Tag: cult escape
-
My Cultural Awakening: Losing My Religion and My Escape from a Doomsday Cult
Introduction: A Quiet Turning Point In 1991, I lived among 200 people in a Japanese commune where a doomsday prophecy dictated every choice. The Children of God preached that the world would end in 1993, and with that belief came a strict code: where I slept, what I wore, who I spoke with, and how…
-
My Cultural Awakening: How Losing My Religion by R.E.M. Helped Me Escape a Doomsday Cult
Introduction: A Quiet Crisis in the Shadow of End Times In 1991, I lived in a commune with about 200 others in Japan, a place that felt more like a closed ecosystem than a home. The group preached that the world would end in 1993, a timeline that shaped every choice and interaction. The environment…
-
My Cultural Awakening: How Losing My Religion by REM Helped Me Escape a Doomsday Cult
Introduction: A life trapped by a looming prophecy In 1991, I found myself living in a commune in Japan with about 200 other people. We were members of a group that preached the world would end in 1993. The Children of God, a movement infamous for control and apocalyptic rhetoric, made every decision for us—from…