On Campus
2006
- April 14, 2006 Colleges consider stressing danger of pressure groups, by Cristina Silva, Globe Staff, Boston Globe, Boston, Massachusetts
...At Worcester State College, school officials decided to set up a cult information web page after Boston Church of Christ members showed up on campus in September 2004...
...The group showed up again this fall and was repeatedly asked to leave campus before it stopped holding meetings, said Sibyl Brownlee, dean of student development. By then the church had recruited at least seven students, she said...
2005
- June 22, 2005 The Nashville Church forces members to donate, suit says - By Mitchell Kline, The Tennessean
...This isn't the first time The Nashville Church and the ICC have been called a cult. The denomination has been characterized on national television shows as manipulative, hyper-authoritarian and intolerant of dissent. The church was banned from Vanderbilt University eight years ago for overzealous recruiting practices, which include approaching strangers to recruit them for religious reasons...
2002
- November 21, 2002 SU says no to campus club, by Jennifer Ludbrook, The Gauntlet, University of Calgary (Students interested in joining the Christian Advance Club at the University of Calgary will have to look elsewhere for membership after the prospective group was denied official club status earlier this year. The proposed Christian Advance, comprised of members of the International Churches of Christ, was rejected by the Students' Union Clubs Committee because of the church's history on university campuses throughout North America and Europe...
...The ICOC, also known as the Boston Movement...has been banned from some 40 university campuses including Boston and ...UBC, York, McMaster and the University of Calgary...
...SU Vice-President Operations and Finance Robbie White. "We consulted both the Chaplains' Centre and Campus Security before deciding that it wasn't in the best interests of students to sanction this particular club...
...For now, an official club representing the International Churches of Christ will not exist at the U of C, although members of the church continue to actively recruit new members from within the student population.
Representatives of the Calgary branch of the ICOC would not comment on the issue this week.
If you are feeling pressured or are being harrassed by members of a religious group, contact the Chaplains' Centre...or the University Harrassment Advisor...)
- October 9, 2002 RyeSAC worried by aggressive religious recruiting, by Claire Gagne, The Eyeopener, Ryerson's independent student newspaper, Ryerson University (The Toronto Church of Christ is stepping up its recruiting on campus this fall, and RyeSAC doesn't like it.
According to RyeSAC campus groups administrator Leatrice Spevack, more students have complained this year about being harassed by the Toronto Church of Christ than have in the past few years.
"These things go in cycles, and we're at a high point right now," said Spevack...
...Ryerson Security will respond if people complain of being harrased...
...RyeSAC has launched an poster campaign this week, aimed at warning students away from the Church of Christ...
...Ann Whiteside, discrimination and harassment prevention officer, said these groups are always looking for new members...
..."We make sure that security is alerted to the activities of cults on campus, and do whatever is needed to be done when that happens."...
...The Toronto Church of Christ declined to comment, referring all questions to their lawyer, who was out of the country on vacation...)
- May 9, 2002 Cult-like groups pose potential threat to college students, by Linda Ober, The Daily Orange, Syracuse University, New York
After a month of participating in activities offered by the Syracuse Church of Christ, Drew Miller decided it wasn't the right place for him...
...The SCC is one of approximately 430 member churches in the International Churches of Christ, an organization that has often been cited by college deans and online associations for inappropriate behavior and practices. According to its official Web site, the ICC began in Boston in 1978 and now has approximately 135,000 members in more than 155 countries...
...Student Impact, a small student group of ICC followers, was kicked off the SU campus in the early 1990s, Wolfe said, adding that the group was constantly proselytizing and did not adhere to the university's ethical framework for religious groups...
...Rick Ross, an expert in radical and extreme groups, noted that approximately 20-30 other university campuses have also banned ICC groups.
"The reason they've been banned at scores of colleges is not because of what they believe but how they behave," Ross said...
- March 2, 2002 Flyers issued to raise awareness, by JOSEPHINE ECKERT, University of Puget Sound Trail, University of Puget Sound (...The flyers are meant to educate students about the tactics that cult-like organizations use to limit basic freedoms to which everyone is entitled...The flyers were produced in response to concerns about the International Church of Christ (ICC), a religious cult that is making its presence known in the Tacoma area and on other surrounding college campuses such as Pacific Lutheran University and Pierce Community College...
2001
- May 10, 2001 The Jesus Pyramid, by David W. Martin, Cleveland Scene, Cleveland, Ohio
...The International Churches of Christ...
...Ron Loomis, a former student activities director at Cornell who lectures on cults...
...Loomis counts 36 colleges in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom where the church has at one time or another been denied or stripped of recognition as a campus organization...
