Jean-Marie Abgrall | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 April 1950
Toulon, France |
| Occupation(s) | Psychiatrist, author, cult consultant |
| Known for | Brainwashing theories |
Jean-Marie Abgrall (born 12 April 1950) is a French psychiatrist, criminologist, specialist in forensic medicine, cult consultant, graduate in criminal law and anti-cultist. He has been an expert witness and has been consulted in the investigations of cults. Abgrall is known as a proponent of brainwashing theories.
Early life
Abgrall was born 12 April 1950, in Toulon, France. [1] In his youth, he was active in the AMORC Rosicrucian order, as well as a related organization, the Renewed Order of the Temple. [2] [3] Between 1989 and 1994, he was a member of the Green Party in France. [2]
Career
He is a psychiatrist in private practice. [4] He has been an expert witness when it comes to cults. [2]
In the 90s, Abgrall was appointed as an expert in the investigation of the Order of the Solar Temple cult; his involvement was subject to some criticism, as the Renewed Order of the Temple group (that Abgrall had attended meetings of) had counted among its membership Luc Jouret, one of the leaders of the cult. [2] [5] He never personally undertook any field work related to the group, though often discussed it on television. [5]
In 1996, the French government set up an observatory body to investigate cults and sects, the Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France. Abgrall was a "key actor" in these investigations, preparing official reports in France and Belgium, and was an active anti-cult movement spokesperson in the European media, in particular television. [2] [6]
Various sects, including the Aumism movement and the Raelian Movement, have opposed Abgrall. [7] For his opposition to them, he was attacked by some groups, including the Church of Scientology, who in one instance called the secretary of the Greens and told them Abgrall was a secret service agent. [2]
Reception
Dick Anthony and Thomas Robbins have written that in their view, Abgrall's theories of brainwashing are pseudoscientific, and so unsuitable for use as a basis for legal judgments in cases involving cult membership. They qualify Abgrall as the "leading psychiatric consultant to government agencies and legislative bodies concerned with controlling and suppressing non-traditional religions", noting that Abgrall's brainwashing theory has served as the primary psychiatric rationale for anti-cult laws, governmental rulings, and legal cases brought against alleged cults in Europe. Abgrall has also influenced former communist countries through the dissemination of official governmental reports from France and Belgium that he helped produce. [8]
According to Dick Anthony, Abgrall emerged as a key "cult expert" in France, because he was the first psychiatrist in France willing to embrace brainwashing theories. He describes Abgrall's theories as "essentially identical to the pseudoscientific theory that was developed first by the American CIA, as a propaganda device to combat communism, and second as an ideological device for use by the American anti-cult movement to rationalize efforts at persecution and control of minority religious groups". [5]
Bibliography
- Soul Snatchers: The Mechanics of Cults, by Jean-Marie Abgrall, Alice Seberry (Translator), December 1999, 296 pages, ISBN 978-1-892941-04-6, Algora Publishing, paperback
- Healing Or Stealing?: Medical Charlatans in the New Age, Algora Pub., 2007, 244 pages, ISBN 9781892941282
References
- ^ Chemineau, Sophie (12 February 2003). "Un interview de Jean-Marie Abgrall - Tous manipulés, tous manipulateurs". Metro (in French). Paris. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f Coignard, Sophie; Deloire, Christophe (17 September 1999). "L'impuissance publique" [Public powerlessness]. Le Point (in French). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ Broussard, Philippe (24 December 1999). "L'enquête sur le Temple solaire révèle le monde des sociétés secrètes" [Solar Temple investigation reveals world of secret societies]. Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- ^ Richardson, James T.; Introvigne, Massimo (June 2001). ""Brainwashing" Theories in European Parliamentary and Administrative Reports on "Cults" and "Sects"". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 40 (2): 143–168. doi: 10.1111/0021-8294.00046. ISSN 0021-8294. JSTOR 1387941.
- ^ a b c Anthony, Dick (1999). "Pseudoscience and Minority Religions: An Evaluation of the Brainwashing Theories of Jean-Marie Abgrall". Social Justice Research. 12 (4): 421–456. doi: 10.1023/A:1022081411463. S2CID 140454555.
- ^ Shupe, Anson D.; Darnell, Susan E. (2006). Agents of Discord: Deprogramming, Pseudo-Science, And the American Anticult Movement. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7658-0323-8.
-
^
"Procès Raël contre Jean-Marie Abgrall" [Raël v. Jean-Marie Abgrall]. prevensectes.com (in French). Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2007.
