Psychiatry and the Cults

An Annotated Bibliography

John A. Saliba

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781138317338
• eBook ISBN: 9780429848209
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Mental Health in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Originally published in 1987, this title was compiled in response to the concern, in some segments of society, about the presence of new religious movements in the West in the second half of the twentieth century. There are lots of psychological questions surrounding cults and the influence they have over their members. These questions have been operative in the accumulation of this annotated bibliography, which was intended primarily as a reference guide for psychiatrists and counsellors who advise cult members, ex-cult members and their bewildered parents, and lawyers who use psychiatric arguments in the courts.

CHAPTER I

SOURCES FOR THE STUDY OF PSYCHIATRY AND THE CULTS

The study of psychiatry and the cults has been increasing steadily over the last decade. This interest is manifested in several new encyclopedias of psychiatry and psychology which have begun to include essays on the new movements and Asian psychologies. In this chapter we include those publications which we used to trace most of the items annotated. The relationship between religion and mental health has long been a subject of investigation in the psychological disciplines and many bibliographies are available. Besides the regular psychological or psychiatric journals, like the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGIA, PERCEPTUAL AND MOTOR SKILLS, and the JOURNAL OF TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY, periodicals dedicated to the fields of sociology, theology, philosophy, and the history of religion have published occasional essays on the cults that discuss or refer to the psychological issues raised by involvement in cultic groups.

The following sources include: A) general bibliographies on religion and mental health and on the new religious movements as well as several encyclopedias of psychology and/or psychiatry which contain material relevant to the main topic of this volume; and B) a comprehensive list of journals where the articles cited in this bibliography have been published.

A. BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND ENCYCLOPEDIAS

1. ABSTRACTS IN ANTHROPOLOGY. Farmingdale, NY: Baywood Publishing Co., 1970-1985. Vol. 1-12.

Contains abstracts of scholarly articles published in over 200 journals, mostly in English. The focus is on anthropological studies which are to a large degree concerned with non-literate societies and cross-cultural comparisons. Four major areas are covered: 1) archaeology; 2) physical anthropology; 3) linguistics; and 4) cultural anthropology (ethnology). The essays on religion, religious movements, and shamanism are included under the sub-section “Symbol Systems.” In recent years a sub-section on medical anthropology lists materials on folk medicine and therapy.

2. Adams, Charles J., editor. A READER'S GUIDE TO THE GREAT RELIGIONS. New York: Free Press, second edition, 1977. xvii, 521 pp.

Contains excellent bibliographic essays on world religions, including primitive religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, the religions of China and Japan, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Though there is little reference to new religious movements in the West, this guide provides the basic material for the study of diverse religious ideologies. Given the influx of Eastern traditions in Western culture, this book offers the necessary background for understanding many of the new religious movements (especially those of Eastern origin). If one accepts the hypothesis that the new cults must be seen in a broader religious context, then this book contains the prerequisite information for any psychological and/or psychiatric evaluation of the cults and those who join them.

3. Arieti, Silvano, editor. AMERICAN HANDBOOK OF PSYCHIATRY. New York: Basic Books, 1959. 2 vols.

Volume Two contains several essays on religion that focus on the psychiatric and psychotherapeutic aspects of both Christianity and Eastern religions. Also included is a chapter on the role of immediate experience for dynamic psychiatry. Zen Buddhism is given as an example of this kind of intense experience.

Contains items 198, 244, 288, 328, 478.

4. Berkowitz, Morris, and J. Edmund Jones. SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC STUDIES ON RELIGION: A BIBLIOGRAPHY. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1967. xvii, 258 pp.

Has sections on: 1) religion, psychiatry, medicine, and psychology; 2) religion and health; and 3) the impact of religious beliefs on behavior. There are no annotations and no subject index. Some interesting material is included but is difficult to locate.

5. Blood, Linda Osborne. COMPREHENSIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY ON THE NEW CULT PHENOMENON. Weston, MA: American Family Foundation, n.d. 111 pp.

