Cults & Society
 Department: Group Report
__________________________________________________
Featured Group Report

Hare Krishna: child abuse
  
 
   
 
     

20/22

Child Abuse in the Hare Krishna Movement:1971-1986

E. Burke Rochford, Jr. with Jennifer Heinlein

[continued]

Conclusion

Marriage and family life have played a central role in the development of religious communities and institutions (Berger 1969:133; Dobbelaere 1987; Foster 1991; Kanter 1972:86 92, 1973). Kanter's investigation of 19th century American communities demonstrated that successful utopian communities religious and secular controlled or otherwise regulated two-person intimacy and family relationships.  Only by renouncing couple and family relationships could intimacy become a collective good serving the interests of the community as a whole.  As such, utopian communities face the task of building and maintaining relational structures ‘which do not compete with the community for emotional fulfilment’ (Kanter 1972:91).   

Beginning in the 1970s ISKCON sought increasingly to control marriage and family life.  This involved several processes:  First, marriage itself was redefined such that it became symbolic of spiritual weakness, an institution suited only for those unable to control their sexual desires.  Secondly, in order to educate children separate from their parents, Prabhupada established the gurukula.  While founded initially as an educational institution, the gurukula also freed parents to work full-time on behalf of ISKCON and its communities.  For many parents this involved performing sankirtan.30 

In important respects sankirtan and children represent interrelated and pivotal issues in ISKCON's North American and world-wide development.  To ISKCON's largely sannyasi leadership, sankirtan represented the means by which the movement could fulfil its missionary objectives.  It served too, to bring substantial resources into ISKCON's communities during the 1970s (Rochford 1985:171 89).  Children, on the other hand, represented a potential threat to each of these objectives.  With a decline in recruitment beginning as early as 1974 in North America (Rochford 1985:278), ISKCON leaned ever harder on householders to perform sankirtan.  The result was the purpose of the gurukula organisationally came to rest on its ability to provide childcare.  Unfortunately, as I have described, the gurukula became an institution defined by neglect and the abuse of children.    

Prior to widespread allegations of child abuse, ISKCON represented what Shupe (1995) refers to as a ‘trusted hierarchy.’  Religious groups and organisations are distinct from their secular counterparts precisely because ‘those occupying lower statuses in religious organisations trust or believe in the good intentions, nonselfish motives, benevolence, and spiritual insights/wisdom of those in the upper echelons (and often are encouraged or admonished to do so)’ (italics in the original, Shupe 1995:29).  Indeed parents often socialise their children to respect the religious authority of church leaders, thus perpetuating the very basis of trust within religious organisations.  It was such unquestioned trust in the leadership, and in ISKCON as a whole, that led parents to readily assume that their children were being properly educated and cared for in the gurukula.  As we have seen, this very assumption helped create opportunity structures facilitating abuse and exploitation (see Krebs 1998; Shupe 1995 for other examples). 

As one might expect, child abuse affects far more people than those directly victimised.  As Pullen suggests ‘religious congregations can collectively share psychological, emotional, and spiritual trauma when faced with the reality that their most vulnerable members have been sexually violated by individuals the community invested with authority’ (1998:68).  Among members of a support group formed in response to clerical sexual abuse of children in California, Pullen found members making reference to their own ‘spiritual abuse.’  Although not directly abused themselves, group members nonetheless expressed ‘that their trust and faith in the credibility and integrity of their religious leaders had been shattered’ (1998:68 9).  Nason-Clark (1998) found much the same response among female congregants in the aftermath of child sexual abuse by Church officials in Canada.  In organisational terms, child abuse and malfeasance by clergy precipitates a crisis of trust among rank and file members.  As Seligman argues the ‘existence of trust is an essential component of all enduring social relationships’ (1997:13) and is indeed necessary for the continuation of any social order.  

