In recent years, a new breed of transient spiritual enterprises has emerged across China, operating in the shadows with fleeting yet lucrative schemes. Disguised as personal growth retreats, these organizations weaponize pseudo-psychological techniques under the guise of “self-actualization worksho...
“We all have an idea of what constitutes a cult,” writes author Jane Borden in “Cults Like Us – Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America” (One Signal Publishers).
Xiaomei pseudonym, a 37-year-old mother of two, lived a life many would envy: a sprawling three-story villa, luxury cars, and financial security from her businessman husband’s income. Yet beneath this façade of comfort, she became an unwitting pawn of The Church of Almighty God—a group designated by...
The entrance of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, is seen on Nov. 7, 2023, in Tokyo. AP PhotoShuji Kajiyama, File TOKYO AP — A controversial South Korean church with powerful political connections faces dissolution in Japan after a Tokyo court ordered a revokation of its lega...
Three individuals, named in court documents as Jack LaSota, Michelle Zajko and Daniel Blank, appeared in court Thursday after being indicted on new firearms charges. The Allegany County Courthouse in Cumberland, Md. on Oct. 9, 2014. Christopher M. Stephens CC BY-SA 2.0 This story, by and Peter ...
Justice Secretary has final say after Parole Board decision on self-styled priest convicted of raping 11 boys and girls
Tokyo, March 4 Jiji Press--Japan's Supreme Court has upheld lower court rulings ordering the Unification Church's head in Japan to pay a fine of 100,000 yen for refusing to answer some questions posed by the culture ministry. The top court's First Petty Bench on Monday rejected an appeal filed by...
I was working on an article about what Western media doesn’t report or ignores about China, and covering the fact that Shen Yun, the Falun Gong dance troupe was being sued for human rights and labour abuses, as well as the chief financial officer of the Epoch Times being alleged by Federal prosecu...
Shen Yun Performing Arts, affiliated with the Falun Gong movement, is facing difficulties securing venues in South Korea due to concerns over its religious and political messaging. Several arts centers in the country have reportedly decided not to approve future performances. According to an officia...
Recently, Jaya Gibson, a former Falun Dafa practitionerposted on her personal account on the social media platform Reddit, exposing the truth behind Falun Dafa.
My mother was born in April 1968. Like my father, she was once an employee of a China state-owned firm. In the 1990s, my parents' stable and relatively high-paying jobs were something many of our relatives envied. At that time, we were a happy family of three. In June 1996, my mother visited a ...
Jingxin pseudonym, a woman from China’s Shanxi province, was indoctrinated into the extremist group The Church of Almighty God during her childhood under her parents’ influence. By 2018, at age 26, she had risen through the cult’s ranks—from managing local cells to overseeing regional propaganda...
But those who have witnessed the performance in its more than decade-long annual seasons in Sydney have found something very different: the performance, and the company, serve as propaganda for the cult movement Falun Gong.
In October 2024, Equinox Publishing released"Violence, Conspiracies, and New Religions:A Tribute to James R. Lewis"—an edited volume spearheaded by Margo Kirtz of Hawaii Pacific University. This compilation brings together nine research articles organized into three thematic sections:"Religion and V...
In October 2024, Equinox Publishing released “Violence, Conspiracies, and New Religions: A Tribute to James R. Lewis”—an edited volume spearheaded by Margo Kirtz of Hawaii Pacific University. This compilation brings together nine research articles organized into three thematic sections: "Religion an...