Covering the Sun, the Moon and the Korean Messiah
How my career as a religion reporter was launched by an early encounter in Berkeley with followers of the notorious cult leader Sun Myung Moon
Don Lattin
Don Lattin is an almost retired journalist and author of seven books, including the best-selling "Harvard Psychedelic Club." Learn more at www.donlattin.com.
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Latest posts
Is Alcoholics Anonymous a Cult?
Some say "yes." I say "no." Here are five questions I ask before using "the C word."
Leaving the Fold -- One Young Woman's Story about Getting out of Scientology's "Sea Org"
Meanwhile, true believers defend the church's elite unit during our visit -- 25 years ago -- to the organization's Hollywood headquarters on L. Ron Hubbard Way
Fractured Families and Broken Lives in the Church of Scientology
Founder L. Ron Hubbard, the self-help guru and would-be messiah, was accused in divorce proceedings of bigamy, spousal torture and kidnapping.
L. Ron Hubbard, the Messiah and the Myth
The first of a three-part Substack series on the late founder of the Church of Scientology and its continuing efforts to crush dissent and extend Hubbard's authoritarian reign.
All Cults are Not Created Equal
Comparing the Children of God/Family International to the Eternal Values cult profiled on HBO's new show "Bring Me the Beauties" No comparison, in terms of the horror.
God's Pimp -- David "Moses" Berg
Messiahs I Have Known begins a two-part series on the Children of God/Family International with a look back at "flirty fishing"
Tulsi Gabbard, Hare Krishna, and More on Castaneda
Messiahs I Have Known marks its 50th post and 500th subscriber.
Carlos Castaneda, the Shamanic Messiah of the 1970s, was also a Con Man, Plagiarist and Manipulative Cult Leader
A new book about this American trickster puts Castaneda in the same camp as Donald Trump, a forger of "alternative reality."
Christian Soldiers and the Cult of Trump
Evangelical extremism has moved from the fringes of religion to the center of American power. Here's a flashback to my early encounter with the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps.