Jan Groenveld
Encyclopedia
Jan Groenveld was a former member of the LDS Church and the Jehovah's Witnesses
. She spent a total of fifteen years in these organizations before leaving them in 1975. After her negative experiences in these organizations, she resolved to make more information about what she saw as "cult
s" available to the general public.
Her personal experiences involving these groups were featured in Richard Guilliatt's book, Talk of the Devil.
Groenveld coined the often quoted phrase:
, whose purpose was to counsel former members of controversial groups, and provide information about coercive religious sects.
Jan founded the Cult Awareness and Information Centre (CAIC), in 1990. Groenveld's CAIC website was started in 1991, with an original size of 500 kilobytes. Groenveld first met Steven Hassan
in 1993, when she brought him to Brisbane, Australia from the United States
for a seminar. Hassan educated Groenveld as to the serious potential for doubt and lack of veracity in satanic ritual abuse
stories.
Groenveld's name eventually became well-known as an educator and campaigner against so-called cult
s and controversial religious sects. Groenveld's Cult Awareness and Information Centre
was listed with her name as a resource in Marlene Winell's book, Leaving the Fold. "Jan Groenveld" is a prohibited term on the Church of Scientology
's internet filters, software it gives its members to filter out critical information on the internet. See Scientology versus the Internet
.
s would show up in their country. The publication titled Groenveld a "cult specialist'"However, Queensland cult specialist Jan Groenveld said the doomsday merchants were more likely to come to Australia. "If it's a biblical cult, they may go to Israel, but eastern, Nostradamus-based and UFO-based cults believe the southern hemisphere, in particular Australia, may suffer less or later damage as the end approaches." and two other Australian publications titled her a "cult expert." She warned the publication about a cult called the Twelve Tribes Mission, believing them to possess militant tendencies. She warned: "There are people out there all over the place who would like to be another Jim Jones", referring to the Peoples Temple
cult suicide
.
Groenveld's definition of a cult was cited as "any group which has a pyramid type authoritarian leadership structure with all teaching and guidance coming from the person at the top. The group will claim to be the only way to God...and will use thought reform or mind control techniques to gain control and keep their members."
Groenveld's work has also been cited in Snow's Deadly Cults: The Crimes of True Believers
.
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
. She spent a total of fifteen years in these organizations before leaving them in 1975. After her negative experiences in these organizations, she resolved to make more information about what she saw as "cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
s" available to the general public.
Her personal experiences involving these groups were featured in Richard Guilliatt's book, Talk of the Devil.
Groenveld coined the often quoted phrase:
Helped affected individuals
Groenveld first began providing information about what she referred to as cults to the public and helping affected individuals in 1979. In 1980, she founded the Freedom In Christ ministryChristian ministry
In Christianity, ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith. 2003's Encyclopedia of Christianity defines it as "carrying forth Christ's mission in the world", indicating that it is "conferred on each Christian in baptism." It is performed by all Christians...
, whose purpose was to counsel former members of controversial groups, and provide information about coercive religious sects.
Jan founded the Cult Awareness and Information Centre (CAIC), in 1990. Groenveld's CAIC website was started in 1991, with an original size of 500 kilobytes. Groenveld first met Steven Hassan
Steven Hassan
Steven Alan Hassan is a licensed mental health counselor and an exit counselor. Hassan was an early advocate of exit counseling, and is the author of two books on the subject of "cults", and what he describes as their use of mind control, thought reform, and the psychology of influence in order...
in 1993, when she brought him to Brisbane, Australia from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for a seminar. Hassan educated Groenveld as to the serious potential for doubt and lack of veracity in satanic ritual abuse
Satanic ritual abuse
Satanic ritual abuse refers to the abuse of a person or animal in a ritual setting or manner...
stories.
Groenveld's name eventually became well-known as an educator and campaigner against so-called cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
s and controversial religious sects. Groenveld's Cult Awareness and Information Centre
Cult Awareness and Information Centre
The Cult Awareness and Information Centre is an organization based in Brisbane, Australia that provides resources and information on groups they identify as cults and other controversial groups...
was listed with her name as a resource in Marlene Winell's book, Leaving the Fold. "Jan Groenveld" is a prohibited term on the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
's internet filters, software it gives its members to filter out critical information on the internet. See Scientology versus the Internet
Scientology versus the Internet
"Scientology versus the Internet" refers to a number of disputes relating to the Church of Scientology's efforts to suppress material critical of Scientology on the Internet through the use of lawsuits and legal threats. In late 1994, the Church of Scientology began using various legal tactics to...
