Ian Haworth

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Ian Haworth (born c. 1947) is a British anti-cultist. Originally from Lancashire, United Kingdom, he moved to and lived in Toronto, Canada, in late 1970s and early-to-mid 1980s.[1][2] He returned to Britain in 1987 and founded the Cult Information Centre, a major anti-cult organization, of which he is "General Secretary."[2][3] He also founded the Council on Mind Abuse (COMA)α in 1979 in Toronto.[4]

Council on Mind Abuse (COMA)

Haworth and others founded COMA after his interactions with a group he labels a "cult." Haworth in the 1970s joined a group, the PSI Mind Development Institute, in Toronto in order to quit smoking.[5][6] He claimed he was hypnotized at least 16 times in the four-day course that he attended.[1] Upon finding others with similar experiences, they founded COMA.

In addition to cults and new religious movements, COMA was active in the North American satanism scare of the 1980s and 1990s.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

COMA's activities primarily were answer phone calls of distressed relatives and loved ones of people who joined new religious movements and left home.[5] In addition, COMA hosted presentations and were consulted by police, courts, social organizations, journalists, etc. Haworth told the Toronto Star that at its founding, COMA received about 50–80 calls or letters asking for information about new religious movements, and COMA gave about 1,000 presentations throughout Ontario about cults.[16] In 1992, COMA's then director, psychologist Robert Tucker, told the Toronto Star that they receive about 100–150 calls per week.[17]

COMA, under Haworth, operated out of a secret location, so there was no office or facility in which people could receive help.[5]

Almost immediately after its founding, various groups attacked COMA in order to discredit it. For example, in 1980, a false newsletter was circulated around Ottawa ostensibly written by COMA staff.[18] Dr. B. W. Shaw, a COMA spokesperson, told The Canadian Champion that it was likely written by "cult organizations," specifically to discredit COMA as a trustworthy organization.[18]

In 1987, Haworth left COMA and Canada to form the Cult Information Centre in London. Robert Tucker took over as director in July 1987.[16] Tucker moved COMA to a different office in Toronto in August 1989, and its location was publicized.[19] Tucker attempted to increase the funding COMA received in donations, service and consulting fees, and presentations in 1991; he told the Toronto Star in June 1991 that without an extra 20,000 CAD in revenue, COMA would have to close in September 1991.[20]

In 1992, COMA went bankrupt due to two new religious movements, the Church of Scientology and Erhard Seminars Training (EST), suing for libel in suits that spanned about five years.[17][21] However, Tucker believes there were other causes to its closure as well. He writes in the Toronto Star that government inaction and hesitancy of donors contributed to its bankruptcy as well.[22] COMA officially closed on 1 March 1992.[23]

Cult Information Centre (CIC)

Upon arriving in Britain in 1987, Haworth founded the Cult Information Centre.[24] Like COMA, Haworth made the office location and identities of the trustees a secret to avoid harassment from new religious movements.[1][25] On CIC's website, Haworth is described as having addressed 20,000 enquiries and delivered 1,200 talks on new religious movements.[26] CIC works extensively with educational institutions, union organizations, and other organizations to disseminate information about new religious movements to students, whom Haworth believes are particularly vulnerable to brainwashing techniques.[27]

CIC registered as a charity (No. 1012914) through the Charity Commission for England and Wales in 1992, which has maintained up to the present.[24] CIC claims to be the first organization with charity status to research new religious movements and expose their "harmful methods."[28]

Litigation Issues

In 1982, Haworth made some remarks about Erhard Seminars Training at the University of Guelph, which were published in a local newspaper.[29][30] A libel action was heard against him in his absence in a Canadian court in 1989, after he returned to Britain in 1987. In 1990, Haworth was informed of the libel action with a damages award of 5,000 GBP against him with 14% interest.[30] The Canadian court awarded Landmark Education International—later called Werner Erhard & Associates International, which is a corporatized form of EST—10,000 CAD plus costs at Haworth, an associate (Robert Sutherland), and the local newspaper's expense.[31] Werner Erhard & Associates, which have offices in London, brought the case to the High Court where they were awarded 20,423 GBP in damages at Haworth's expense.[30] Haworth filed for bankruptcy in April 1996, which did not infringe on his anti-cult work.[30][29] The local newspaper's case was dropped after it published a statement written by EST, and Sutherland's case was dropped after making an apology and paying 100 GBP.[30] Allegedly, Haworth—having learned of the libel action against him—fled to Britain in 1987 in order to avoid paying damages.[4][31] However, no legal action was ever taken against him for this allegation.

