Ian Haworth (born c. 1947) is an English anti-cultist. Originally from

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, he moved to and lived in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, in late 1970s and early-to-mid 1980s.James Gray, "Cult Following," ''New Humanist'', 30 April 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2022. https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/2790/cult-following."Who Represents CIC?,"

Cult Information Centre The Cult Information Centre (CIC) is a British anti-cult organisation that provides information and advice to members of what the organisation terms cults, as well as their affected family members, members of the press and scholarly researchers. ...

. Retrieved 7 June 2022. https://cultinformation.org.uk/mobile/about-us/who-represents-cic/. He returned to England in 1987 and founded the

, a major anti-cult organization, of which he is "General Secretary." He also founded the Council on Mind Abuse (COMA) in 1979 in Toronto.Elisabeth Arweck, ''Researching New Religious Movements: Responses and Redefinitions'' (London and New York:

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, 2006), 194n22.

Council on Mind Abuse (COMA)

Haworth and others founded COMA after his interactions with a group he labels a "

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

." Haworth in the 1970s joined a group, the PSI Mind Development Institute, in Toronto in order to

quit smoking Smoking cessation, usually called quitting smoking or stopping smoking, is the process of discontinuing tobacco smoking. Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, which is addictive and can cause dependence. As a result, nicotine withdrawal often makes ...

."COMA helps sufferers of mind abuse,"
''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'', 1 August 1979. He claimed he was hypnotized at least 16 times in the four-day course that he attended. According to '' The People'', Haworth was only a member of PSI for only three weeks, and he realized that PSI was a

after reading a Canadian newspaper article about the group. Upon finding others with similar experiences, they founded COMA. In addition to cults and

new religious movements A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or th ...

, COMA was active in the North American satanism scare of the 1980s and 1990s. COMA's activities primarily were answer phone calls of distressed relatives and loved ones of people who joined new religious movements and left home. In addition, COMA hosted presentations and were consulted by police, courts, social organizations, journalists, etc. Haworth told the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' that at its founding, COMA received about 50–80 calls or letters asking for information about new religious movements, and COMA gave about 1,000 presentations throughout

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

about cults."Mind Abuse," ''Toronto Star'', 6 June 1987. In 1992, COMA's then director, psychologist Robert Tucker, told the ''Toronto Star'' that they receive about 100–150 calls per week.Caroline Mallan, "Legal bills bankrupt cult watchdog," ''

'', 22 February 1992. COMA, under Haworth, operated out of a secret location, so there was no office or facility in which people could receive help. Almost immediately after its founding, various groups attacked COMA in order to discredit it. For example, in 1980, a false newsletter was circulated around

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

ostensibly written by COMA staff.Steve Arnold
"Cults are not a fad—COMA spokesman says,"
''

The Canadian Champion ''The Canadian Champion'' is a locally distributed community newspaper in Milton, Ontario, Canada. It is published biweekly by Metroland Media Group Metroland Media Group (also known as Community Brands) is a Canadian mass media publisher and d ...

'' (

Milton, Ontario Milton (Canada 2016 Census, 2016 census population 110,128) is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Between 2001 and 2011, Milton was the fastest growing mun ...

), 27 August 1980. Dr. B. W. Shaw, a COMA

spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

, told ''

'' that it was likely written by "cult organizations," specifically to discredit COMA as a trustworthy organization. In 1987, Haworth left COMA and Canada to form the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Robert Tucker took over as director in July 1987. Tucker moved COMA to a different office in Toronto in August 1989, and its location was publicized. Tucker attempted to increase the funding COMA received in donations, service and consulting fees, and presentations in 1991; he told the ''Toronto Star'' in June 1991 that without an extra 20,000

CAD Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...

in revenue, COMA would have to close in September 1991. In 1992, COMA went bankrupt due to two new religious movements, the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a scientology as a business, bu ...

and Erhard Seminars Training (EST), suing for

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

in suits that spanned about five years. However, Tucker believes there were other causes to its closure as well. He writes in the ''Toronto Star'' that government inaction and hesitancy of donors contributed to its bankruptcy as well. COMA officially closed on 1 March 1992.

Cult Information Centre (CIC)

Upon arriving in Britain in 1987, Haworth founded the

.Elisabeth Arweck, ''Researching New Religious Movements: Responses and Redefinitions'' (London and New York: Routledge, 2006), 194n22. Like COMA, Haworth made the office location and identities of the trustees a secret to avoid harassment from

. CIC's website describes Haworth as having addressed 20,000 enquiries and delivered 1,200 talks on new religious movements."Who Represents CIC?,"

. Retrieved 7 June 2022. https://cultinformation.org.uk/mobile/about-us/who-represents-cic/. CIC works extensively with

educational institutions An educational institution is a place where people of different ages gain an education, including preschools, childcare, primary-elementary schools, secondary-high schools, and universities. They provide a large variety of learning environments an ...

, union organizations, and other organizations to disseminate information about new religious movements to students, whom Haworth believes are particularly vulnerable to

brainwashing Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion, thought control, thought reform, and forced re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques. Brainwash ...

techniques. CIC registered as a charity (No. 1012914) through the

Charity Commission for England and Wales , type = Non-ministerial government department , seal = , seal_caption = , logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , d ...

in 1992, which has maintained up to the present. However, the Charity Commission has questioned its charitable status due to the complaints of new religious movements, some of which also have charitable status. CIC claims to be the first organization with charity status to research new religious movements and expose their "harmful methods.""Cult Information Centre," CIC. Retrieved 7 June 2022. https://cultinformation.org.uk/.

Litigation Issues

In 1982, Haworth made some remarks about Erhard Seminars Training at the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

, which were published in a local newspaper. David Pallister, "Libel award of Pounds 20,000 bankrupts cult watcher," ''The Guardian'' (London), 3 August 1996.David Pallister, "Bankruptcy for Charity Chief," ''The Guardian'' (London), 18 April 1996. A libel action was heard against him in his absence in a Canadian court in 1989, after he returned to Britain in 1987. In 1990, Haworth was informed of the libel action with a damages award of 5,000

GBP Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...

against him with 14% interest. The Canadian court awarded Werner Erhard & Associates International, which is a corporatized form of EST—10,000 CAD plus costs at Haworth, an associate (Robert Sutherland), and the local newspaper's expense.Peter Victor
"Anti-cult groups riven by schism and bitter feuds; Many despise rivals more than sects they monitor,"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' (London), 9 October 1994. Werner Erhard & Associates, which have offices in

, brought the case to the High Court where they were awarded 20,423 GBP in damages at Haworth's expense. Haworth filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in April 1996, which did not infringe on his anti-cult work. The local newspaper's case was dropped after it published a statement written by EST, and Sutherland's case was dropped after making an apology and paying 100 GBP. Allegedly, Haworth—having learned of the libel action against him—fled to Britain in 1987 in order to avoid paying damages. However, no legal action was ever taken against him for this allegation.

Notes

:There is another anti-cult organization in the United States and the United Kingdom named COMA and should not be confused with this Canadian one.

References

External links

Cult Information CentrePSI Seminars
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haworth, Ian Anti-cult movement 1940s births People from Lancashire (before 1974) Activists from Toronto Critics of new religious movements Anti-smoking activists Living people