The betrayal of trust represented by child abuse has challenged, if not  undermined, the ISKCON commitment of many first and second generation members alike.  Child abuse stands as a powerful symbol of the failure of ISKCON's leadership, and that form of social organisation (that is, communalism) which supported its political and spiritual authority.  As trust gave way to anger and doubt, householders became less willing to commit their lives to ISKCON as they had in the past.  Needless to say, many second generation devotees also rejected their ISKCON collective identity.  This fact, perhaps more than any other, accounts for the fragmentation and decline of ISKCON in North America. (But see Rochford 1997 for another interpretation).  In failing to maintain a safe and healthy environment for the movement's most vulnerable members, ISKCON faced being discredited from within, and a corresponding loss of legitimacy in the eyes of many long-time members.  Many abandoned ISKCON, while others joined an emerging congregation of independent householders and their families residing on the margins of ISKCON's North American communities.  As this implies, the tragedy of child abuse has shaped, and continues to shape, the career of ISKCON as a religious organisation newly arrived on the North  American Scene.      

1/22 < > 22/22

______________________________________________ ^
 

Cults & Society
 Department: Group Report
__________________________________________________
Featured Group Report

Hare Krishna: child abuse
  
 
   
 
     

20/22

Child Abuse in the Hare Krishna Movement:1971-1986

E. Burke Rochford, Jr. with Jennifer Heinlein

[continued]

Conclusion

Marriage and family life have played a central role in the development of religious communities and institutions (Berger 1969:133; Dobbelaere 1987; Foster 1991; Kanter 1972:86 92, 1973). Kanter's investigation of 19th century American communities demonstrated that successful utopian communities religious and secular controlled or otherwise regulated two-person intimacy and family relationships.  Only by renouncing couple and family relationships could intimacy become a collective good serving the interests of the community as a whole.  As such, utopian communities face the task of building and maintaining relational structures ‘which do not compete with the community for emotional fulfilment’ (Kanter 1972:91).   

Beginning in the 1970s ISKCON sought increasingly to control marriage and family life.  This involved several processes:  First, marriage itself was redefined such that it became symbolic of spiritual weakness, an institution suited only for those unable to control their sexual desires.  Secondly, in order to educate children separate from their parents, Prabhupada established the gurukula.  While founded initially as an educational institution, the gurukula also freed parents to work full-time on behalf of ISKCON and its communities.  For many parents this involved performing sankirtan.30 

In important respects sankirtan and children represent interrelated and pivotal issues in ISKCON's North American and world-wide development.  To ISKCON's largely sannyasi leadership, sankirtan represented the means by which the movement could fulfil its missionary objectives.  It served too, to bring substantial resources into ISKCON's communities during the 1970s (Rochford 1985:171 89).  Children, on the other hand, represented a potential threat to each of these objectives.  With a decline in recruitment beginning as early as 1974 in North America (Rochford 1985:278), ISKCON leaned ever harder on householders to perform sankirtan.  The result was the purpose of the gurukula organisationally came to rest on its ability to provide childcare.  Unfortunately, as I have described, the gurukula became an institution defined by neglect and the abuse of children.    

Prior to widespread allegations of child abuse, ISKCON represented what Shupe (1995) refers to as a ‘trusted hierarchy.’  Religious groups and organisations are distinct from their secular counterparts precisely because ‘those occupying lower statuses in religious organisations trust or believe in the good intentions, nonselfish motives, benevolence, and spiritual insights/wisdom of those in the upper echelons (and often are encouraged or admonished to do so)’ (italics in the original, Shupe 1995:29).  Indeed parents often socialise their children to respect the religious authority of church leaders, thus perpetuating the very basis of trust within religious organisations.  It was such unquestioned trust in the leadership, and in ISKCON as a whole, that led parents to readily assume that their children were being properly educated and cared for in the gurukula.  As we have seen, this very assumption helped create opportunity structures facilitating abuse and exploitation (see Krebs 1998; Shupe 1995 for other examples). 