- February 23, 2001 Statement Regarding Unsanctioned Religious Group at Holy Cross, Holy Cross News Features, College of the Holy Cross (To all Members of the Holy Cross Community:
I want to inform you of the existence of an unsanctioned religious group which has become active at Holy Cross and at other Worcester colleges. This group is distinguished by many features commonly associated with cults and has achieved widespread notoriety across the country. Affiliated with the International Church of Christ (not to be confused with the mainstream United Church of Christ or the Churches of Christ), this group uses different names including the Boston Church of Christ and Christian Family Fellowship.
This group has been banned from Boston University, Northeastern University, Harvard University, Seattle University, St. Louis University, Loyola Marymount University (Calif.), and nearly 35 other colleges and universities across the country. Generally, the ban is a result of the group's tactics rather than its theology.
These strategies often include...)
2000
- November 3, 2000 Religious cults active on campus, Miami Hurricane, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida (...The South Florida Church of Christ is an offshoot of the Boston Church of Christ, a recognized religious cult, Lortie said...
...To combat the activity of cults, Lortie, along with the Dean of Students Office, the Department of Student Life, and the Division of Student Affairs issued a new warning poster that is now posted throughout campus.
The poster reads, "'Cane Alert: CULT groups are actively recruiting on college campuses now."...)
- June 20, 2000 Cult following, Guardian Unlimited
(...The International Church of Christ (known also as the London Church of Christ, Birmingham Church of Christ etc)...
... The ICC were banned at the University of Birmingham ten years ago...
..."Once recruited, students were subjected to intense pressure, which interfered with their studies."...)
- April 5, 2000 Speakers say WVU has cults on campus, Associated Press via Charleston Daily Mail, West Virginia via the Wayback Machine
...Ronald Loomis, an expert on college cults, outlined seven types of cults...
He identified the International Church of Christ as one of the cults operating at WVU under the alias "The Edge." Thirty-six campuses in 14 states and three countries have banned the group...
- March 13, 2000 A push becomes a shove, U.S.News & World Report
...Take the International Churches of Christ...some ex-members and experts on mind-control assert is a cult - is one of the most controversial religious groups on campus. At least 39 institutions, including Harvard and Georgia State, have outlawed the organization at one time or another for violating rules against door-to-door recruiting, say, or harassment...
1999
- October 10, 1999 Renting as they grow: Controversial church opts not to be bound by four walls, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (...the Atlanta Church of Christ...affiliated with the International Church of Christ...In 1994, a Georgia Tech branch of the Atlanta Church
of Christ was kicked off the campus amid allegations that students were being harassed and intimidated. Emory University's chaplaincy office denied the group a charter in 1993...)
- July 26, 1999 International Church of Christ: Heaven or hell for members?, Associated Press via The Oak Ridger
via Google's cache
...Steve Hassan of the Cambridge, Mass.-based Resource Center for Freedom of Mind, an anti-cult group, said he considers the International Churches of Christ "a destructive cult."...
..."It's the only student religious group I've had to turn down, and I did it based on the sheer volumes (of complaints)," Vanderbilt Chaplain Gay Welch said....
- March 1, 1999 SAB suspends group for improper conduct, News Record, University of Cincinnati via Google's cache (The Student Activities Board indefinitely suspended Campus Advance (CA), a UC Christian organization, from campus last December because of recruitment harassment...CA is an affiliate of the International Church of Christ (ICC)...)
- March 1, 1999 SAB explains Campus Advance removal, Heath Trostle, The News Record, University of Cincinnati via Google's cache (...This organization is locally affiliated with the Cincinnati Church of Christ and is nationally associated with the International Church of Christ.
Based on numerous complaints from student and faculty regarding on-campus recruitment practices and harassment, the SAB took action.
Although Campus Advance is a religious organization formerly registered by the university, the decision of the SAB to ban the organization was based on issues of conduct and not religious beliefs...)
- April 19, 1999 SUNY Must Allow Church Back on Campus, Bill Alden, New York Law Journal via law.com (The State University of New York at Purchase violated the constitutional rights of the Church of Christ by revoking the church's license to use a college facility after a student was suspended for intimidating another into joining the church, a White Plains federal judge has ruled...
...Banning the entire congregation from using the center went "far beyond" what was needed to protect SUNY Purchase students from the harassment arising from "persistent solicitation," declared the judge in her 55-page ruling in Lark v. Lacy, 99 Civ. 0228, issued late Thursday.
Despite siding with the church on its claims, Judge McMahon did not lift the student's suspension, noting that she had received a fair hearing and that the school had punished conduct, not speech...
...Andrea Lark, a member of the church, enrolled at SUNY in...
