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The term "anti-cult movement" was coined as part of the controversy surrounding religious cults. In the 1960s, middle-class youths in the United States started to follow new religious movements that were foreign to their families and often at odds with the traditional middle-class values and ideas. The families of these young people became worried about the behavior of their children and organized themselves what grew into the anti-cult movement. A majority of scholars of new religions supported these movements and invented various scientific theories that purportedly proved the danger of "cults". Thus a number of theories and concepts were been born.
The most important addition of anti-cult scholars is brainwashing theory. According to this theory, followers of "cults" are held there by some psychologic phenomena, not fully explained by modern psychology. In order to free the brainwashed, anti-cult theoreticians argue, one needs to treat them against their wills, similar to those suffering from mental illness. The controversial pseudo-scientific procedure is called "de-programming". This activity was criticized by human rights organizations such as the ACLU and Human Rights Watch. Many deprogrammers served prison terms for this activity.
Various groups frequently labeled "cults" often claim that they are being persecuted by a number of individuals, groups, and organizations that are specifically dedicated to eradicating them. These groups have subsequently been labeled "anti-cult groups."
The opponents of cults (most of them ex-members) have greatly benefited from the Internet. Many new religious movements are now the targets of web sites on which ex-members warn the public of their purported dangers. Before the popularity of the Internet, ex-members had far more difficulty coming into contact with other ex-members and gathering and spreading information.
Some anti-cult activists are very critical of scholars who are less critical than they about cults. Anti-cult activists use the word cult apologist for them. These anti-cult activists accuse the cult apologists of being naive, bad scholars and above all reproach them of not warning people who should be warned, as well as of being funded by the "cults" themselves. Scholarly cooperation between these anti cult-activists and "cult apologists" seems to be virtualy non-existent. Both claim to be objective. Many sociologists, for example Eileen Barker suggested to substitute "new religious movement" (NRM) for the loaded term "cult".
The vast majority of the anti-cult activists accept that theories of brainwashing and mind control has been discredited. The practice of deprogramming has been abandoned. Some anti-cult activists have resorted to theories of mind control and the voluntary, legal practice of exit counseling.
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pl:Ruchy antykultowe
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