Is Hope Church ASU a cult? Hope Church at Arizona State University under inquiry for code of conduct violations and cult practices.

1. Is Hope Church ASU a Cult?
- ASU Performs Inquiry -
HopeChristianChurchASUCult.Blogspot.com

2. Arizona State University
has launched an inquiry of
Hope Church for code of
conduct violations and
cult-practices

3. The inquiry comes after a group of current students, alumni, former
pastors, and family submitted a 125 page to the University detailing 4
categories of code of conduct violations, 6 concerns related to campus
life (much of which revolves around Hope’s use of “front groups”, 8
categories of psychological manipulation and emotional abuse, and 44
indicators of religious cult-activity as categorized by scholarly research.
In addition, it details the historical roots of Hope, which lay in 3
Christian cult groups.
More Info

4. Hope Church ASU Code of Conduct Violations
“Unauthorized presence in or unauthorized use of university property, resources,
or facilities.”
"Engaging in, supporting, promoting, or sponsoring hazing or violating the Board
or university rules governing hazing"
“Stalking or engaging in repeated or significant behavior toward another
individual, whether in person, in writing, or through electronic means, after
having been asked to stop, or doing so to such a degree that a reasonable
person, subject to such contact, would regard the contact as unwanted.”
“Commission of any offense prohibited by local ordinance”
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5. Hope Church ASU “Front Groups” and
Campus Concerns (Part A)
11. Building “front groups”/masquerading as other
organizations, who are in fact subsets of Hope’s ministry,
while not being transparent with students whom they engage
about this fact
More Info

6. Hope Church ASU “Front Groups” and
Campus Concerns (Part B)
2. Implicit (sometimes explicit) pressuring to forgo academic studies in
favor of Church activities
3. Implicit and explicit pressuring to forgo future career goals in favor of
becoming a staff member with Hope Christian Church ASU
4. Unauthorized sharing of the personal information of students
5. Micromanagement of members’ personal lives
6. Creating an intense “Us vs. Them” mentality
More Info

7. Hope Church ASU Psychological
Manipulation/Emotional Abuse
1. Intentional manipulation of members emotional and psychological state for trivial
reasons
2. “Gaslighting”: A psychological term used to describe manipulating a person in
order to get them to question their own sound judgment or sanity
3. Emphasizing active involvement in recruiting efforts as a “must” to be a “real”
member of the community
4. Becoming disinterested and disengaged once an individual has been “converted”
5. Teaching concepts which could be perceived as sexist
6. Possibly denying membership to students based on perceived sexual orientation
7. Intentionally placing members in emotionally/psychologically harmful situations
8. Leaving former members with lingering psychological and emotional effects
More Info

8. Hope Church ASU Cult History: Faith Christian
Church, Tucson AZ
Hope’s Mother Church
Visit FormerFCCMembers.com

9. Hope Church ASU Cult History: Maranatha
Campus Ministries
Mother group of FCC, Hope Church’s grandparent
organization. Kicked off many University campuses
during their existence, criticized by Christian leaders
as a cult throughout their tenure. Now defunct.

10. Hope Church ASU Cult-Practices: Steve
Hassan, “Releasing the Bonds”
1. Dissent and discussion discouraged.
2. “Polarization of Members”; The cult generates within its members “a polarized”
mentality. Their people evolve an us-versus-them outlook. Little by little, they
criticize other groups with which his members might tend to associate,
undermining confidence in them, attempting to discredit anyone who could have
influence over the flock
3. “Lavishing the Leader in Luxury”; having a preoccupation with raising money,
much of which ends up in the hands of the leader
4. “Alteration of Personality”
More Info

11. Hope Church ASU Cult-Practices: Families
Against Cult Teaching Indicators (Part A)
1. “No Tolerance for questions or critical inquiry”
2. “There is no legitimate reason to leave, former followers are always wrong in leaving,
negative or even evil”
3. “Former members often relate the same stories of abuse and reflect a similar pattern of
grievances”
4. “There are records, books, news articles, or television programs that document the abuses
of the group/leader
5. “Followers feel that they can never be ‘good enough’”
6. “The group/leader is always right”

