Is Dick Anthony a full-time professional "cult apologist"?

CultNews.com/March 27, 2003
By Rick Ross

Apparently "cult apologists" are concerned about the Elizabeth Smart case. They seem to feel a need to dismiss any claims that the kidnap victim was "brainwashed."

Veteran cult defenders James Richardson, H. Newton Malony and Nancy Ammerman, have all been quoted concerning the case.

Dick Anthony, another "cult apologist," more recently weighed in.

The mainstream media apparently overlooked Anthony, who describes himself as a "forensic psychologist," so he found another outlet for his opinions.

His commentary about Elizabeth Smart is now posted on the website CESNUR ("Center for Studies on New Religons"), run by Massimo Introvigne.

Introvigne is an interesting character and reportedly connected to a group that has been called a "cult." The organization is named "Tradition, Family and Property" (TFP). Not surprisingly, Introvigne seems to be personally offended by the "C" word (cult) and the "B" word ("brainwashing).

Within his treatise Anthony laments how the "proponents of brainwashing theory" are misleading the public by "asserting that Elizabeth Smart was brainwashed."

According to Anthony that "theory" was "formulated by the American CIA as a propaganda device."

Hmmm, was Elizabeth then somehow the most recent victim of a CIA conspiracy?

No.

Anthony speculates that due to Elizabeth's "strict Mormon upbringing, [she] may actually have been predisposed to accepting the stern religious authority of the self-appointed prophet Brian David Mitchell."

Does this mean the Mormon Church and/or her family not only somehow predisposed Elizabeth to embrace the bizarre beliefs of others without question, but also to not seek help or identify herself to authorities when kidnapped?

Anthony seems to think so.

He says, "Such offbeat theological worldviews allegedly primarily attract conversions from rebellious young persons from Mormon backgrounds."

Despite his self-proclaimed title of "forensic psychologist," Anthony doesn't offer any factual "forensic" evidence. And he doesn't really explain Elizabeth's strange behavior. Instead, everything is attributed to her "totalistic personality," which was apparently just waiting to be Mitchell's next "conversion."

The good doctor is less kind to 70s cult kidnap victim Patricia Hearst.

Anthony says, "There is good reason to think that her involvement in SLA [Symbionese Liberation Army] crimes was based upon a real conversion."

He does admit Hearst was exposed to "indoctrination."

But just like Elizabeth, Anthony claims the then 19-year-old Patty Hearst's capitulation to her captors, was all about "the interaction of her pre-existing totalistic personality."

Anthony gets a bit nasty bashing Hearst as a "rebellious" teenager who "took psychedelic drugs" and was "dualistically divided between corrupt mainstream people and good counter-culture people and down-trodden minorities."

Uh huh.

He concludes, "Hearst fit the profile of an 'individual totalist' prone to seeking for a totalitarian counter-cultural worldview."

Huh?

Apparently, the SLA really didn't need to violently abduct Hearst at gunpoint from her college campus or imprison the girl for months in a closet and brutally beat her. She was ready to accept their beliefs willingly, and all they needed to do was proselytize a bit to produce a "real conversion."

Likewise, Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping, months of confinement and her assault, did not contribute to her "brainwashing" - it's that old "totalistic personality" ready for a "real conversion" once again.

In his latest foray in the realm of "forensic psychology" Anthony cites the "research" of a relatively small group of academics that share his views about "cults."

He mentions the work of Stuart Wright, "Jim" James Richardson, Eileen Barker, H. Newton Maloney, Anson Shupe, David Bromley and Gordon Melton and of course his sponsor Massimo Introvigne.

However, all these "academics" are within the world of "cult apologists."

In fact, Bromley, Melton, Maloney, Richardson and Wright have all been recommended as "religious resources" by the Church of Scientology.

Melton and Barker were funded by "cults" to produce books.

Anson Shupe was paid hefty fees by Scientology lawyers to become their "expert witness" about the "anti-cult movement."

Benjamin Zablocki, Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University put it succinctly when he said, "The sociology of religion can no longer avoid the unpleasant ethical question of how to deal with the large sums of money being pumped into the field by the religious groups being studied. This is an issue that is slowly but surely building toward a public scandal. I do think there needs to be some more public accounting of where the money is coming from and what safeguards have been taken to assure that this money is not interfering with scientific objectivity."

This brings us back to Dick Anthony.

Last year Anthony made $21,000.00 consulting on one civil case alone, without even appearing in court.

That case involved a wrongful death claim filed against Jehovah's Witnesses and a "Bethelite" (full-time ministry worker) named Jordon Johnson in Connecticut, by John J. Coughlin, Jr., Administrator of the Estate of his mother Frances S. Coughlin .

Johnson killed Francis Coughlin in an automobile accident and was criminally convicted for manslaughter.

The Coughlin family sued both Johnson and the organization that controlled him, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, commonly called Jehovah's Witnesses.

Dick Anthony was hired by the Watchtower Society as an "expert," to assist them in their defense. And in the process was deposed under oath on October 11, 2002.

The man, who prides himself as a "scholar" and "academic" actually admitted that he hasn't worked within an institution of higher learning (i.e. a university or college) for more than twenty years.

So how does Dick Anthony support himself?

He is "self-employed." The name of his business is simply, "Dick Anthony, Ph.D."

What does Dick Anthony Ph.D. do?

Dr. Anthony explains, "Probably two-thirds of my time to three-quarters of my time is spent writing for publication, and probably a quarter of my time to a third of my time is involved with participating in legal cases."

Anthony's writings are most often connected to defending "cults," attacking the so-called "anti-cult movement" and/or the "proponents of the brainwashing theory."