As one might expect, child abuse affects far more people than those directly victimised.  As Pullen suggests ‘religious congregations can collectively share psychological, emotional, and spiritual trauma when faced with the reality that their most vulnerable members have been sexually violated by individuals the community invested with authority’ (1998:68).  Among members of a support group formed in response to clerical sexual abuse of children in California, Pullen found members making reference to their own ‘spiritual abuse.’  Although not directly abused themselves, group members nonetheless expressed ‘that their trust and faith in the credibility and integrity of their religious leaders had been shattered’ (1998:68 9).  Nason-Clark (1998) found much the same response among female congregants in the aftermath of child sexual abuse by Church officials in Canada.  In organisational terms, child abuse and malfeasance by clergy precipitates a crisis of trust among rank and file members.  As Seligman argues the ‘existence of trust is an essential component of all enduring social relationships’ (1997:13) and is indeed necessary for the continuation of any social order.  

The betrayal of trust represented by child abuse has challenged, if not  undermined, the ISKCON commitment of many first and second generation members alike.  Child abuse stands as a powerful symbol of the failure of ISKCON's leadership, and that form of social organisation (that is, communalism) which supported its political and spiritual authority.  As trust gave way to anger and doubt, householders became less willing to commit their lives to ISKCON as they had in the past.  Needless to say, many second generation devotees also rejected their ISKCON collective identity.  This fact, perhaps more than any other, accounts for the fragmentation and decline of ISKCON in North America. (But see Rochford 1997 for another interpretation).  In failing to maintain a safe and healthy environment for the movement's most vulnerable members, ISKCON faced being discredited from within, and a corresponding loss of legitimacy in the eyes of many long-time members.  Many abandoned ISKCON, while others joined an emerging congregation of independent householders and their families residing on the margins of ISKCON's North American communities.  As this implies, the tragedy of child abuse has shaped, and continues to shape, the career of ISKCON as a religious organisation newly arrived on the North  American Scene.      

1/22 < > 22/22

______________________________________________ ^
 

Cults & Society
 Department: Group Report
__________________________________________________
Featured Group Report

Hare Krishna: child abuse
  
 
   
 
     

20/22

Child Abuse in the Hare Krishna Movement:1971-1986

E. Burke Rochford, Jr. with Jennifer Heinlein

[continued]

Conclusion

Marriage and family life have played a central role in the development of religious communities and institutions (Berger 1969:133; Dobbelaere 1987; Foster 1991; Kanter 1972:86 92, 1973). Kanter's investigation of 19th century American communities demonstrated that successful utopian communities religious and secular controlled or otherwise regulated two-person intimacy and family relationships.  Only by renouncing couple and family relationships could intimacy become a collective good serving the interests of the community as a whole.  As such, utopian communities face the task of building and maintaining relational structures ‘which do not compete with the community for emotional fulfilment’ (Kanter 1972:91).   

Beginning in the 1970s ISKCON sought increasingly to control marriage and family life.  This involved several processes:  First, marriage itself was redefined such that it became symbolic of spiritual weakness, an institution suited only for those unable to control their sexual desires.  Secondly, in order to educate children separate from their parents, Prabhupada established the gurukula.  While founded initially as an educational institution, the gurukula also freed parents to work full-time on behalf of ISKCON and its communities.  For many parents this involved performing sankirtan.30 

In important respects sankirtan and children represent interrelated and pivotal issues in ISKCON's North American and world-wide development.  To ISKCON's largely sannyasi leadership, sankirtan represented the means by which the movement could fulfil its missionary objectives.  It served too, to bring substantial resources into ISKCON's communities during the 1970s (Rochford 1985:171 89).  Children, on the other hand, represented a potential threat to each of these objectives.  With a decline in recruitment beginning as early as 1974 in North America (Rochford 1985:278), ISKCON leaned ever harder on householders to perform sankirtan.  The result was the purpose of the gurukula organisationally came to rest on its ability to provide childcare.  Unfortunately, as I have described, the gurukula became an institution defined by neglect and the abuse of children.    

