The authorship of these files on cults has his or her own motivations for providing them a

    [Fredric Rice, The Skeptic Tank:  The authorship of these files on
    cults has his or her own motivations for providing them and will
    contain his or her own bias.  What I find typical is that
    individuals and organizations which report on cults are usually
    themselves a competition cult yet like to think of themselves as
    "a religion, not a cult."  In actual fact, _ALL_ religions are
    cults by the primary, secondary, and terciary usage definition of
    the term.  Some of the information you find here is inaccurate and
    contains urban legend -- take what you find with a grain of salt.
    If you wish to acquire a copy of the Law Enforcement Guide on
    Occult Crime, contact myself at frice@stbbs.com or at The Skeptic
    Tank (818) 335-9601 and I'll forward the address and information
    you need.]

Exclusive Brethren

Often referred to mistakenly as 'Plymouth Brethren', the Exclusive
Brethren is in fact an extremist offshoot of the former. Founded in
1825 by a clergyman dissenter called John Nelson Derby, the
Plymouth Brethren always had strongly predeterminist views - it
was the duty of God's chosen to avoid all contact with the ungodly.
Friendship, business or even eating with those outside the Brethren
was forbidden. The founders of Exclusive Brethren believed that
this isolationism should not be compromised in any way - today's
members are not allowed television, radio, newspapers, fax
machines or computers.

They do not vote, join unions, take civil office or allow their
children to take part in sports or social activities at school.
Men wear jacket and tie; women must have long hair, modest clothes
and no make-up. Sunday worship begins at 6am in Brethren Meeting
Rooms (which have blocked-out windows) and goes on all day. There
are shorter meetings each night of the week. The cultic elements
of the movement are those of isolationism rather than recruitment.
Members are not allowed to communicate with relatives who have
left the movement.

There are estimated to be 10,000 members of the Exclusive Brethren
in the UK. The movement has enjoyed a string of strong leaders and
is currently under the command of an Australian called John Hales.

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