Kontakt 2007, 9(1):141-146 | DOI: 10.32725/kont.2007.017

Children in sectsHealth and Social Sciences

Dagmar Roučková^*, Josef Dolista

Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích, Zdravotně sociální fakulta, katedra filozofie a etiky v pomáhajících profesích

There may be very diverse reasons for joining sects. Regardless of the motivation for doing so, people make this decision based on their free will. However, this does not apply to children born within the sect, who are submitted to the life order of the religious community. In the present contribution, the author considered by way of particular examples of certain new alternative religions, what can be the negative effects involving children living in this environment. In this respect, it is necessary to take into account a considerable differentiation between particular alternative religious communities. We can encounter very different attitudes. The purpose is not to present a generalizing consideration, but only draw attention to undesirable behaviour of members of certain sects in direction of children. In the introduction, the author mentions problematic delimitation of the concept of sects. She furthermore considers certain characters of the behaviour of sects. They can be sometimes very problematic, because in handling with the members, undesirable effects can be manifested, which disturb the family life. The life in certain alternative religions can be characterized by different forms of the deprivation. They can all have negative impacts on the future child development. Psychical deprivation is characterized by offences, humiliation, etc. Physical deprivation means different types of hurting, which can result in the injury, damage or even death of the child. In sects, we can find insufficient supplying with food and preventing the medical care, excess cruelty; in sects of David Berg, Got Children with the incest. In certain alternative religious groups, social deprivation can be observed. This means that the parents do not sent their children to the school, they do not allow them to contact children of the same age; the children live isolated from the surrounding world and thus, one of conditions of the development of the child personality is not adhered to.

Keywords: Children; sect; alternative religion; deprivation; negligence

Received: March 13, 2007; Accepted: April 12, 2007; Published: June 15, 2007  Show citation