Prior to widespread allegations of child abuse, ISKCON represented what Shupe (1995) refers to as a ‘trusted hierarchy.’  Religious groups and organisations are distinct from their secular counterparts precisely because ‘those occupying lower statuses in religious organisations trust or believe in the good intentions, nonselfish motives, benevolence, and spiritual insights/wisdom of those in the upper echelons (and often are encouraged or admonished to do so)’ (italics in the original, Shupe 1995:29).  Indeed parents often socialise their children to respect the religious authority of church leaders, thus perpetuating the very basis of trust within religious organisations.  It was such unquestioned trust in the leadership, and in ISKCON as a whole, that led parents to readily assume that their children were being properly educated and cared for in the gurukula.  As we have seen, this very assumption helped create opportunity structures facilitating abuse and exploitation (see Krebs 1998; Shupe 1995 for other examples). 

As one might expect, child abuse affects far more people than those directly victimised.  As Pullen suggests ‘religious congregations can collectively share psychological, emotional, and spiritual trauma when faced with the reality that their most vulnerable members have been sexually violated by individuals the community invested with authority’ (1998:68).  Among members of a support group formed in response to clerical sexual abuse of children in California, Pullen found members making reference to their own ‘spiritual abuse.’  Although not directly abused themselves, group members nonetheless expressed ‘that their trust and faith in the credibility and integrity of their religious leaders had been shattered’ (1998:68 9).  Nason-Clark (1998) found much the same response among female congregants in the aftermath of child sexual abuse by Church officials in Canada.  In organisational terms, child abuse and malfeasance by clergy precipitates a crisis of trust among rank and file members.  As Seligman argues the ‘existence of trust is an essential component of all enduring social relationships’ (1997:13) and is indeed necessary for the continuation of any social order.  

The betrayal of trust represented by child abuse has challenged, if not  undermined, the ISKCON commitment of many first and second generation members alike.  Child abuse stands as a powerful symbol of the failure of ISKCON's leadership, and that form of social organisation (that is, communalism) which supported its political and spiritual authority.  As trust gave way to anger and doubt, householders became less willing to commit their lives to ISKCON as they had in the past.  Needless to say, many second generation devotees also rejected their ISKCON collective identity.  This fact, perhaps more than any other, accounts for the fragmentation and decline of ISKCON in North America. (But see Rochford 1997 for another interpretation).  In failing to maintain a safe and healthy environment for the movement's most vulnerable members, ISKCON faced being discredited from within, and a corresponding loss of legitimacy in the eyes of many long-time members.  Many abandoned ISKCON, while others joined an emerging congregation of independent householders and their families residing on the margins of ISKCON's North American communities.  As this implies, the tragedy of child abuse has shaped, and continues to shape, the career of ISKCON as a religious organisation newly arrived on the North  American Scene.      

1/22 < > 22/22

______________________________________________ ^
 

Cults & Society
 Department: Group Report
__________________________________________________
Featured Group Report

Hare Krishna: child abuse
  
 
   
 
     

20/22

Child Abuse in the Hare Krishna Movement:1971-1986

E. Burke Rochford, Jr. with Jennifer Heinlein

[continued]

Conclusion

Marriage and family life have played a central role in the development of religious communities and institutions (Berger 1969:133; Dobbelaere 1987; Foster 1991; Kanter 1972:86 92, 1973). Kanter's investigation of 19th century American communities demonstrated that successful utopian communities religious and secular controlled or otherwise regulated two-person intimacy and family relationships.  Only by renouncing couple and family relationships could intimacy become a collective good serving the interests of the community as a whole.  As such, utopian communities face the task of building and maintaining relational structures ‘which do not compete with the community for emotional fulfilment’ (Kanter 1972:91).   