.
Cited as "cult expert"
In 1999 an Australian publication interviewed Groenveld on the likelihood that more destructive cultDestructive cult
A destructive cult is a religion or other group which has caused or has a high probability of causing harm to its own members or to others. Some researchers define "harm" in this case with a narrow focus, specifically groups which have deliberately physically injured or killed other individuals,...
s would show up in their country. The publication titled Groenveld a "cult specialist'"However, Queensland cult specialist Jan Groenveld said the doomsday merchants were more likely to come to Australia. "If it's a biblical cult, they may go to Israel, but eastern, Nostradamus-based and UFO-based cults believe the southern hemisphere, in particular Australia, may suffer less or later damage as the end approaches." and two other Australian publications titled her a "cult expert." She warned the publication about a cult called the Twelve Tribes Mission, believing them to possess militant tendencies. She warned: "There are people out there all over the place who would like to be another Jim Jones", referring to the Peoples Temple
Peoples Temple
Peoples Temple was a religious organization founded in 1955 by Jim Jones that, by the mid-1970s, included over a dozen locations in California including its headquarters in San Francisco...
cult suicide
Cult suicide
A cult suicide is a term used to describe the mass suicide by the members of groups that have been considered cults. In some cases, all or nearly all members have committed suicide at the same time and place. Groups that have committed such mass suicides and that have been called cults include...
.
Groenveld's definition of a cult was cited as "any group which has a pyramid type authoritarian leadership structure with all teaching and guidance coming from the person at the top. The group will claim to be the only way to God...and will use thought reform or mind control techniques to gain control and keep their members."
Groenveld's work has also been cited in Snow's Deadly Cults: The Crimes of True Believers
Deadly Cults
Deadly Cults: The Crimes of True Believers is a book on the subject of cults by Robert L. Snow. It was published November 30, 2003 by Praeger Publishers in hardcover format...
.
Articles
- It Hurts, Jan Groenveld
- Recovery from Mind Control, Cult Involvement, Jan Groenveld, Cult Awareness and Information CentreCult Awareness and Information CentreThe Cult Awareness and Information Centre is an organization based in Brisbane, Australia that provides resources and information on groups they identify as cults and other controversial groups...
- Cult Dynamics: Social Psychology and Group Dynamics, Jan Groenveld
- The Art of Persuasion: Telling it Like it Is, Jan Groenveld, 1985
- Parable of the New Soap, Jan Groenveld, Computers For Christ
- Stages in Recovery
- Identifying a Cult
- Healthy vs. Unhealthy (Toxic) Faith, Jan Groenveld, 1996
- Totalism in Today's Cults, Jan Groenveld, 1994
- Eight Marks of Mind Control, Cult Awareness and Information CentreCult Awareness and Information CentreThe Cult Awareness and Information Centre is an organization based in Brisbane, Australia that provides resources and information on groups they identify as cults and other controversial groups...
- Totalism and Group Dynamics, 7 May 1999, Cult Awareness and Information Centre
Presentations
- There are No Wasted Years, Pioneers in Ministry, audio CD
See also
- International Cultic Studies AssociationInternational Cultic Studies AssociationThe International Cultic Studies Association , formerly the American Family Foundation, describes itself as an "interdisciplinary network of academicians, professionals, former group members, and families who study and educate the public about social-psychological influence and control,...
- Cultic Studies ReviewCultic Studies ReviewInternational Journal of Cultic Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the International Cultic Studies Association.- External links :* , Don Lattin, San Francisco Chronicle, Religion Writer, February 13, 2001...
- Christian countercult movementChristian countercult movementThe Christian countercult movement is a social movement of Christian ministries and individual Christian countercult activists who oppose religious sects thought to either partially abide or do not at all abide by the teachings that are written within the Bible. These religious sects are also known...
External links
- Cult Awareness and Information Centre Main page.
- About Jan, Cult Awareness and Information CentreCult Awareness and Information CentreThe Cult Awareness and Information Centre is an organization based in Brisbane, Australia that provides resources and information on groups they identify as cults and other controversial groups...
- My Story in Talk of the Devil, excerpted portion (with permission) of Groenveld's background, from book Talk of the Devil, Richard Guilliatt 1996