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John Gordon Clark

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John Gordon Clark
Born1926 (1926)
United States
Died1999 (aged 72–73)
Massachusetts
Alma materHarvard Medical School, M.D.
Macalester College, B.S.
Known forresearch on cults
AwardsPsychiatrist of the Year, Psychiatric Times, 1991
Scientific career
Fieldspsychiatry
InstitutionsHarvard University

John 'Jack' Gordon Clark (1926–1999) was a Harvard psychiatrist known for his research on the alleged damaging effects of cults.[1]

Academic career

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Clark was a faculty member at the Harvard Medical School and was part of the staff at McLean Hospital.[2]

Clark was a preeminent researcher on the harm of cults[3] and became the leading figure in public opposition to cults in the 1970s.[4] He studied groups like the Unification Church, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and the Church of Scientology.[5] He founded the Boston Personal Development Institute, which treated current and former cult members.[6] He proposed that cult recruitment was capable of manipulating psychologically healthy individuals, and did not solely target mentally or emotionally conflicted people.[7]

Clark developed a criterion of nine features common to cults: a ruling leader who claims unique abilities and responsibilities, absolutist belief systems, totalitarian management, disregard for secular law, disregard for human rights and personalities, control and ritualization over sexual intimacy, conformity, a focus on money-gathering or providing labor for the group, and methodical recruitment and retention systems.[8]

Clark was an expert witness in a legal case where a man attempted to place his adult son under protective guardianship, alleging that his son had been brainwashed by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.[9] He was the target of harassment from the Church of Scientology after he testified against it to the Vermont legislature in 1976.[5] The organization filed two lawsuits against him, which were both dismissed. In 1985, Clark sued L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, for conspiring to "destroy" and harass him.[10] The suit was settled out of court in 1988 for an undisclosed amount of money. As part of the settlement, Clark agreed to stop speaking about the organization.[5]

The Psychiatric Times named him 1991 psychiatrist of the year,[7] describing him as "a quiet, courageous man of conviction, who was fighting an all-too-lonely and unappreciated battle against well-financed, ruthless organizations."

Works

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  • Clark, John G. Cults. Journal of the American Medical Association. 242, 279–281. 1979
  • Clark, John G.: On the further study of destructive cultism. In Halperin (ed.), 363–368

References

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  1. ^ Long, Tom (October 9, 1999). "Dr. John Clark, 73, Psychiatrist was authority on danger of cults". The Boston Globe – via ProQuest.
  2. ^ "Dr. John Clark, 73, Expert on Manipulation by Cults". Chicago Tribune. October 11, 1999. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  3. ^ Fisher, Barry A. (January 1991). "Devotion, Damages and Deprogrammers: Strategies and Counterstrategies in the Cult Wars". Journal of Law and Religion. 9 (1): 151–177. doi:10.2307/1051111. ISSN 0748-0814.
  4. ^ Ashcraft, William M.; Gallagher, Eugene V. (October 30, 2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America: [5 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-313-05078-7.
  5. ^ a b c "John Clark, 73, Psychiatrist Who Studied Sects (Published 1999)". New York Times. October 18, 1999. Archived from the original on January 25, 2025. Retrieved December 24, 2025. The Church of Scientology objected strongly to Clark's assertions, and the church and Clark battled in court. Clark said the church had engaged in a campaign of harassment against him. In 1988, he settled with the church and received an undisclosed amount of money, but agreed never to discuss the group publicly again.
  6. ^ "The Psychology of the Cult Experience". March 15, 1982. Archived from the original on November 8, 2025. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Commentary: Heeding anti-cult warnings". RNS. January 1, 1999. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  8. ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, The (July 18, 1985). "Experts draw distinctions between cults, religions (part 18 of 20)". oregonlive. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  9. ^ Schumaker, John F. (October 15, 1992). Religion and Mental Health. Oxford University Press. pp. 235–241. ISBN 978-0-19-536149-0.
  10. ^ "John G. Clark, 73, Authority on Danger of Cults". Sun Sentinel. October 14, 1999. Retrieved December 24, 2025.