Cult Control in Christianity? Abuse, Purity Culture & Power Exposed
April 6, 2026
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Cult Expert Dr Steven Hassan Episodes Around April 6, 2026
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54:20Now PlayingCult Control in Christianity? Abuse, Purity Culture & Power Exposed
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as posted by the channelExposing abuse, mind control, and coercive control in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Dr. Steven Hassan interviews survivor-advocate Melissa Duge Spiers on religious trauma, purity culture, sexual abuse cover-ups, and cult dynamics.
In this powerful episode of Cults, Culture, and Coercion, Steven Hassan speaks with writer and advocate Melissa Duge Spiers about her experience growing up in the Seventh-day Adventist Church and her journey of deconstruction, healing, and activism.
Melissa shares her firsthand account of being raised in a multi-generational Adventist family, where strict behavioral control, purity culture, and fear-based mind control shaped daily life. She explains how leaving the church at 18 marked the beginning of a much longer process of understanding the psychological impact of coercive control and religious indoctrination.
The conversation takes a deeply personal turn as Melissa discusses discovering that her father, who was once a respected pastor, had been a serial child predator within the church. She describes how the institution allegedly enabled abuse, protected perpetrators, and blamed victims, reflecting broader systemic issues within high-control religious groups.
Dr. Hassan and Melissa explore:
- The role of purity culture and sexual repression in restrictive religions and cultures of control
- How authoritarian religious environments discourage independent thinking
- The long-term psychological effects of coercion, fear, and cult indoctrination
- Patterns of institutional cover-ups and victim-blaming
- The emerging mass lawsuit involving abuse within the Adventist system
Melissa also discusses her advocacy work supporting survivors, collecting testimonies of abuse, and helping connect victims to legal resources. Her story highlights how coercive systems can perpetuate harm across generations and how speaking out can begin to break that cycle.
This episode is essential for understanding cult dynamics, mind control, and the real-world consequences of unchecked authority within religious institutions.
📚 ReadHoly DisobedienceSex, Sin, and Secrets in the Biggest Church No One Knows
And follow Melissa on Instagram
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#cultscultureandcoercion #StevenHassan #ReligiousTrauma #CultSurvivor #UndueInfluence #MindControl #SeventhDayAdventist #CoerciveControl #ReligiousAbuse #PurityCulture #CultRecovery #Exvangelical #SpiritualAbuse #Authoritarianism #TraumaHealing
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