CultNEWS101 Articles: 3/18/2026
Patrick Ryan
How can millions of people, many of whom are well-educated, willingly sacrifice family, friends, and careers to follow anyone, particularly a leader of a destructive cult?
Dr. Paul Engel, having been inside a cult, will share both his personal and professional experiences from the past fifty-plus years regarding the myths and realities of the cultic experiences, dystopias described in books such as *1984*, coercive control and the resulting relational trauma pervasive in our culture.
Dr. Engel is Executive Director of the Flushing Jewish Community Council, where he oversees operations and grant-run programs, such as a food pantry and the QLICS (Queens Long Island Counseling Services) counseling program.
A light breakfast will be served at 10:00 a.m., followed by Dr. Engel’s presentation at 10:30 a.m.
"A joint prosecution-police team investigating suspected collusion between politics and religion again raided the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a nonmainstream religious sect, on Wednesday as part of a probe into its alleged ties to the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).
Prosecutors and investigators from the team searched Shincheonji's headquarters in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, in the morning to seize additional data related to suspicions of church members' collective affiliation with the PPP years ago.
They already searched the Gwacheon headquarters and the residence of the church's founder, Lee Man-hee, in January."
New Humanist: Heroes of free thought! New Humanist's Spring 2026 edition
Meet the people resisting propaganda and ideology around the world.
Breaking free from belief
A growing number of UK therapists are helping people "deconstruct" their beliefs after leaving high-control religious groups. Journalist Ellie Broughton meets the therapists leading the charge, and the clients working to rebuild their belief systems.
“Over time, losing your religion may start to feel less like a loss, and more like an opportunity to rebuild yourself from the ground up”
The Cinemaholic: Gregorian “Grieg” Bivolaru: Where is the Yoga Teacher Now?
"Apple TV’s ‘Twisted Yoga’ is a three-part true crime documentary series that chronicles the alleged crimes of a tantric yoga guru named Gregorian “Grieg” Bivolaru, who spread his teachings worldwide through MISA. When former members of his yoga school came out to speak against him and his alleged criminal practices, the authorities began investigating the claims and gathered several pieces of evidence that led to formal accusations of abuse and manipulation against Grieg. The docuseries also features exclusive interviews with his former students, who recount their experiences with the Romanian yoga guru."
News, Education, Intervention, Recovery
Intervention101.com to help families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement.
CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families make the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.
CultNEWS101.com news, links, resources about: cults, cultic groups, abusive relationships, movements, religions, political organizations, and related topics.
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