His work on "legal cases," is as an "expert" hired by "cults," or somehow as a "expert witness" in a related area of interest.

What this admission by Anthony means, is that he can easily be seen as a full-time professional "cult apologist," who has no other means of meaningful income.

How much does he get paid?

Anthony stated for the record, "My fee for reviewing materials in my office is $350 an hour. And my fee for work outside my office is a flat fee of $3,500 a day plus expenses."

Anthony admitted that he collected "$21,000" on the Coughlin/Watchtower Society case alone. And that was without even appearing in court.

For his deposition of only a few hours, he was paid "$3,500."

Who else besides Jehovah's Witnesses is willing to pay such substantial fees?

Anthony listed some of his clients for the record. That list included the "Unification Church, the Hare Krishna movement, The Way International [and] Church of Scientology."

All of these groups have been called "cults."

But Dr. Anthony doesn't like the "C" word, he prefers "nontraditional religions."

On his list of "nontraditional religions" are the Branch Davidians, Unification Church and he says, "In the United States, the Catholic Church, well it's definitely the largest nontraditional religion."

Dr. Anthony belongs to a "nontraditional religion" himself.

Explaining his own background Anthony stated, "I'm a follower of Meher Baba" and a member of the "Meher Baba Lovers of Northern California."

According to Jeffrey Hadden, a fellow "cult apologist" who is now deceased, Meher Baba and his followers believe that he was the "God incarnate" and the Avatar of the 'dark or iron' age, also called the Kali Yuga."

Baba died in 1969. Gordon Melton says, "By loving Baba, Baba lovers can learn to love others. In the highest, most intense, state of love, Divine Love, the distinction between the lover and the beloved ceases and one attains union with God."

Sound like a personality-driven group that would be perceived by many as a "cult"? Anthony would of course prefer the description "nontraditional religion."

The good doctor calls himself a "forensic psychologist," which supposedly means the application of medical facts to legal problems.

So what facts does Dick Anthony apply to resolve the legal cases he is paid to testify and/or consult about?

When asked what specific research he relied upon regarding the Coughlin case against Jehovah's Witnesses Anthony replied that he would largely rely upon "a range of materials provided me by the Jehovah's Witnesses."

Did Dick Anthony have any experience as a psychologist helping Witnesses, "None as far as I know," he said.

Anthony also openly admitted he had done no formal research or published any paper about Jehovah's Witnesses.

So what facts or direct working experience would be applied or used as the basis for rendering his expert opinion?

Anthony said he would base his opinion largely on a "general knowledge of the sociology and psychology of religion."

When pressed repeatedly during the deposition for something more specific and scientific Anthony cited, "The research of Rodney Stark - generally considered to be probably the leading expert on sects and cults."

Stark like Anthony has received money from "cults" and has often been called an "apologist." He is not "generally considered" a "leading expert" on the subject cited either.

Anthony later said he would rely on an article by his old friend "James Richardson [though he couldn't remember the title] and several articles by Catherine Wah [correct name actually Carolyn Wah]."

Carolyn Wah was the in-house attorney assigned to defend Jehovah's Witnesses in the Coughlin case and a long-time "Bethelite" herself, working full-time at Watchtower headquarters.

Interestingly, it was Richardson who Anthony later admitted had referred him to the Witnesses for the job.

During his deposition Dick Anthony cited other legal cases he was working on at the time.

He claimed to be "a witness for the prosecution" in the criminal case against Winnfred Wright. Anthony said some of Wright's followers were "claiming that they are innocent because they were brainwashed."

This criminal case involved the starvation death of a 19-month-old boy.

Described as a "cult" by Associated Press, Anthony called the criminally destructive group a "little family."

Apparently the judge didn't agree with Anthony's expert opinion. He ordered one of Wright's followers released for "cult deprogramming" so she could "enter a treatment clinic for former cult members," reported the Marin News.

Wright received the maximum sentence allowed.

Anthony also said he was advising "the Church of Scientology in Ireland and in Dublin."

This is clearly a reference to a lawsuit filed against Scientology by Mary Johnson, a former Irish member who alleged "psychological and psychiatric injuries." Anthony said, "I've had a number of conversations with [Scientology] about that."

But despite those "conversations" Scientology decided pay off Johnson. And costs alone ran them more than a million.

And what about the Coughlin case?

After paying Anthony $21,000 in fees and on the first day of trial, the Jehovah's Witnesses opted to settle too. They cut a check to the plaintiff for more than $1.5 million dollars. This was historically the largest settlement ever paid by the organization, which has been around for more than a century.

It seems Dr. Anthony doesn't have a very good track record in the recent legal cases he has consulted on.

Perhaps Anthony himself explained this best during his deposition when he said, "It is the nature of pseudo-science to pretend to certainty in interpreting situations where such certainty cannot possibly be based upon scientific knowledge. Such false claims of certain knowledge in the absence of a clear factual foundation for that knowledge are more characteristic of totalistic ideology than of genuine science."

Indeed. So who really has a "totalistic personality" after all?

Dick Anthony seems not only a "pretend[er]," but as can be seen through the Coughlin case, he actually offers no directly applicable "scientific knowledge" or "clear factual foundation" to form his opinions.

Instead of applying medical facts and/or "genuine science" to resolve legal problems, this "forensic psychologist" seems to offer only "pseudo-science," in an effort to please the "nontraditional religions," who are paying clients and represent his predominant source of income.

Despite Anthony's repeated failures he is still being paid $3,500 per day, which is not bad, or is it?

Note: Copies of the Dick Anthony deposition are available for an $18.00 tax-deductible donation to The Cult Education Institute.