Is Hope Church ASU a Cult?- ASU Performs Inquiry -

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Arizona State University has launched an inquiry of Hope Church for code of conduct violations and cult-practices

The inquiry comes after a group of current students, alumni, former pastors, and family submitted a 125 page to the University detailing 4 categories of code of conduct violations, 6 concerns related to campus life (much of which revolves around Hope’s use of “front groups”, 8 categories of psychological manipulation and emotional abuse, and 44 indicators of religious cult-activity as categorized by scholarly research. In addition, it details the historical roots of Hope, which lay in 3 Christian cult groups.

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Hope Church ASU Code of Conduct Violations“Unauthorized presence in or unauthorized use of university property,

resources, or facilities.”

"Engaging in, supporting, promoting, or sponsoring hazing or violating the Board or university rules governing hazing"

“Stalking or engaging in repeated or significant behavior toward another individual, whether in person, in writing, or through electronic means, after having been asked to stop, or doing so to such a degree that a reasonable person, subject to such contact, would regard the contact as unwanted.”

“Commission of any offense prohibited by local ordinance”More Info

Hope Church ASU “Front Groups” and Campus Concerns (Part A)11. Building “front groups”/masquerading as other organizations, who are in fact subsets of Hope’s ministry, while not being transparent with students whom they engage about this fact

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Hope Church ASU “Front Groups” and Campus Concerns (Part B)2. Implicit (sometimes explicit) pressuring to forgo academic studies in favor of Church activities 3. Implicit and explicit pressuring to forgo future career goals in favor of becoming a staff member with Hope Christian Church ASU4. Unauthorized sharing of the personal information of students5. Micromanagement of members’ personal lives6. Creating an intense “Us vs. Them” mentality

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Hope Church ASU Psychological Manipulation/Emotional Abuse1. Intentional manipulation of members emotional and psychological state for trivial reasons2. “Gaslighting”: A psychological term used to describe manipulating a person in order to get them to question their own sound judgment or sanity3. Emphasizing active involvement in recruiting efforts as a “must” to be a “real” member of the community 4. Becoming disinterested and disengaged once an individual has been “converted” 5. Teaching concepts which could be perceived as sexist6. Possibly denying membership to students based on perceived sexual orientation7. Intentionally placing members in emotionally/psychologically harmful situations8. Leaving former members with lingering psychological and emotional effects

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Hope Church ASU Cult History: Faith Christian Church, Tucson AZHope’s Mother ChurchVisit FormerFCCMembers.com

Hope Church ASU Cult History: Maranatha Campus Ministries

Mother group of FCC, Hope Church’s grandparent organization. Kicked off many University campuses during their existence, criticized by Christian leaders as a cult throughout their tenure. Now defunct.

Hope Church ASU Cult-Practices: Steve Hassan, “Releasing the Bonds”1. Dissent and discussion discouraged. 2. “Polarization of Members”; The cult generates within its members

“a polarized” mentality. Their people evolve an us -versus -them outlook. Little by little, they criticize other groups with which his members might tend to associate, undermining confidence in them, attempting to discredit anyone who could have influence over the flock

3. “Lavishing the Leader in Luxury”; having a preoccupation with raising money, much of which ends up in the hands of the leader

4. “Alteration of Personality”More Info

Hope Church ASU Cult-Practices: Families Against Cult Teaching Indicators (Part A)1. “No Tolerance for questions or critical inquiry”

2. “There is no legitimate reason to leave, former followers are always wrong in leaving, negative or even evil”

3. “Former members often relate the same stories of abuse and reflect a similar pattern of grievances”

4. “There are records, books, news articles, or television programs that document the abuses of the group/leader

5. “Followers feel that they can never be ‘good enough’”

6. “The group/leader is always right”

7. “The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing ‘truth’ or receiving validation”

