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.]

'X' Cults

According to one of the seminal American studies on cults,
Captive Hearts, Captive Minds, the abusive and deceptive control
exerted on followersby the most extreme cult leaders can occur
within situations not otherwiserecognisable as cultic. This could
be a sexual relationship, within an office, or within gangs and
teams. Any interpersonal or social arrangement where a figurehead
achieves loyalty through a schizophrenic mixture of violent
threats and intense encouragement can qualify.

        To comment about this Website, our paper and all
        associated articles, you can mail us at the Observer:
        bill@dial.pipex.com