Celebrating 30 years of Freedom!

“Had it not been for a miracle, I might still be a cult member today. In 1976, after three days without sleep, I nodded off at the wheel of a Moonie fundraising van and crashed into the back of an eighteen-wheeler. This near-fatal accident gave my family the opportunity to help me leave the cult. At that time, the only means available to my parents was a forceful rescue method called “deprogramming,” which typically involves holding the cult member against his will. On the second day of my deprogramming, I threatened my father with violence, at which point he broke down into tears, asking me what I would have done if I were in his position. His sincerity touched me and, for a brief moment, I was able to see from his perspective and feel his pain. I reluctantly agreed to meet with the team of former members for five days, without contacting the cult or trying to escape.

As a devoted Moonie, I did my best to fight the deprogramming process, but the information that was presented gradually began to sink in. In the days that followed, I came to understand what “brainwashing” — as practiced by Mao Tse Tung in his Communist political “reeducation” centers — was all about. Robert Jay Lifton’s Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism (Norton, 1961) helped me realize that the techniques we used in the Moonies were so much like those used to “brainwash” political prisoners. Eventually, I came to the painful realization that I had not only been subjected to mind control processes, but that I had recruited others into the Moonies too.”
From: Releasing the Bonds, Steve Hassan

“On the fourth day of talking, I angrily blurted out, “I don’t care if Moon is like Hitler! I’ve chosen to follow him and I will follow him to the end!” Fortunately, the day I started thinking for myself again and arranged for the police to secure my belongings.”
From: The Truth About Sun Myung Moon, Steve Hassan

“Steve was deceptively recruited into a front group of the Moon organization in the early 1970s and spent more than two years in the cult as one of its American leaders. After a serious car accident and numerous days of counseling, he came to realize that the Moon organization was, in reality, very different from what he wanted to believe it was. He made the decision to leave the organization and expose its illegal and unethical activities.”
From: Spritual Responsibility, Lama Surya Das

“I have known the social advocacy and personal counciling work of Steve Hassan for over 20 years. He has consistantly shown his work aiding victims of cults and mind control to be safe, effective and balanced. Factnet the oldest and largest organization on the Internet providing information on cults and mind control has recommended his expert work for years.”
Lawrence Wollersheim, Director Factnet