goal is to promote the study technology created by the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard. Today this study technology is used in more than 700 schools all over the world. In this chapter, the relationship between Scientology and Applied Scholastics is investigated. Besides material from the official web sites of Scientology and Applied Scholastics, as well as written material from the organization Applied Scholastics, a field study of the school applying this study technology in Sweden, Studema-skolan close to Stockholm, is conducted. Teachers, both scientologists and non-scientologists, are interviewed, and participant observation at the school is conducted. Applied Scholastics as a study technology is described from these sources, and the relationship to Scientology is discussed building on the understanding of Scientology as a religion.

Section 4: Conclusion

16.Controversial Minority Religions and Childhoods [+–] 398-406

Liselotte Frisk†,Sanja Nilsson,Peter Åkerbäck

Dalarna University, Sweden

Liselotte Frisk, who died in 2021, was a professor in Religious Studies at Dalarna University, Sweden.

Gothenburg University, Sweden

Sanja Nilsson is a doctoral student in Religious Studies at Dalarna University and Gothenburg University, Sweden. Her dissertation subject is children in controversial minority religions

Stockholm University, Sweden

This chapter summarizes the project and discusses current problematic areas in the interface between controversial minority groups and society. The situation of children in these groups, as depicted by the project, will be further analyzed from different perspectives.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Religious Groups [+–] 407-422

Liselotte Frisk†,Peter Åkerbäck,Sanja Nilsson

Dalarna University, Sweden

Liselotte Frisk, who died in 2021, was a professor in Religious Studies at Dalarna University, Sweden.

Stockholm University, Sweden

Gothenburg University, Sweden

Sanja Nilsson is a doctoral student in Religious Studies at Dalarna University and Gothenburg University, Sweden. Her dissertation subject is children in controversial minority religions

Minority religions that differ from the mainstream are often perceived as controversial and as a threat to the individual and to society. During the 1970s and 80s, there were intense discussions about whether conversion to these groups was voluntary or an effect of brainwashing or manipulation. In recent years however the situation of children in these groups has taken over the public debate regarding minority religions. Many believe that childhoods in cults involve physical and psychological abuse, and that severe punishment, starvation, sexual abuse, manipulation, forced obedience, lack of medical care and demonization of the outside world is part of everyday life. This book presents four years of research. Its purpose is to highlight children´s upbringing in certain minority religions with a high degree of “sectarian” criteria in a sociological sense including high tension with society/world; unique legitimacy; high level of commitment; exclusive membership; and conversion by personal choice. The study examines mainly, but not exclusively, seven minority religious communities: The Hare Krishna movement, The Family International (formerly Children of God), The Church of Scientology, The Family Federation (formerly The Unification Church), Knutby Filadelfia (a Pentecostal group), The Exclusive Brethren, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The fieldwork was conducted in Sweden, but the situation of the children and the findings are relevant to other countries. Most of the minority groups discussed have an international character with a presence in many countries, with only minor differences depending on local circumstances. The study is based on literature from the religions and observations of children and parents in religious rituals and daily life. However, the most important material for the book are twenty in-depth interviews with children between the ages of 8 and 17 living in these groups and sixty in-depth interviews with adults who grew up in minority religions and who are still involved, who grew up in minority religions, but are not now engaged, and who raised children in the minority religions.

Appendix 2: Interviews [+–] 423-426

Liselotte Frisk†,Peter Åkerbäck,Sanja Nilsson

Dalarna University, Sweden

Liselotte Frisk, who died in 2021, was a professor in Religious Studies at Dalarna University, Sweden.

