The BBC has picked up a premium doc series on a group of people’s clandestine escape from a New Zealand cult. Escaping Utopia is a three-part investigation into Gloriavale Christian Community – New Zealand’s extreme religious cult – and the true stories of…[Continue Reading...]
When Pearl Valor reflects on the key reasons that led to her and husband Paul breaking away from the reclusive Gloriavale community, one stands out above the rest: “We wanted to give our kids a better life than we had.”…[Continue Reading...]
A new documentary about a secretive New Zealand "cult" uncovers the openly submissive lifestyle of women in the fundamentalist Christian community. The third documentary in the series reveals how the Gloriavale society, based in Haupiri, in the South Island, imposes…[Continue Reading...]
That’s according to the a first-of-its-kind test of public opinion curated by Talbot Mills, which asked people what should happen to the controversial West Coast commune. There have been allegations of sexual abuse, physical abuse, labour exploitation and more recently,…[Continue Reading...]
After years of allegations of forced labour, slavery, and sexual and physical abuse, the future of Gloriavale is being considered by its former residents. The Gloriavale Leavers' Trust has released a discussion document, where it asks what needs to happen…[Continue Reading...]
A leading journalist on cults doubts Gloriavale can be reformed and says it needs to be closed down. Anke Richter has been researching cults for more than a decade and is the author of Cult Trip: Inside the world of…[Continue Reading...]
There’s long been a national fascination with cults, making them fertile ground for books and documentaries. Gloversville native Susan Ashline knows this well. The Emmy-nominated journalist extensively covered the Utica-area Word of Life Christian Church cult in her 2019 book…[Continue Reading...]
When Theo Pratt saw her sister in India’s Gloriavale outpost last year, she was horrified. “She was just like a shell of the person I remembered as my sister. I was very taken aback, I didn’t expect it to be…[Continue Reading...]
It takes immense bravery to leave the confines of an insular, tightly knit community like Gloriavale. Especially when it’s the only life you’ve ever known and you’ve been told since birth that the community is your sanctuary from an outside…[Continue Reading...]
Former MP Catherine Delahunty has revealed her brush with the Gloriavale community left her “disturbed” and “heartbroken” for the women there. The ex-Green MP said during a 2015 visit to the West Coast Christian community she witnessed institutionalised misogyny that…[Continue Reading...]
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