Janja Lalich


Janja Lalich is an American author and professor of sociology who focuses on cult groups, specializing in charismatic authority, power relations, ideology, coercion and social control.

Early life and education

Lalich has a Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California. Beginning in the 1970s, Lalich spent around ten years as part of a radical Marxist-Leninist group, the Democratic Workers Party in California. She later came to believe the group was itself a cult. Lalich recalls that during her time in the group she stored questions and doubts in the back of her mind, unable to express them. Lalich became a high-ranking member of the group working long hours with little contact outside the immediate members. She claims that ex-members were harassed and attacked and that she felt increasingly threatened. Eventually, the group dissolved and she was able to leave.

Occupation

She is recently retired professor in the sociology department of California State University, Chico and has contributed several articles to academic journals on the subject of cults and religions. After her experiences in a radical political group that she herself calls a cult, she founded the Center for Research on Influence and Control. In her work, she describes the main descriptors of a "totalistic" control group, or cult: "They “espouse an all-encompassing belief system,” “exhibit excessive devotion to the leader,” “avoid criticism of the group and its leader,” and “feel disdain for non-members.”"
Lalich went onto write several books on the subject of cults and religions, including her best known book, Bounded Choice based on the Heaven's Gate cult.
As a recognised authority in the field, Lalich has also appeared in several court cases as an expert witness on coercive or undue influence.
In 2007, Lalich was awarded the Margaret L. Singer Award: "for advancing the understanding of coercive persuasion, undue influence, and psychological manipulation" by the International Cultic Studies Association.

Books