Stockholm University, Sweden

Gothenburg University, Sweden

Sanja Nilsson is a doctoral student in Religious Studies at Dalarna University and Gothenburg University, Sweden. Her dissertation subject is children in controversial minority religions

Minority religions that differ from the mainstream are often perceived as controversial and as a threat to the individual and to society. During the 1970s and 80s, there were intense discussions about whether conversion to these groups was voluntary or an effect of brainwashing or manipulation. In recent years however the situation of children in these groups has taken over the public debate regarding minority religions. Many believe that childhoods in cults involve physical and psychological abuse, and that severe punishment, starvation, sexual abuse, manipulation, forced obedience, lack of medical care and demonization of the outside world is part of everyday life. This book presents four years of research. Its purpose is to highlight children´s upbringing in certain minority religions with a high degree of “sectarian” criteria in a sociological sense including high tension with society/world; unique legitimacy; high level of commitment; exclusive membership; and conversion by personal choice. The study examines mainly, but not exclusively, seven minority religious communities: The Hare Krishna movement, The Family International (formerly Children of God), The Church of Scientology, The Family Federation (formerly The Unification Church), Knutby Filadelfia (a Pentecostal group), The Exclusive Brethren, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The fieldwork was conducted in Sweden, but the situation of the children and the findings are relevant to other countries. Most of the minority groups discussed have an international character with a presence in many countries, with only minor differences depending on local circumstances. The study is based on literature from the religions and observations of children and parents in religious rituals and daily life. However, the most important material for the book are twenty in-depth interviews with children between the ages of 8 and 17 living in these groups and sixty in-depth interviews with adults who grew up in minority religions and who are still involved, who grew up in minority religions, but are not now engaged, and who raised children in the minority religions.

End Matter

Index [+–] 427-429

Liselotte Frisk†,Sanja Nilsson,Peter Åkerbäck

Dalarna University, Sweden

Liselotte Frisk, who died in 2021, was a professor in Religious Studies at Dalarna University, Sweden.

Gothenburg University, Sweden

Sanja Nilsson is a doctoral student in Religious Studies at Dalarna University and Gothenburg University, Sweden. Her dissertation subject is children in controversial minority religions

Stockholm University, Sweden

Minority religions that differ from the mainstream are often perceived as controversial and as a threat to the individual and to society. During the 1970s and ’80s, there were intense discussions about whether conversion to these groups was voluntary or an effect of brainwashing or manipulation. In recent years, however, the situation of children in these groups has taken over the public debate. Many believe that childhoods in cults involve physical and psychological abuse, and that severe punishment, starvation, sexual abuse, manipulation, forced obedience, lack of medical care and demonization of the outside world is part of everyday life. This book presents four years of research. Its purpose is to highlight children’s upbringing in certain minority religions with a high degree of sectarian criteria in a sociological sense, including: high tension with the society/world outside; unique legitimacy; high level of commitment; and exclusive membership. The study examines mainly, but not exclusively, seven minority religious communities: the Hare Krishna movement (ISKCON), The Family International (formerly The Children of God), the Church of Scientology, the Family Federation/Unification Church, Knutby Filadelfia (a Pentecostal group), the Plymouth Brethren/Exclusive Brethren, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The fieldwork was conducted in Sweden, but the situation of the children and the findings are relevant to other countries. Most of the minority groups discussed have an international character with a presence in many countries, with only minor differences depending on local circumstances. The study is based on literature from the religions and on observations of children and parents in religious rituals and daily life. However, the most important material for the book consists of seventy-five in-depth interviews with adults who grew up in minority religions and who are still involved, who grew up in minority religions but are not now engaged, and who raised children in the minority religions; as well as eighteen in-depth interviews with children between the ages of 8 and 17 living in these groups.

Reviews

Anyone who is the slightest bit concerned about the stories that abound about emotional, physical and sexual child abuse in 'cults' and 'sects' must read this book. Thoroughly researched and, above all, eminently sensible, it is unique in its informed and informative account of children in minority religions.
Eileen Barker, Professor Emeritus of Sociology of Religion, London School of Economics

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Books and Journals in Humanities, Social Science and Performing Arts

Children in Minority Religions

Growing up in Controversial Religious Groups

Liselotte Frisk† [+–]

Dalarna University, Sweden

Sanja Nilsson [+–]

Gothenburg University, Sweden

Peter Åkerbäck [+–]

Stockholm University, Sweden

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