I think they are WRONG. But...

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by GordonJ

The CATHOLIC church, and like the one across the street, has centuries upon centuries and millions and millions of people who are members of the cult.

How do they get deprogrammed?

Hi Gordon,

I haven't read any of Steve Hassan's stuff directly, but I've seen how others apply the BITE model...

I'll just talk about Information Control as an example...

Firstly, information control absolutely happens with kids, everywhere. We keep them away from pornography, violence (sometimes), swearing, and so on...

So, at least when people apply the BITE model, they're generally talking about adults...

And with information control, they are talking about (as you also mentioned) not only providing information, but also more generally about restricting access to "outside" information...

One example is Scientology. They have the concept of an "SP" - or a Suppressive Person. That generally means someone who is against Scientology, or who is a former Scientologist who left.

Scientologists are (to my understanding) absolutely not supposed to associate with SPs at all - even if they are your parents, your siblings, or your kids...

Tom Cruise (a well-known Scientologist) and Nicole Kidman adopted two kids when they were married - Connor and Bella. Connor and Bella are adults now, and are Scientologists - and apparently have nothing to do with Nicole Kidman. That is said to be because Nicole is an "SP" - so Connor and Bella should not, and do not, associate with her in any way according to Scientology beliefs, even though she is their adoptive mother.

This is a form of information control - the Scientology organization don't want Scientologists being exposed to "harmful information" (from Scientology's point of view) from SPs...

Now, with Catholicism... To my knowledge, at the present time, they don't restrict information that way. Catholics (again, to my knowledge) can pretty much talk to anybody. In practice, they can read what they want (they may need to go to confession and say some Our Fathers to absolve themselves of sin, but that's a pretty light "penance" I think)...

So, I don't think Catholicism, as it is practiced today, fits the description of Information control, at least how I understand it...

(Now, the Catholic Church in the past was a lot more restrictive! Banned books, the Spanish Inquisition, the trial of Galileo for saying the earth goes around the sun, and all kinds of "information control" along those lines... But these don't - to my knowledge - happen today...)

Best wishes,

Dien