...In April 1998, another SUNY student, Dionnie Walker, complained to school authorities that Ms. Lark had pressured her into attending a church-affiliated trip to Massachusetts and then had tried to prevent her from leaving someone else's room to visit her family...)
- February 22, 1999 Texas Tech ministers trying to keep religious group off campus, Associated Press via Abilene Reporter-News (A dozen Texas Tech University ministers are urging students to avoid a new campus religious group, the International Churches of Christ, calling it America's most dangerous cult.
The national organization's local affiliate, the Lubbock Christian Church, began meeting late last month at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center.
In response, the 12 Texas Tech ministers have signed their names to an advertisement warning students about the group...
...In response to the ministers' comments, Lubbock Christian Church Minister Brian Akins said, "I'm not interested in starting a little editorial war. Thanks anyway."...
...Grear Howard of Baptist Student Ministries said that the group tells students to cut off communication with their parents, sever relationships with anyone not involved with ICOC and to give large amounts of money to the group...)
1998
- September 22, 1998 Religious solicitation complaints prompt warning against group, Emory Wheel, Emory University (Student complaints of harassment prompted Religious Life officials to warn a local religious organization to keep its members off Emory's campus.
Members of the Atlanta Church of Christ have stood in front of the Dobbs University Center recently, despite opposition from the Office of the Dean of the Chapel...
...Emory has a history of problems with this particular group, which is not allowed anywhere on campus, according to Religious Life officials...
...Henry-Crowe said any students who are approached by this group should notify her, an official in Religious Life or the Emory Police immediately.)
- April 1, 1998 "E-Board rejects purpose of Bible Talk club" by Don Mizuno, The Polytechnic, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute via the Wayback Machine (The Executive Board of the Union voted last week not to approve the purpose of the Upside Down Bible Talk club. Having a purpose approved by the E-Board is the basic step for a group to become a Union-recognized club.
In the 11-0-0 vote not to approve the club's purpose, the members followed the recommendation of the Constitution Committee, which stated that the group's purpose violated both the Union Model Constitution and several items in the Criteria for Club Approval document.
In its stated purpose, Upside Down Bible Talk claims an affiliation with the International Churches of Christ (ICC), an organization that has been criticized for questionable recruiting practices on college campuses and extreme manipulation of its members' lives.
Mostly due to its link with the ICC, the Constitution Committee's opinion was that the club's purpose involved religious discrimination, that it encourages students to terminate their education prematurely, and that it involves a high risk of personal injury and potential liability for the Union...
...The ICC has been accused of overly aggressive and deceptive recruiting practices on college campuses, and former members have claimed that the church assumed an unusual and unhealthy degree of control over their lives, including where to live, what friends to have, and whom to date and marry...
...In studying the issue, the Constitution Committee looked at a variety of documents, including books and journal articles describing the activities of the ICC, and personal accounts of former members of the church. Also, at the Tuesday night meeting of the E-Board, several invited speakers presented their experiences with and knowledge of the ICC.
Cynthia Tang '00 became involved in the ICC in Boston during summer break last year. In her presentation at the E-Board meeting, she emphasized the amount of control the church expected to have over members' lives...
...One key issue addressed at the meeting was the religious doctrine of the ICC. Several E-Board members suggested that their extreme exclusionary views constituted religious discrimination. "The minister [of the Boston Church of Christ] said that all Buddhists were going to hell," said Tang. "I was taught that Methodists aren't real Christians ... I was taught that Catholics aren't real Christians."...
...Bible Talk members said that the question was one of beliefs, and not of activities of the club, which was the subject of the E-Board discussion.
The written documents and statements by speakers convinced the E-Board not to approve Bible Talk's purpose.
"The evidence before us is that the International Churches of Christ has in the past violated one of the club criteria by which we approve clubs," said club/ICA representative Zach Berndlmaier '98 at the meeting. "That is my main objection to the purpose." He added, however, that he'd be willing to approve the club if they ended the affiliation with the ICC.
Members of Upside Down Bible Talk did not dispute the personal accounts, but emphasized the positive influence the club has had on its members.
"There have been students here at RPI that were part of the church, that were part of the bible discussion, that have moved on to lead successful lives � people who have been leaders on this campus," said Thomas. "There are those of us here at RPI that have moved on, that have graduated � who have led academically strong lives, that have led career strong lives, and have done great things. I really, really want to stress that."..
...Several E-Board members questioned the role of McNair in the club activities and the need for the explicit affiliation with the ICC.
"The only role the ICC has [in the club] is we ask our minister, Scott McNair, to facilitate our discussions," said Thomas. "Those of us who decided to form the club were members of the International Churches of Christ, and we asked Scott if he would be our facilitator." She explained that it would have been deceptive for them to omit the affiliation from the club purpose, since so many members of the club were also members of the ICC...)