Beginning in the 1970s ISKCON sought increasingly to control marriage and family life.  This involved several processes:  First, marriage itself was redefined such that it became symbolic of spiritual weakness, an institution suited only for those unable to control their sexual desires.  Secondly, in order to educate children separate from their parents, Prabhupada established the gurukula.  While founded initially as an educational institution, the gurukula also freed parents to work full-time on behalf of ISKCON and its communities.  For many parents this involved performing sankirtan.30 

In important respects sankirtan and children represent interrelated and pivotal issues in ISKCON's North American and world-wide development.  To ISKCON's largely sannyasi leadership, sankirtan represented the means by which the movement could fulfil its missionary objectives.  It served too, to bring substantial resources into ISKCON's communities during the 1970s (Rochford 1985:171 89).  Children, on the other hand, represented a potential threat to each of these objectives.  With a decline in recruitment beginning as early as 1974 in North America (Rochford 1985:278), ISKCON leaned ever harder on householders to perform sankirtan.  The result was the purpose of the gurukula organisationally came to rest on its ability to provide childcare.  Unfortunately, as I have described, the gurukula became an institution defined by neglect and the abuse of children.    

Prior to widespread allegations of child abuse, ISKCON represented what Shupe (1995) refers to as a ‘trusted hierarchy.’  Religious groups and organisations are distinct from their secular counterparts precisely because ‘those occupying lower statuses in religious organisations trust or believe in the good intentions, nonselfish motives, benevolence, and spiritual insights/wisdom of those in the upper echelons (and often are encouraged or admonished to do so)’ (italics in the original, Shupe 1995:29).  Indeed parents often socialise their children to respect the religious authority of church leaders, thus perpetuating the very basis of trust within religious organisations.  It was such unquestioned trust in the leadership, and in ISKCON as a whole, that led parents to readily assume that their children were being properly educated and cared for in the gurukula.  As we have seen, this very assumption helped create opportunity structures facilitating abuse and exploitation (see Krebs 1998; Shupe 1995 for other examples). 

As one might expect, child abuse affects far more people than those directly victimised.  As Pullen suggests ‘religious congregations can collectively share psychological, emotional, and spiritual trauma when faced with the reality that their most vulnerable members have been sexually violated by individuals the community invested with authority’ (1998:68).  Among members of a support group formed in response to clerical sexual abuse of children in California, Pullen found members making reference to their own ‘spiritual abuse.’  Although not directly abused themselves, group members nonetheless expressed ‘that their trust and faith in the credibility and integrity of their religious leaders had been shattered’ (1998:68 9).  Nason-Clark (1998) found much the same response among female congregants in the aftermath of child sexual abuse by Church officials in Canada.  In organisational terms, child abuse and malfeasance by clergy precipitates a crisis of trust among rank and file members.  As Seligman argues the ‘existence of trust is an essential component of all enduring social relationships’ (1997:13) and is indeed necessary for the continuation of any social order.  

The betrayal of trust represented by child abuse has challenged, if not  undermined, the ISKCON commitment of many first and second generation members alike.  Child abuse stands as a powerful symbol of the failure of ISKCON's leadership, and that form of social organisation (that is, communalism) which supported its political and spiritual authority.  As trust gave way to anger and doubt, householders became less willing to commit their lives to ISKCON as they had in the past.  Needless to say, many second generation devotees also rejected their ISKCON collective identity.  This fact, perhaps more than any other, accounts for the fragmentation and decline of ISKCON in North America. (But see Rochford 1997 for another interpretation).  In failing to maintain a safe and healthy environment for the movement's most vulnerable members, ISKCON faced being discredited from within, and a corresponding loss of legitimacy in the eyes of many long-time members.  Many abandoned ISKCON, while others joined an emerging congregation of independent householders and their families residing on the margins of ISKCON's North American communities.  As this implies, the tragedy of child abuse has shaped, and continues to shape, the career of ISKCON as a religious organisation newly arrived on the North  American Scene.      

1/22 < > 22/22

______________________________________________ ^