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Hope Church ASU Cult-Practices: Families Against Cult-Teachings Indicators (Part B)1. “Extreme obsessiveness regarding the group/leader resulting in the exclusion

of almost any practical consideration” 2. “Whenever the group/leader is criticized or questioned it is characterized as

‘persecution’”3. “Uncharacteristically stilted and seemingly programmed conversation and

mannerisms, cloning of the group/leader in personal behavior”4. “Dependency upon the group/leader for problem solving, solutions, and

definitions without meaningful reflective thought. A seeming inability to think independently or analyze situations without group/leader involvement”

5. “Hyperactivity centered on the group/leader agenda, which seems to supercede any personal goals or individual interests”

6. “Increasing isolation from family and old friends unless they demonstrate an interest in the group/leader”

7. “Former followers are at best considered negative or worse evil and under bad influences. They can not be trusted and personal contact is avoided

Hope Church ASU Cult-Practices: U of A Religious Council, “Red Flags”

1. “Religious Stalking”: “Persistent unwanted door- knocks, phone calls, or hanging around your living space means people have crossed boundaries. You have the right to say ‘no’, and that should be respected”

2. “Invasiveness”: “Attempts to gain inappropriate personal, financial, sexual, and/or emotional information about/from you”

3. “Deception” : “Failure to clearly identify themselves. A religious group’s identity, affiliation, and advertising should be unambiguous, with beliefs and practices transparent. For example ‘surveys’, ‘contests’, should identify the organization and the full purpose of the contest/event.”

4. “Pressure”: “Pressure to not date or associate with others outside the religious group; to lie and/or disengage from your family and/or religious community; or to avoid other campus activities and groups.”

5. “Shame”: “Religious groups who say that if you don’t join their group, give money, or spend time with them, then you don’t really love God.”

6. “Religious Manipulation”: “ Methods which target vulnerable students. Methods which seek to break down, and then rebuild students. Instances of over the top niceness used as a form of entrapment” More Info

Hope Church ASU Cult-Practices: Kathleen Taylor, “Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control (Part A)1. “Milieu Control”: Control of an individual’s communication with the external world, hence of

his or her perceptions of reality

2. “Mystical Manipulation”: Creating a sense of awe or enthusiasm for the group by manipulating circumstances or information to create an impression of supernatural wisdom or divine favor

3. “The Demand for Purity”: The belief that elements outside the chosen group should be eliminated to prevent them contaminating the minds of group members, along with the enactment of unreasonable standards of perfection or “excellence” within the group

4. “The Cult of Confession”: T he use of and insistence on confession to minimize individual privacy

5. “Sacred Science”: V iewing the ideology’s basic dogmas as both morally unchallengeable and scientifically exact, thus increasing their apparent authority

6. “Loading the Language”: C ompressing complex ideas into brief, definitive -sounding phrases,

‘thought- terminating clichés’ More Info

Hope Church ASU Cult-Practices: Kathleen Taylor, “Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control” (Part B)7. “The Primacy of Doctrine”: T he idea that a dogma is more true and more real than over person anything experienced by an individual human being8. “The Dispensing of Existence”: T he right to control the quality of life and eventual fate of existence for both group members and non members, often made possible by the group’s supposed special status. Often this can include an implicit or explicit “threat” being in place if members decide to leave the group.9. “Cults often seem more youth -oriented, emphasizing their novelty and radicalism.”10. “Reality Shift”: “Lower status cult members will tend to shift their beliefs towards the beliefs of higher status members, and particularly the cult leader; the reverse is not the case.”11. “I suggest, you persuade, he brainwashes”, group influence tactics12. Neuro -Linguistic -Programming techniques, such as “fractionation”

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Hope Church ASU Cult-Practices: Shawn Nelson, “Spiritual Abuse: Unspoken Crisis”1. People being used2. “Power-Posturing”3. “Selective Service”4. Elitist Attitude5. Inability to Discuss Concerns6. Labeling people as Divisive

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