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== Litigation ==
== Litigation ==
Landmark has faced accusations of being a [[cult]],{{r | Hill_2003 }} and has threatened and pursued lawsuits against people who have called or labeled it such, including individuals ([[clinical psychology]] professor [[Margaret Singer]]), magazines ([[Elle (magazine)|''Elle'']], [[Self (magazine)|''Self'']], and ''Now'',) and organizations ([[Cult Awareness Network]]).{{ r | CSIndy_2019-07-24 }}<ref name=PNT_2000-10-19>{{cite news |last1=Scioscia |first1=Amanda |date=October 19, 2000 |title=Drive-thru Deliverance |url=https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/drive-thru-deliverance-6419949 |work=[[Phoenix New Times]] |location= Phoenix, Arizona |publisher= Phoenix New Times, LLC |access-date= December 19, 2020 |quote= [...] Landmark vigorously disputes the cult accusation and freely threatens or pursues lawsuits against those who call it one ... Landmark also boasts numerous letters from experts stating that it does not meet cult criteria. One such letter comes from Dr. Margaret Singer, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, and an expert on cults. Landmark sued Singer after she mentioned the company in her book Cults in Our Midst. Singer says she never called it a cult in her book, but simply mentioned it as a controversial New Age training course. In resolution of the suit, Singer gave a sworn statement that the organization is not a cult or sect. She says this doesn't mean she supports Landmark. "I do not endorse them -- never have," she says. Singer, who is in her 70s, says she can't comment on whether Landmark uses coercive persuasion because "the SOBs have already sued me once." "I'm afraid to tell you what I really think about them because I'm not covered by any lawyers like I was when I wrote my book." }}</ref>
Landmark has threatened or pursued lawsuits against individuals ([[clinical psychology]] professor [[Margaret Singer]]), magazines ([[Elle (magazine)|''Elle'']], [[Self (magazine)|''Self'']], and ''Now'',) and organizations ([[Cult Awareness Network]]).{{ r | CSIndy_2019-07-24 }}<ref name=PNT_2000-10-19>{{cite news |last1=Scioscia |first1=Amanda |date=October 19, 2000 |title=Drive-thru Deliverance |url=https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/drive-thru-deliverance-6419949 |work=[[Phoenix New Times]] |location= Phoenix, Arizona |publisher= Phoenix New Times, LLC |access-date= December 19, 2020 |quote= [...] ... Landmark also boasts numerous letters from experts stating that it does not meet cult criteria. One such letter comes from Dr. Margaret Singer, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, and an expert on cults. Landmark sued Singer after she mentioned the company in her book Cults in Our Midst. Singer says she never called it a cult in her book, but simply mentioned it as a controversial New Age training course. In resolution of the suit, Singer gave a sworn statement that the organization is not a cult or sect. She says this doesn't mean she supports Landmark. "I do not endorse them -- never have," she says. Singer, who is in her 70s, says she can't comment on whether Landmark uses coercive persuasion because "the SOBs have already sued me once." "I'm afraid to tell you what I really think about them because I'm not covered by any lawyers like I was when I wrote my book." }}</ref> who had described it as a "cult"


After Singer wrote a book, ''[[Cults in Our Midst]]'', in which she mentioned Landmark as a controversial [[New Age]] training course, Landmark sued Singer.{{ r | PNT_2000-10-19 }} The suit was resolved when Singer agreed to provide a sworn statement that Landmark is not a cult or sect.{{ r | PNT_2000-10-19 }} Singer stated that she would not recommend the group to anyone, and would not comment on whether Landmark used coercive persuasion for fear of legal recrimination from Landmark.{{ r | PNT_2000-10-19 }} In 1997, Landmark sued Cult Awareness Network (CAN) after they made statements alleging or implying that Landmark was a cult.{{ r | PNT_2000-10-19 }} That suit was resolved when CAN stated that it has no evidence that Landmark is a cult.{{ r | PNT_2000-10-19 }}
After Singer wrote a book, ''[[Cults in Our Midst]]'', in which she mentioned Landmark as a controversial [[New Age]] training course, Landmark sued Singer.{{ r | PNT_2000-10-19 }} The suit was resolved when Singer agreed to provide a sworn statement that Landmark is not a cult or sect.{{ r | PNT_2000-10-19 }} Singer stated that she would not recommend the group to anyone, and would not comment on whether Landmark used coercive persuasion for fear of legal recrimination from Landmark.{{ r | PNT_2000-10-19 }} In 1997, Landmark sued Cult Awareness Network (CAN) after they made statements alleging or implying that Landmark was a cult.{{ r | PNT_2000-10-19 }} That suit was resolved when CAN stated that it has no evidence that Landmark is a cult.{{ r | PNT_2000-10-19 }}


