A study on how media coverage of cults affects the recovery of former cult members. Via the ICSA.

https://icsatoday.substack.com/p/cults-and-media-stereotypes-does

#cult #exmo #exmormon #ReligiousTrauma #ICSA

The ICSA has been working hard to better support former cult members and those who have loved ones stuck in cults. Here's their newsletter recapping their updated website and revamped services.

I've been an ICSA member for many years. It's a very small academic organization that also welcome lay people who have had life experiences with cults. They've been around (under various names) for many decades, originally the publishers of Cultic Studies Journal, which is now split across several publications under various names. I've spoken about Mormonism at their conferences and met people with all kinds of backgrounds.

Their resources include: an academic journal, a magazine for lay people, conferences, a directory of helping professionals, and a back catalogue of all their past publications.

I'm glad to see them becoming more active and increasing their outreach.

https://simplyk-bucket-production.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/deliveries/e5ba1449-3665-4252-89a0-685f20f0ab9c/emails/0940ddbb-73aa-49b9-b596-ab14da5b45c8.html

#cults #ReligiousTrauma #ICSA #exmo #exmormon #exvie #exvangelical

The International Cultic Studies Association has relaunched their library of the International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation, and their older publications going back 40+ years. This is accessible to everyone, not just members. Which is awesome, as time was when this library was only available to paid members.

They also have a lay-person publication, ISCA Today.

https://library.internationalculticstudies.org

#Cults #Cult #ReligiousTrauma #PTSD #Religion #AcademicFreedom #ICSA

TL;DR: Curiosity about yourself and others can bridge gaps created by divisive political and religious rhetoric.

Kind of interesting, as Lorna Goldberg is one of the cult researchers I originally learned from and look up to. I eventually met her at an ICSA conference way back when, probably a couple of years before this, where I went to speak and because of my lack of academic background, felt like a total nobody outsider. So reading this is a bit meta for me, learning about her feelings of vulnerability and how she views the world is not too different from me.

My thoughts go to how trauma isolates us from each other. This is a facet of Abuse Culture that keeps us from cooperating and learning of each other so we can throw off the abusers in our lives, be they one-on-one or leaders of society. Curiosity is the cure for that, too.

This article is through the psychoanalytic lens, and leans a bit academic, but is readable and thought-provoking.

https://icsahome-my.sharepoint.com/personal/admin_icsahome_com/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fadmin_icsahome_com%2FDocuments%2FDropbox%2FProgramming%2FICSA%20TODAY%20ONLINE%2FClassics%2FWe%20Disagree%20-%20Let%27s%20Talk%20Goldberg%202019%2E10%2E1%2FWe%20Disagree%E2%80%94Let%E2%80%99s%20Talk%21%20Goldberg%2E%20v10%281%29%202019%2C%2010-15%2Epdf%20MAGAZINE%20VERSION%2Epdf&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Fadmin_icsahome_com%2FDocuments%2FDropbox%2FProgramming%2FICSA%20TODAY%20ONLINE%2FClassics%2FWe%20Disagree%20-%20Let%27s%20Talk%20Goldberg%202019%2E10%2E1&ga=1

#ReligiousTrauma #extrospection #AbuseCulture #cult #ICSA

Also, please when you call your Senators, tell them to read this and pass the Invest in Child Safety Act or #ICSA in its place, where there would be ACTUAL child safety reform without trampling on people's rights and freedoms. https://www.techdirt.com/2024/01/31/as-congress-grandstands-nonsense-kid-safety-bills-senator-wyden-reintroduces-legislation-that-would-actually-help-deal-with-kid-exploitation-online/

Attending the International Conference on Software Architecture #ICSA this week, were they were kind enough to accept my contribution on a half-crazy, half-interesting, all fun way to #teach #software #architecture styles I had last year.

If you're curious, you can check the paper at https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2302.14461

Written resources are also available for cult survivors, or anyone suffering from Religious Trauma, though some may be limited to ICSA members only (and anyone can join!)

https://www.icsahome.com/memberelibrary

#cults #ICSA #IGotOut #Exmo #ExJW #Exvangelical #ReligiousTrauma #SpiritualAbuse

There's a whole wealth of post-cult recovery videos and other information about cults at https://www.icsahome.com/memberelibrary/recordings

#ICSA #IGotOut #Exmo #ExJW #exvangelical #ReligiousTrauma #SpiritualAbuse #Cult #EducationalVideos