1997
- December 9, 1997 Concerned About Campus Cults, Colleges Arm Students With Facts by Justin Gillis and Caryle Murphy, The Washington Post via Rick A. Ross Institute
...Much of the recent discussion about cultism on the College Park campus grows out of the experiences of Susan Saniie, a 22-year-old senior. Saniie said that during her freshman year, in 1993, she was approached repeatedly in her dormitory by a resident assistant. The assistant, Saniie said, drew her into a group called the "Upside Down Club," a registered student organization. She did not know at the time that Upside Down was a name used on campuses by a controversial group called the International Churches of Christ...
...The Bakers and their allies won backing from a committee representing parents of College Park students, and during the last 18 months, they pressed for a comprehensive university response. Starting last summer, Kelley, the student affairs officer, and Gulick introduced discussion of cult techniques into student orientation. This fall, the issue was raised in some basic life skills classes. The warning pamphlet, which still does not use the word "cult," is more widely distributed on campus...
- April 17, 1997 "Students Face Disciplinary Action for Removal of Flyers" by Nancy Kehoe, The Rainbow, California State University, Dominguez Hills (Four Cal State Dominguez Hills students face possible disciplinary action for allegedly removing university-approved flyers from campus bulletin boards...The flyers criticize the International Churches of Christ (ICC)...Wilson, a member of ICC, confirmed that he is removing the flyers...)
- January 27, 1997 Cult Control, by Rod Usher, Time Magazine (...the Los Angeles-based International Churches of Christ...is now banned from several UK campuses. John Partington, an elder of the London branch of the now re-named U.K. Churches of Christ...in Britain, refutes claims of high-pressure tactics...)
1996
1994
- April 24, 1994 Small Church Causes A Stir on Campuses; Boston Group's Tactics Panned - Washington Post (Judson Anglin had turned down several invitations to his friend's church, but when he finally went, he was struck by the warmth and enthusiasm of the worshipers. "It was great," recalled the 24-year-old graduate student at George Washington University. "I'd never seen anything like it. It was the most integrated group I had ever seen."
...And then the pressure began...
...with an eye to joining the church, the International Churches of Christ...
...the group, which is sometimes called the Boston Church of Christ...
...In the last few months, American University and George Washington University have revoked the charters of student groups founded by church members. Howard University is
investigating allegedly aggressive recruiting tactics by group members...
...Some university officials now say the Boston church is the most problematic religious group they have to work with...
...Jon Goodman, 26, a ministry intern who works with students at American University. Although some church members have abused their authority over newer members, he said, "if someone is being abusive, they are challenged to change or removed from staff."...)
1993
- April 29, 1993 UNH suspends religious group, Associated Press via The Boston Globe (DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire has suspended a religious group called Campus Advance, which chaplains described as "cult-like" after complaints of harassment in recruiting...Campus Advance claimed 11 permanent members, all members of the Boston Church of Christ.)
1992
- July 30, 1992 by JODI MAILANDER, Miami Herald, Miami, Florida (Broward Community College is threatening to revoke a controversial Bible club's status as a student organization because several members continue to recruit on campus after they were ordered to stop.
School officials issued a final warning to Campus Advance two weeks ago, saying the club's charter would be revoked if any members were caught proselytizing on campus again. At least 15 BCC students have complained about being harassed by club members in the past year...
BBC'S Campus Advance is...connected to the Boston Movement or Boston Church of Christ...)
1987- 1994
- Note: The following link will take you to an archived version of the Boston University and the Office of the University Chaplain Web site.
Warning!! - The Boston (International) Church Of Christ via the Wayback Machine
A Review of History and Sanctions at Boston University
The Office of the University Chaplain at Boston University receives calls, mail, and visits on an almost daily basis from individuals who are concerned for the well-being of friends, family or self because of involvement with a cult group called the Boston Church of Christ (also known as the International Church of Christ, and not to be confused with the valid Christian denomination, the United Church of Christ). If you or loved ones have been approached by this group, now prevalent throughout the U.S. and other parts of the world, we suggest that you read the following!
Background/ History:
03/17/07 Link updated on this page.
09/18/06 Page last updated. - Page posted 03/28/02
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- A push becomes a shove, U.S.News & World Report, March 13, 2000
...Take the International Churches of Christ...some ex-members and experts on mind-control assert is a cult - is one of the most controversial religious groups on campus. At least 39 institutions, including Harvard and Georgia State, have outlawed the organization at one time or another for violating rules against door-to-door recruiting, say, or harassment...
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