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Info-Cult, also known as Info-Secte, is a non-profit group that offers information to the Canadian public about religious cults and related topics. From its office in 
Info-Cult studies marginal religious groups and their leaders. They strive to understand the motivation of people who join a cult, in order to help them when they try to pull away from those controlling influences, or to help people close to them understand what is going on. Some of the 1,000 people who contact Info-Cult each year are worried about family members who are in contact with groups they' are not familiar with; others call to get information about conspiracy theories or scams. The group believes sectarian activity has increased significantly since 1980.
They shy away from the concept of "
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, it also provides support to people who were victimized as members of a sect.
The group was founded by Mike Kropveld, who is still its Executive Director. In 1977, Kropveld was involved with journalist Josh Freed
Josh Freed is a Canadian writer, director and actor.
He has won two Chris Awards for Best North American Current Affairs Documentary. In Canada, Freed has been nominated for three Gemini Awards, three Writers Guild of Canada Awards and a Genie Aw ...
and others in rescuing a friend who got involved with Sun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon (; born Yong Myung Moon; 6 January 1920 – 3 September 2012) was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the Unif ...
’s Unification Church
The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Spi ...
. Freed wrote a series of six news reports for the ''Montreal Star
''The Montreal Star'' was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike.
It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950s and remained the dominan ...
'' about the intervention, then a book (''Moonwebs: Journey into the Mind of a Cult''). Director Ralph L. Thomas subsequently made the story into the award-winning film ''Ticket to Heaven
''Ticket to Heaven'' is a 1981 Canadian drama film directed by Ralph L. Thomas and starring Nick Mancuso, Saul Rubinek, Meg Foster, Kim Cattrall, and R.H. Thomson. The plot concerns the recruiting of a man into a group portrayed to be a religious ...
''. Faced with the large number of requests for information from the public generated by Freed's work, Kropveld and some friends established the Cult Information Centre. The Centre became the Cult Project under Montreal's B'Nai B'rith Hillel Foundation, then in 1990 it became a standalone group, adopting its current name.
Info-Cult studies marginal religious groups and their leaders. They strive to understand the motivation of people who join a cult, in order to help them when they try to pull away from those controlling influences, or to help people close to them understand what is going on. Some of the 1,000 people who contact Info-Cult each year are worried about family members who are in contact with groups they' are not familiar with; others call to get information about conspiracy theories or scams. The group believes sectarian activity has increased significantly since 1980.
They shy away from the concept of "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 ...
" sometimes associated with cults, attributing the power sects have over some in specific periods of their life to socialization and influence. Kropveld insists that public information is the best course of action to prevent cults from harming people and he advises prudence: "Most people have this strong-headedness, but it's really their intellect that they're defending. Cults appeal to your emotions, and the reality is that everyone goes through emotional ordeals, regardless of your intellect."
Info-Cult's Board of Directors is chaired by Carolle Tremblay, a lawyer with expertise in legal issues related to religious groups. The organization is funded by a grant from the provincial government and private donations.
References
External links
* {{Official website, https://www.infosecte.org Non-profit organizations based in Quebec 1980 establishments in Quebec