If you are a uni student based in big cities and also a Christian, I believe you might have heard or got approached by a group of people who claims to know well about the Bible and can help you gain Bible knowledge in about a year. They claim that their class is non-denominational.
This group is Shincheonji – a Korean pseudo-Christian apocalyptic cult that is currently active in Australia. Their coercive methods have resulted in the organisation being outlawed in Singapore and some other countries. In Australia, international students and migrants are recruited through “non-denominational bible studies” and new recruits are not even told who the group is until six or more months have passed. Once a person joins this group, they are strongly encouraged to sever ties with friends and family members so that the group becomes their sole source of companionship. This group has damaged many individuals to the level of causing severe psychological trauma, loss of identity and financial stability.
Australian media has been exposing this group since 2019, simply search “Shincheonji in Australia” on Google to see all the articles.
To know the signs whether you might be approached by them:
https://staff.acu.edu.au/our_university/news/2024/june/safety-on-campus
https://7news.com.au/news/church-of-shincheonji-former-perth-recruits-open-up-on-tactics-used-to-control-them-c-16075223.amp
Australian law currently only provides protection from Undue Influence within a contract, and new legislation coming into effect in 2024 to criminalise Coercive Control only apply within a domestic or ‘intimate partner’ situation. However, the unethical and deceptive practices used by cults and cult-like organisations have the same characteristics and negative impacts on people’s physical, emotional and financial wellbeing.
Therefore I’m organising a petition asking Parliament to criminalise their coercion practices. I’m pointing out how Australia’s law is insufficient to protect their residents from cult-like groups/high-control groups (not limited to only Shincheonji) as cults are not necessarily religion.
Link to the petition:
https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN6576
Source: RelationshipFuzzy629
8 Comments
Maybe go post this in the university subs? Not many students come here
The most effective way to protect yourself from pseudo-christian cults is to abandon belief/faith in the supernatural entirely, at that point you are immune from more forms of manipulation than just shincheonji.
One person’s happy clappers are another person’s cult
Holy shit! They are trying to spread all the way here?
By all means continue your campaign to raise awareness of this cult, and indeed cults in general.
By give up on this petition nonsense.
WTAF is it you expect the government to do?
Even IF, they could somehow figure out a way to ban and criminalise cults, all that would do is lock up the very victims you’re trying to protect.
There are all kinds of sects and cults in Japan and Korea. People just learn to be wary of them and avoid joining them. Many people know of a friend of a friend who joined a cult and gave up all their life savings.
We don’t need to become more of a nanny state to protect people from their own stupidity.
Also did you make up the term “pseudo-Christian”? I thought the correct term was heresy. It is just that the Catholic Church isn’t really in the business of denouncing and excommunicating heretics anymore.
As much as I agree that their beliefs conflict with widespread Christian dogma, I don’t like that any layperson having the authority to judge religious doctrinal issues and designate a religious group as “pseudo-“ religion.
What’s the difference between them and other religions. Because the main stream religions also seem to want to cohesively control who you marry and interact with.
One more cult that needs banning alongside scientology, Falun Gong and “Christian scientists”
It’s kinda weird we let so many of them do whatever they want, feel like we didn’t learn from letting Aum Shinrikyo operate here