{{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ( link) - ^ Anthony, Dick; Robbins, Thomas (2004). "Pseudoscience versus Minority Religions". In Richardson, James T. (ed.). Regulating Religion: Case Studies from Around the Globe. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-306-47887-1 – via Google Books.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
Jean-Marie Abgrall | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 April 1950
Toulon, France |
| Occupation(s) | Psychiatrist, author, cult consultant |
| Known for | Brainwashing theories |
Jean-Marie Abgrall (born 12 April 1950) is a French psychiatrist, criminologist, specialist in forensic medicine, cult consultant, graduate in criminal law and anti-cultist. He has been an expert witness and has been consulted in the investigations of cults. Abgrall is known as a proponent of brainwashing theories.
Early life
Abgrall was born 12 April 1950, in Toulon, France. [1] In his youth, he was active in the AMORC Rosicrucian order, as well as a related organization, the Renewed Order of the Temple. [2] [3] Between 1989 and 1994, he was a member of the Green Party in France. [2]
Career
He is a psychiatrist in private practice. [4] He has been an expert witness when it comes to cults. [2]
In the 90s, Abgrall was appointed as an expert in the investigation of the Order of the Solar Temple cult; his involvement was subject to some criticism, as the Renewed Order of the Temple group (that Abgrall had attended meetings of) had counted among its membership Luc Jouret, one of the leaders of the cult. [2] [5] He never personally undertook any field work related to the group, though often discussed it on television. [5]
In 1996, the French government set up an observatory body to investigate cults and sects, the Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France. Abgrall was a "key actor" in these investigations, preparing official reports in France and Belgium, and was an active anti-cult movement spokesperson in the European media, in particular television. [2] [6]
Various sects, including the Aumism movement and the Raelian Movement, have opposed Abgrall. [7] For his opposition to them, he was attacked by some groups, including the Church of Scientology, who in one instance called the secretary of the Greens and told them Abgrall was a secret service agent. [2]
Reception
Dick Anthony and Thomas Robbins have written that in their view, Abgrall's theories of brainwashing are pseudoscientific, and so unsuitable for use as a basis for legal judgments in cases involving cult membership. They qualify Abgrall as the "leading psychiatric consultant to government agencies and legislative bodies concerned with controlling and suppressing non-traditional religions", noting that Abgrall's brainwashing theory has served as the primary psychiatric rationale for anti-cult laws, governmental rulings, and legal cases brought against alleged cults in Europe. Abgrall has also influenced former communist countries through the dissemination of official governmental reports from France and Belgium that he helped produce. [8]
According to Dick Anthony, Abgrall emerged as a key "cult expert" in France, because he was the first psychiatrist in France willing to embrace brainwashing theories. He describes Abgrall's theories as "essentially identical to the pseudoscientific theory that was developed first by the American CIA, as a propaganda device to combat communism, and second as an ideological device for use by the American anti-cult movement to rationalize efforts at persecution and control of minority religious groups". [5]
Bibliography
- Soul Snatchers: The Mechanics of Cults, by Jean-Marie Abgrall, Alice Seberry (Translator), December 1999, 296 pages, ISBN 978-1-892941-04-6, Algora Publishing, paperback
- Healing Or Stealing?: Medical Charlatans in the New Age, Algora Pub., 2007, 244 pages, ISBN 9781892941282
References
- ^ Chemineau, Sophie (12 February 2003). "Un interview de Jean-Marie Abgrall - Tous manipulés, tous manipulateurs". Metro (in French). Paris. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f Coignard, Sophie; Deloire, Christophe (17 September 1999). "L'impuissance publique" [Public powerlessness]. Le Point (in French). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ Broussard, Philippe (24 December 1999). "L'enquête sur le Temple solaire révèle le monde des sociétés secrètes" [Solar Temple investigation reveals world of secret societies]. Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- ^ Richardson, James T.; Introvigne, Massimo (June 2001). ""Brainwashing" Theories in European Parliamentary and Administrative Reports on "Cults" and "Sects"". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 40 (2): 143–168. doi: 10.1111/0021-8294.00046. ISSN 0021-8294. JSTOR 1387941.
- ^ a b c Anthony, Dick (1999). "Pseudoscience and Minority Religions: An Evaluation of the Brainwashing Theories of Jean-Marie Abgrall". Social Justice Research. 12 (4): 421–456. doi: 10.1023/A:1022081411463. S2CID 140454555.
- ^ Shupe, Anson D.; Darnell, Susan E. (2006). Agents of Discord: Deprogramming, Pseudo-Science, And the American Anticult Movement. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7658-0323-8.
-
^
"Procès Raël contre Jean-Marie Abgrall" [Raël v. Jean-Marie Abgrall]. prevensectes.com (in French). Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2007.
{{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ( link) - ^ Anthony, Dick; Robbins, Thomas (2004). "Pseudoscience versus Minority Religions". In Richardson, James T. (ed.). Regulating Religion: Case Studies from Around the Globe. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-306-47887-1 – via Google Books.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |