Brave victim, Katie Roberts tells The Roys Report of her abuse at the hands of Dr. Art Azurdia, whose reputation appears to be intact, despite what’s happened, and who is not only returning to the ministry but being given platforms elsewhere.

My abuser is returning to Ministry

Article by Julie Childs Heyl in VeryWellMind, a US publication, offering useful information on spotting the signs of religious abuse: Religious Abuse: Spotting the Signs and How to Cope

Article by Diana R. Garland, School of Social Work, Baylor University:

What is Clergy Sexual Abuse?

A clear article explaining the origins of the words sect and cult, and in a non-critical, noon ‘tabloid’ way, explaining the difference between the two:

Short Notes, SociologyGroup.com: Differences between sect and cult

In summary, sects are a part of all religions - branches of them.

For example, Hinduism is divided into Vaishnava and Shaiva sects; Christianity is divided into Baptists and Lutherans; Islam is divided into Sunni and Shia sects.

Note that below is a short focus on some religious cults, a growing resource.

At CAAGe we haven’t included a separate section on New Religious Movements (NRMs) as a separate category - yet - in our work here on Cult and Religious Abuse.

But with the existence of mainstream religious movements like The Latterday Saint Movement, it’s important for us to make a distinction.

Sociology.com New Religious Movement: Meaning and Characteristics

Penn Today: Is it a cult or a New Religious Movement?

In summary, NRMs are "those religious groups that have been found, from the perspective of the dominant religious community (and in the West that is almost always a form of Christianity), to be not just different, but unacceptably different.”

We are, however, including them in religions rather than cults, viewing them as more akin to sects. This is however, simply for organisational reasons rather than a value judgement.

Despite it’s ‘charity’ sounding name, it is worth knowing the following, quoted from Wikipedia:

The Cult Awareness Network (CAN) was an anti-cult organization that provided information on groups that it considered to be cults, as well as support and referrals to deprogrammers.

It was founded in the wake of the 1978 cult mass murder/suicide at Jonestown, Guyana.

After CAN lost a lawsuit and filed for bankruptcy in 1996, Scientologists acquired CAN's name, phone numbers, assets, files and records, and reopened the organisation under the name New Cult Awareness Network.