Is the People of Praise a Cult?

Well, first things first: Is the People of Praise a cult? I subscribe to the following definition of cult, which is offered by members of the board at the ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association):

“A group or movement exhibiting a great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea, or thing and employing unethically manipulative techniques of persuasion and control (e.g., isolation from former friends and family, debilitation, use of special methods to heighten suggestibility and subservience, powerful group pressures, information management, suspension of individuality or critical judgment, promotion of total dependency on the group and fear of leaving it, etc.), designed to advance the goals of the group's leaders, to the actual or possible detriment of members, their families, or the community.”

Based on this definition, for certain individuals and at certain times, the POP has been a cult. At the same time or at other times, for certain individuals, the POP has not been a cult. I very much dislike taking a relative stance on this issue, but I think we have to until a valid and reliable scientific tool used to identify cults and accurately distinguish them from mainstream religions is developed. Which, as of yet, there is no such tool.

I think it logically follows that POP is a cult and the subsequent argument offers my reasoning supporting this conclusion:

The POP board of governors is a charismatic unit that maintains excessive authority and control over the community, tactics of manipulation such as, guilt and fear arousal, excessive persuasion, induced compliance, pressure against dissent etc. have been consistently employed by lay leaders within the community and this has caused unnecessary psychological distress and has spiritually mislead members of the community. Therefore, although mostly benign, People of Praise is a cult.

What is the People of Praise?

Former People of Praise slogan:

"The World's A Mess, Join the Solution. A People, A Place, A Revolution."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The POP is an “ecumenical charismatic Christian community” that was founded in 1971 in South Bend, IN. The formation of the group followed the Catholic Church renewal (not revision) of the early 60’s known as Vatican II. The group was created alongside similar communities such as Word of God (now The Sword of the Spirit). These groups are all offspring of what is known as the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. The POP is ecumenical in the sense that they accept members from all Christian faiths; although over 90% of the current members attend Roman Catholic Church’s. They are charismatic in the sense that they believe in, and employ, such things as speaking in tongues, prophecy and faith healing. The POP has had some trouble with growth – while being in existence for over thirty years they currently only have approximately 3,000 members; this number includes active/inactive members and also children. Some of you may be familiar with Trinity Schools. The POP owns and administers three private Christian High Schools, located in Eagan, MN, South Bend, IN and Falls Church, VA.

If satan is real, he created the POP in the pit of hell.

I was a member of what the group calls the campus division - a section of the POP that is composed of mostly, but not exclusively, college students. The campus division carries out evangelism and citybuilding work of the POP. That's right, citybuilding. The POP believes the Lord Jesus Christ has called the community to build 200 cities and recruit 200,000 members in the next 40 years. This citybuilding idea was originally presented to me as if it were a prophecy from God, but now the POP has lightened the divine influence of citybuilding and considers it a goal. I'm guessing they themselves realized how unrealistic and audacious the plan is, and saving themselves from being labeled as false prophets, chose the secular terminology of a 'goal' to describe their work.