In June 2004, Landmark filed a 1 million dollar lawsuit against [[Rick Alan Ross]]'s Cult Education Institute, alleging that postings on the institute's websites which characterized Landmark as a cultish organization that brainwashed their clients damaged Landmark's product.<ref name="Toutant">{{cite news |last1=Toutant |first1=Charles |title=Suits Against Anti-Cult Blogger Provide Test for Online Speech |url=https://www.law.com/almID/900005547114/ |access-date=October 26, 2023 |work=New Jersey Law Journal |publisher=Law.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006121535/http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1136838328818 |archive-date=October 6, 2006 |language=en|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}}</ref> In December 2005, Landmark filed to dismiss its own lawsuit [[Prejudice (legal term)#Civil law|with prejudice]], purportedly on the grounds of a material change in case law after the publication of an opinion in another case, ''Donato v. Moldow'', regarding the [[Communications Decency Act]] of 1996, even though Ross wanted to continue the case in order to further investigate Landmark's educational materials and history of suing critics.<ref name="Toutant" /> Ross stated that he does not see Landmark as a cult because they have no individual leader, but he considers them harmful because subjects are harassed and intimidated, causing potentially unsafe levels of stress.<ref name="Toutant" />
In June 2004, Landmark filed a 1 million dollar lawsuit against [[Rick Alan Ross]]'s Cult Education Institute, alleging that postings on the institute's websites which characterized Landmark as a cultish organization that brainwashed their clients damaged Landmark's product.<ref name="Toutant">{{cite news |last1=Toutant |first1=Charles |title=Suits Against Anti-Cult Blogger Provide Test for Online Speech |url=https://www.law.com/almID/900005547114/ |access-date=October 26, 2023 |work=New Jersey Law Journal |publisher=Law.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006121535/http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1136838328818 |archive-date=October 6, 2006 |language=en|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}}</ref> In December 2005, Landmark filed to dismiss its own lawsuit [[Prejudice (legal term)#Civil law|with prejudice]], because of a material change in case law after the publication of an opinion in another case, ''Donato v. Moldow'', regarding the [[Communications Decency Act]] of 1996. Ross claimed that he had wanted to continue the case, as he expected that it might enable him to further investigate Landmark's educational materials and history of suing critics.<ref name="Toutant" /> Ross stated that he does not see Landmark as a cult because they have no individual leader, but he considers them harmful because he believed that subjects are harassed and intimidated, causing potentially unsafe levels of stress.<ref name="Toutant" />


== Reception ==
== Reception ==

Revision as of 16:15, 17 November 2023

Not to be confused with Landmark School or Landmark College.

Landmark Worldwide LLC
Company typePrivately held company LLC
IndustryPersonal development
FoundedJanuary 16, 1991 (1991-01-16)
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California
Key people
Harry Rosenberg, CEO[1]: 1 [2]
ProductsThe Landmark Forum, associated coursework
Revenue$100 million (2016)[3]
$5 million (2016)[3]
Number of employees
500 employees and 7,500 volunteers[3][4]
Subsidiaries
  • The Vanto Group
  • Tekniko Licensing Corporation
Websitelandmarkworldwide.com

Landmark Worldwide (known as Landmark Education before 2013), or simply Landmark, is an American employee-owned for-profit company that offers personal-development programs, with their most-known being the Landmark Forum. Werner Erhard, who created and ran the est (Erhard Seminars Training) system from 1971 to 1984, modified est in 1985 and renamed it the Landmark Forum. In 1991 he sold the company to some of his employees, who incorporated it as Landmark Education Corporation, which was restructured into Landmark Education LLC in 2003, and then renamed Landmark Worldwide LLC in 2013. Its subsidiary, the Vanto Group, markets and delivers training and consulting to organizations.

History

In 1991, Werner Erhard (creator of the est training which ran from 1971 to 1984) sold the intellectual property rights to his seminar known as 'The Forum' to some of his employees, (including his brother Harry Rosenberg who became CEO) who incorporated into "Landmark Education Corporation."[1]: 1 [3][2][5] The new company offered similar courses and employed many of the same staff.[6][7] The Forum was reduced in length from four days to three, renamed 'The Landmark Forum', and its price reduced to about 50% of the cost of the est courses.[8] In 2001, Rosenberg stated that Landmark had completely purchased the licenses to all of Erhard's concepts and all divisions of the company.[4]

In 2003 Landmark Education Corporation was re-structured into Landmark Education LLC, and in 2013 it was renamed Landmark Worldwide LLC.[9][10] Landmark Worldwide states that it operates as an employee-owned for-profit private company. According to Landmark's website, its employees own all the stock of the corporation, with no individual holding more than 3%. The company states that it invests its surpluses into making its programs, initiatives, and services more widely available.[11]

Operations

Some of Landmark's courses require participants to start a community project, and those courses are structured to support them in the design and implementation of such projects.[12][13][14]