12. Hope Church ASU Cult-Practices: Families Against
Cult-Teachings Indicators (Part B)
1. “Extreme obsessiveness regarding the group/leader resulting in the exclusion of almost any
practical consideration”
2. “Whenever the group/leader is criticized or questioned it is characterized as ‘persecution’”
3. “Uncharacteristically stilted and seemingly programmed conversation and mannerisms,
cloning of the group/leader in personal behavior”
4. “Dependency upon the group/leader for problem solving, solutions, and definitions without
meaningful reflective thought. A seeming inability to think independently or analyze
situations without group/leader involvement”
5. “Hyperactivity centered on the group/leader agenda, which seems to supercede any
personal goals or individual interests”
6. “Increasing isolation from family and old friends unless they demonstrate an interest in the
group/leader”
7. “Former followers are at best considered negative or worse evil and under bad influences.
They can not be trusted and personal contact is avoided

13. Hope Church ASU Cult-Practices: U of A Religious
Council, “Red Flags”
1. “Religious Stalking”:“Persistent unwanted door-knocks, phone calls, or hanging around your living
space means people have crossed boundaries. You have the right to say ‘no’, and that should be
respected”
2. “Invasiveness”: “Attempts to gain inappropriate personal, financial, sexual, and/or emotional
information about/from you”
3. “Deception”: “Failure to clearly identify themselves. A religious group’s identity, affiliation, and
advertising should be unambiguous, with beliefs and practices transparent. For example ‘surveys’,
‘contests’, should identify the organization and the full purpose of the contest/event.”
4. “Pressure”: “Pressure to not date or associate with others outside the religious group; to lie and/or
disengage from your family and/or religious community; or to avoid other campus activities and
groups.”
5. “Shame”:“Religious groups who say that if you don’t join their group, give money, or spend time
with them, then you don’t really love God.”
6. “Religious Manipulation”: “Methods which target vulnerable students. Methods which seek to break
down, and then rebuild students. Instances of over the top niceness used as a form of entrapment”
More Info

14. Hope Church ASU Cult-Practices: Kathleen Taylor,
“Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control (Part A)
1. “Milieu Control”:Control of an individual’s communication with the external world, hence of
his or her perceptions of reality
2. “Mystical Manipulation”: Creating a sense of awe or enthusiasm for the group by
manipulating circumstances or information to create an impression of supernatural wisdom
or divine favor
3. “The Demand for Purity”: The belief that elements outside the chosen group should be
eliminated to prevent them contaminating the minds of group members, along with the
enactment of unreasonable standards of perfection or “excellence” within the group
4. “The Cult of Confession”: The use of and insistence on confession to minimize individual
privacy
5. “Sacred Science”: Viewing the ideology’s basic dogmas as both morally unchallengeable and
scientifically exact, thus increasing their apparent authority

15. Hope Church ASU Cult-Practices: Kathleen Taylor,
“Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control” (Part B)
7. “The Primacy of Doctrine”: The idea that a dogma is more true and more real than over
person anything experienced by an individual human being
8. “The Dispensing of Existence”: The right to control the quality of life and eventual fate
of existence for both group members and nonmembers, often made possible by the group’s
supposed special status. Often this can include an implicit or explicit “threat” being in place
if members decide to leave the group.
9. “Cults often seem more youth-oriented, emphasizing their novelty and radicalism.”
10. “RealityShift”: “Lowerstatus cult members will tend to shift their beliefs towards the
beliefs of higherstatus members, and particularly the cult leader; the reverse is not the
case.”
11. “I suggest, you persuade, he brainwashes”, group influence tactics
12. Neuro-Linguistic-Programming techniques, such as “fractionation”
More Info

16. Hope Church ASU Cult-Practices: Shawn Nelson,
“Spiritual Abuse: Unspoken Crisis”
1. People being used
2. “Power-Posturing”
3. “Selective Service”
4. Elitist Attitude
5. Inability to Discuss Concerns
6. Labeling people as Divisive
More Info