New UCF organization provides support for former members of high-control religious groups
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After breaking away from high-control religious groups, some UCF students formed an on-campus support group, After the Sect, for students going through similar experiences.
Kassandra Faylun, junior English literature and sociology major and After the Sect co-founder, said that the group has provided support for students navigating life after being affected by high-control religious groups.
Faylun said that the idea came from meeting another former member of an HCRG, or a high-control religious group, on campus and being able to relate to the experiences they shared in common.
“I felt like the only person in the world who was going through this because it’s not really something that’s talked about in everyday life,” Faylun said.
Faylun said the group serves as a safe space for individuals to talk about their experiences and relate to others who have gone through something similar.
“To be able to have that sort of place is really helpful for the whole process of transitioning out of a sect,” Faylun said.
In addition to acting as a support group, Faylun said After the Sect also works to open up a larger conversation about HCRGs and how to recognize them.
This was the case for Val, co-founder of After the Sect and junior information technology major, who requested that her last name remain undisclosed due to current ties in an HCRG.
Val said that growing up she remembered a very loving community with no outright issues.
“It makes it harder actually, to realize that this is not an organization that’s looking out for your well-being and that it’s actually hurting you,” Val said.
Faylun said that before realizing she was in an HCRG she would be discouraged and sometimes even punished for asking questions or that answers to her questions wouldn’t make sense.
Faylun said what makes HCRGs different from other religious groups are the characteristics, not the faith.
“There’s kind of different parts to it,” Faylun said. “It’s more so the behaviors and the characteristics displayed by these groups that are what make them so dangerous and destructive to people’s lives.”
Instead, Faylun said she defines HCRGs based off of the social environment within the culture of a group, what the members are told to do or not to do and whether a person’s identity and mental health are being affected.
“If they teach their members that the outside world is dangerous, it sort of polarizes them from the rest of the world and cuts them off from the rest of society,” Faylun said. “That can very easily become a high-control religious group because that is affecting their daily lives. It affects how they view the rest of the world and themselves in comparison.”
Val said she was able to recognize a similar polarization within her own HCRG.
“Even school takes a second place,” Val said. “It’s like your grades are not as important just as long as you’re still in the religion.”
Additionally, Faylun said that that HCRGs can be challenging for people to talk about as they are often surrounded by many stigmas and taboos.
To normalize the discussion and spread awareness, Faylun said it’s important to use neutral terms, such as high-control religious group.
Content retrieved from: https://www.nicholsonstudentmedia.com/life/new-ucf-organization-provides-support-for-former-members-of-high-control-religious-groups/article_9a101ae0-6e41-11ef-9770-338b1d275f5b.html.
