Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “mandated shunning”
Stop Mandated Shunning’s ongoing survey has now surpassed 1,200 responses, shedding light on the global and far-reaching effects of mandated shunning. The survey continues to document the experiences of individuals who have been harmed by high-control religious groups, and the results so far emphasize just how pervasive this damaging practice is. Religious Groups Represented: Participants in the survey have come …
By Monica Velin Rodriguez On September 13, 2024, a crowd of passionate individuals from all over the USA—including states as far away as Hawaii—converged on Washington DC to raise their voices and protest the inhumane practice of mandated shunning and other abuses that are common in authoritarian groups. This is the second Be Free protest, and this year’s theme put …
It’s every parent’s nightmare—watching your child get drawn into something you know isn’t right, powerless to protect them. That nightmare became my reality when my daughter, as a teenager, was coerced by her father and the leader of the Concerned Christians cult. The group, which had started as a Christian counter to the New Age movement, evolved into an apocalyptic …
By Monica Velin Rodriguez Q. How does a victim of shunning get a message to their family? A. It’s impossible. Mandated shunning is a social death sentence. In many cases, the shunning is so complete that victims have been blocked on phones and all social media. Any call would be ended; every door would be slammed shut. If a target …
In 1984, at the age of 36, I found myself at a crossroads. After years of witnessing the notorious corruption and cruelty of the untouchable leaders within the Watchtower Society, I began to see through the deceptive ideology that had trained Jehovah’s Witnesses like myself to be nothing more than distributors of the Watchtower Society’s publications—Bibles, books, periodicals, and brochures. …
“If you don’t comply,” Mary Byler reports, “at some point, it will be time to shun you.” It’s one of the ways Amish control and manipulate members who do not obey the rules. As a victim of Amish mandated shunning herself, Mary knows what she is talking about. She tells her story in an interview on YouTube. In one eye-opening …
Three years before “Armageddon” was supposed to happen in 1972, my parents became Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW’s). I was only 8 years old and I trusted them to make the “right choices” for themselves, me, and my younger brothers. How could I have known then that I’d become a researcher of cult characteristics and that such knowledge would lead me to …
Translated by SMS from the original language I have spent almost 40 years of my life as an active member of Jehovah’s Witnesses. For 20 of those years, I served as an elder (local congregation pastor), which is a highly respected position in the congregation. In 2005, my daughter was disfellowshipped and decided she would not return to the organization. …
I was born in 1969 to parents who were both Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW) from birth. Their parents were also Jehovah’s Witnesses, so it’s all I ever knew growing up. From a young age, my life was shaped by the doctrines and high-control environment of the religion. I was taught that God’s name was “Jehovah” and that our religion was the …
Craig Hoyle’s memoir, Excommunicated: A multigenerational story of leaving the Exclusive Brethren, is a powerful and emotionally charged account that will leave readers both moved and enlightened. This gripping narrative takes us on a journey through generations of Hoyle’s family, trapped within the confines of a secretive and controlling religious group known as the Exclusive Brethren. From the very first …
