ABSTRACT
Continuing controversy about the new religions, popularly known as "cults," makes the study of mental health of participants in such groups a topic of major importance for the psychology of religion. Psychiatrist Marc Galanter's study of Unification Church members using a number of personality inventories revealed that affiliation with the Unification Church apparently provided considerable and sustained relief from neurotic distress. This chapter includes the Jesus Movement group, the Rajneeshees and the Hare Krishna group. Research on the Jesus Movement group revealed a "dependency-prone" personality for many members, but one that participant observation demonstrated to be functional within the communal context of the group. Shiloh group members, who had earlier displayed traits that might have been dysfunctional in normal society, have apparently overcome any possible problems and adapted quite well to their new noncommunal lifestyles. The personality assessments of these groups members reveal that life in the new religions is often therapeutic instead of harmful.
