ABSTRACT
The authors of this chapter have been involved in the North American cult awareness movement (CAM) since its early years. 2 Although the chapter will include documentation for some points, much of the chapter can be considered oral history based on the authors’ recollections and impressionistic theorising about the causes of certain phenomena. We limit our report to the two secular organisations with the largest networks of supporters and activists (Cult Awareness Network (CAN) and American Family Foundation (AFF), renamed International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) in 2004). 3 There were and still are many smaller organisations and individuals that had a specific geographic, activist or treatment focus or that did not endure for long. There were also many religiously oriented organisations, some of which are quite large, such as the Christian Research Institute. The changes we describe refer only to CAN and AFF and to their members or supporters.
