Children in new religions

Abstract

What's it like to grow up in a cult? The late 1960s and early 1970s constituted a remarkable period for the proliferation of new religious groups. In the 1990s, a second generation has come of age and, in some groups, outnumber adults. While the parents made the decision as adults to drop out of mainstream society and embrace alternative religious goals, the children have been raised with a very different orientation toward the larger society; they grew up assimilating their unique subcultures, many of them gazing with curiosity at the surrounding society it was never their choice to reject. The essays in this volume explore two issues about children who are members of The Family, Hare Krishna, Wiccans and Pagans, Messianic Communities and the Rajneesh (Osho) Movement: what impact does the presence of children have on a new religion's chance of surviving into the future?; and is child abuse more likely to occur in unconventional religions, or are these allegations a new way to limit the freedom of religious minorities?