Compiles an exhaustive bibliography, catalogued by authorship, on all aspects of modern cults. The works cited are divided into two sections, “Books and Scholarly Literature” and “Popular Literature,” the latter part comprising about one fourth of the volume. There are well over 2,000 references to sociological, theological, psychological, psychiatric, and legal studies on the new movements. Since the material is not annotated or arranged in any categories for easy consultation, and since there are no indices, this book is certainly not intended or suitable for easy reference.

6. Bowman, Mary Anne. WESTERN MYSTICISM: A GUIDE TO BASIC WORKS. Chicago: American Library Association, 1978. vi, 113 pp.

A selected bibliography on Western mysticism intended for the use of librarians, undergraduate students, and the general public. The following areas are covered: the philosophy, history, practice and experience of mysticism; oriental mysticism in Western contexts; mystical experience in literature; and mystical and contemplative writings. Short annotations to most of the works cited are added, though the last section mentioned above is largely a book list. There is no section dedicated to psychological and/or psychiatric studies, but the subject index refers to some of these studies, which are quoted under diverse headings. A useful bibliography, though rather narrow and limited in scope.

7. Brunkow, Robert de V., editor. RELIGION AND SOCIETY IN NORTH AMERICA. Santa Barbara, CA: American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press Inc., 1983. xi, 515 pp.

Includes a short bibliography on cults of the twentieth century and of Eastern religions, with some references to the psychology of religion. A lengthy list of relevant periodicals is added.

8. Burr, Nelson R. A CRITICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF RELIGION IN AMERICA. Vol. 4, parts 1 and 2, of RELIGION IN AMERICAN LIFE. Edited by James Ward Smith and A. Leland Jamison. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1961. xx, 541 pp.

Contains references to standard historical works on many sects and cults of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A short section (pp. 176-77) deals with “psychological studies of revival movements."

9. Campbell, Robert J. PSYCHIATRIC DICTIONARY. New York: Oxford University Press, 5th edition, 1981. 693 pp.

Describes briefly “brainwashing” (also called menticide) and sensory deprivation, experienced by many explorers and shipwrecked persons who, under severe stress, develop mental and psychological abnormalities. Since the essay contains no reference to, nor makes a connection with, the cults, the reader is presented with an objective view of brainwashing without the emotional slant so often found in both scientific and popular writings.

10. Capps, Donald, Lewis Rambo, and Raul Ramshoff. PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION: A GUIDE TO INFORMATION RESOURCES. Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1977. xii, 352 pp.

A good collection of partly annotated psychological and psychiatric studies. The material is arranged in several sections, including the social and experiential dimensions of religion. One area covered is religion and mental health. There are also several basic studies on Yoga and Zen.

11. Choquette, Diane. NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT AND ANNOTATED BIBLIOBRAPHY. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985. xi, 235 pp.

A carefully annotated bibliography surveying literature in the English language on the new religious movements since the middle 1960s. Materials are arranged by discipline: history; sociology; anthropology; psychology; psychiatry; theology; religion; and law. The volume includes a section on selected publications of personal accounts, popular studies, and the new religious movements and the spiritualization of knowledge. Contains author, title, and subject indices.

12. Corsini, Raymond J., editor. ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PSYCHOLOGY. New York: Wiley and Sons, 1984. 4. vols.

Contains, besides entries on religion and psychology and religious behavior, one short essay on deprogramming and religious cults. The author subscribes to the brainwashing theory of cult formation. In an article comparing different views of psychological health (vol. 3, pp. 99-101) and in an essay on Zen...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Preface: The Nature and Scope of This Study
• Introduction: The Debate on the Cults in Current Psychiatric and Psychological Literature: An Assessment
• Chapter I: Sources for the Study of Psychiatry and the Cults
• Chapter II: Psychiatry and the Cults in Historical Perspective
• Chapter III: Psychiatry and the Cults in Cross-Cultural Perspective
• Chapter IV: Current Psychological and Psychiatric Studies on the New Cults
• Author Index
• Subject Index