The Chronicle: Colloquy: Responses

The Maryland Task Force hearings examining "cults on campus" has been a battleground between those who believe religious freedom is a core human value, protected by the Constitution of the United States, and those who find in virtually every "cult" good reason to suspend the Constitution in order to protect us from the dangers these groups pose to our individual and collective well being.

There is a second underlying theme to these proceedings. Virtually ignored throughout the hearings has been the question of the nature of evidence. Repeatedly, Chairman William T. Wood declined to allow social-science studies to be admitted into evidence. The draft final report of the Task Force proceedings makes no mention of the considerable social science data offered in testimony by some of the nation's leading authorities.

Not only has the Task Force run roughshod over the Constitution, it has declared social science evidence as irrelevant, perhaps even dangerous.

Since the Task Force has no plans to make any part of the proceedings public except the Final Report, I determined to create as complete an archive of the proceedings as is possible. There are presently forty documents available on my Religious Movements Web site and more documents are being added as they are made available.

These archives my be accessed at: http://www.religiousmovements.org. Click on "Special Report: The Maryland Cult Task Force" at the bottom of the page. I have also written a brief overview of the proceedings entitled, "Cult Wars in Maryland," which will be updated as soon as a copy of the Final Report is available.

: -- Jeffrey K. Hadden, Professor of Sociology, University of Virginia (posted 9/8, 3 p.m., E.D.T.)

previous response

next response

JOIN THE DEBATE

STEP 1: Your contact information (required)

Your name:

Your title & institution:

Your phone:

Your e-mail address:

STEP 2: Your comments

STEP 3: Submit!

Be sure to include your name and affiliation. Legitimate requests for anonymity will be honored.

The Chronicle maintains Colloquy as an open forum where readers can comment on issues. Submissions may be condensed or edited for clarity, but editing is kept to a minimum. We correct errors in spelling, punctuation, etc. In addition, we remove statements that have the potential to be libelous or to slander someone. In cases in which people make claims that could be libelous, we will remove the names of institutions and departments. But in those cases, we will not alter the ideas contained in the submissions.

Please read our privacy policy or our Colloquy help page if you have questions.

Check this box only if you would like this submission to be considered for publication as a letter to the editor in the printed Chronicle.