Notes

^α There is another anti-cult organization in the United States and the United Kingdom named COMA and should not be confused with this Canadian one.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 James Gray, "Cult Following," New Humanist, 30 April 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2022. https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/2790/cult-following.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Who Represents CIC?," Cult Information Centre. Retrieved 7 June 2022. https://cultinformation.org.uk/mobile/about-us/who-represents-cic/.
  3. ↑ Elisabeth Arweck, "Anti-Cult Movement: FAIR, Cult Information Centre (CIC)," in Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements, edited by Peter B. Clarke, 35–8 (London and New York: Routledge, 2006), 37.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Elisabeth Arweck, Researching New Religious Movements: Responses and Redefinitions (London and New York: Routledge, 2006), 194n22.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "COMA helps sufferers of mind abuse," Ottawa Citizen, 1 August 1979.
  6. ↑ William Shaw, Spying in Guru Land: Inside Britain's Cults (London: Fourth Estate, 1994), 191.
  7. ↑ Lisa Priest, "Cult expert warns of child violence," Toronto Star, 7 November 1990.
  8. ↑ Lisa Wright, "Rebellious teenagers try satanism: expert," Toronto Star, 2 November 1989.
  9. ↑ Lisa Wright, "Satanic sex abuse exists, group told," Toronto Star, 7 April 1989.
  10. ↑ "Belief in devil on increase: Pastor gets 10 to 15 calls weekly about spirit possession," Toronto Star, 17 January 1995.
  11. ↑ Marilyn Dunlop, "Sexual abuses linked to satanism," Toronto Star, 1 February 1991.
  12. ↑ Adrian Cloete, "Experts look for the signs of devil worship," Toronto Star, 29 June 1989.
  13. ↑ Tom Harpur, "Satanic rock music is a serious hazard," Toronto Star, 12 March 1989.
  14. ↑ Louise Brown, "Alarming number of teenagers drawn to Satanism," Toronto Star, 1 October 1989.
  15. ↑ Anne Stacey and Brian Bethune, "Questions of Satanism; tales of ritual abuse are common," Maclean's 102, no. 48 (27 November 1989).
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Mind Abuse," Toronto Star, 6 June 1987.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Caroline Mallan, "Legal bills bankrupt cult watchdog," Toronto Star, 22 February 1992.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Steve Arnold, "Cults are not a fad—COMA spokesman says," The Canadian Champion (Milton, Ontario), 27 August 1980.
  19. ↑ Michael McAteer, "The Cult Game: They're Less Visible but Still There," Toronto Star, 29 July 1989.
  20. ↑ "Money woes," Toronto Star, 15 June 1991.
  21. ↑ Jamie S. Scott, Irving Hexham, and Karla Poewe, "Afterword: New Religious Movements and the Religions of Canadians Going Forward," in The Religions of Canadians, edited by Jamie S. Scott, 387–406 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012), 402.
  22. ↑ Robert Tucker, "Prepare for more cult tragedies," Toronto Star, 2 April 1997.
  23. ↑ Caroline Mallan, "Workers told how to deal with mental torment of kids," Toronto Star, 27 February 1992.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Elisabeth Arweck, Researching New Religious Movements: Responses and Redefinitions (London and New York: Routledge, 2006), 194n22.
  25. ↑ Shaw, Spying in Guru Land, 188.
  26. ↑ "Who Represents CIC?," Cult Information Centre. Retrieved 7 June 2022. https://cultinformation.org.uk/mobile/about-us/who-represents-cic/.
  27. ↑ Kate Coxon, "Cult Following: Students may find themselves the target of religious sects seeking new members, warns Kate Coxon," The Guardian (London), 6 November 2001.
  28. ↑ "Cult Information Centre," CIC. Retrieved 7 June 2022. https://cultinformation.org.uk/.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 David Pallister, "Libel award of Pounds 20,000 bankrupts cult watcher," The Guardian (London), 3 August 1996.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 David Pallister, "Bankruptcy for Charity Chief," The Guardian (London), 18 April 1996.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Peter Victor, "Anti-cult groups riven by schism and bitter feuds; Many despise rivals more than sects they monitor," The Independent (London), 9 October 1994.

External links

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