The company has reported as of 2019 that more than 2.4 million people had participated in its programs since 1991.[2] Landmark holds seminars in approximately 125 locations in more than 21 countries.[3][15] Landmark's revenue surpassed $100 million in 2018, with profits of about $5 million.[2][3] The organization has 500 employees, and about 7,500 volunteers, an unusually large number of volunteers for a for-profit company.[2][4] Their use of volunteers prompted three separate investigations by the United States Department of Labor, which concluded without requiring Landmark to make any changes to their practices.[2]: 1 

Business consulting

Vanto Group, Inc., founded in 1993 as Landmark Education Business Development (LEBD), a wholly owned subsidiary, uses the Landmark methodology to provide consulting services to businesses and to other organizations. The University of Southern California (USC) Marshall School of Business carried out a case study in 1998 into the work of LEBD with BHP New Zealand Steel. The report concluded that the set of interventions in the organization produced a 50% improvement in safety, a 15% to 20% reduction in key benchmark costs, a 50% increase in return on capital, and a 20% increase in raw steel production.[16] LEBD became the Vanto Group in 2008.[17]

Companies such as Panda Express, and previously Lululemon Athletica, have paid for and encourage employees to take part in the Landmark Forum.[18][19][20]

Landmark Forum

Landmark's entry course, the Landmark Forum, is the default first course for new participants and provides the foundation of all Landmark's other programs. The Landmark Forum takes place over three consecutive days plus an evening session (generally Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday evening.)[21] Forum attendance varies in size between 75 and 250 people.[22] Landmark arranges the course as a dialogue in which the Forum leader presents a series of proposals and encourages participants to take the floor to relate how those ideas apply to their own individual lives.[23] Course leaders set up rules at the beginning of the program and Landmark strongly encourages participants not to miss any part of the program.[24] Attendees are also urged to be "coachable" (open minded to the course's concepts) and not just be observers during the course.[8][24][25]

Various ideas are proposed for consideration and explored during the course. These include:

  • There can be a big difference between the facts and events in a person's life and the meaning, interpretation, and significance the person gives to or makes up about those events.[23][26]
  • A person's behavior is often governed by a perceived need to look good and be right, and people are often unaware of how their behaviours are shaped by these needs.[24][26]
  • People often pursue an "imaginary 'someday' of satisfaction".[22]
  • People create meaning for themselves since "there is none inherent in the world".[22]
  • When people have persistent complaints that are accompanied by unproductive fixed ways of being and acting,[27] this can be "transformed" by a creative act of generating entirely new ways of being and acting, rather than by trying to change one's self in comparison to the past.[22]

During the course, participants are encouraged to call friends and family members with whom they feel they have unresolved tensions,[24] and to take responsibility for their own behavior.[28]

The evening session follows closely on the three consecutive days of the course and completes the Landmark Forum. During this final session, the participants share information about their results and bring guests to learn about the Forum.[27]

Litigation

Landmark has threatened or pursued lawsuits against individuals (clinical psychology professor Margaret Singer), magazines (Elle, Self, and Now,) and organizations (Cult Awareness Network).[2][29] who had described it as a "cult"

After Singer wrote a book, Cults in Our Midst, in which she mentioned Landmark as a controversial New Age training course, Landmark sued Singer.[29] The suit was resolved when Singer agreed to provide a sworn statement that Landmark is not a cult or sect.[29] Singer stated that she would not recommend the group to anyone, and would not comment on whether Landmark used coercive persuasion for fear of legal recrimination from Landmark.[29] In 1997, Landmark sued Cult Awareness Network (CAN) after they made statements alleging or implying that Landmark was a cult.[29] That suit was resolved when CAN stated that it has no evidence that Landmark is a cult.[29]

In June 2004, Landmark filed a 1 million dollar lawsuit against Rick Alan Ross's Cult Education Institute, alleging that postings on the institute's websites which characterized Landmark as a cultish organization that brainwashed their clients damaged Landmark's product.[30] In December 2005, Landmark filed to dismiss its own lawsuit with prejudice, because of a material change in case law after the publication of an opinion in another case, Donato v. Moldow, regarding the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Ross claimed that he had wanted to continue the case, as he expected that it might enable him to further investigate Landmark's educational materials and history of suing critics.[30] Ross stated that he does not see Landmark as a cult because they have no individual leader, but he considers them harmful because he believed that subjects are harassed and intimidated, causing potentially unsafe levels of stress.[30]

Reception

Scholars

Some scholars have categorized Landmark or its predecessor organizations as a "self religion" or a (broadly defined) "new religious movement" (NRM).[31][32][33] [34][35][36][37][38] Others, such as George Chryssides,[39] question some aspects of these characterizations.[40][41][42][43] Landmark maintains that it is an educational foundation and denies being a religious movement.[44]

Large Group Awareness Training study

Main article: Evaluating a Large Group Awareness Training

In 1985, a group of psychology researchers studied participants of the Forum, (a Large Group Awareness Training course) and compared their outcomes to a control group of non attendees. They published their results in the book Evaluating a Large Group Awareness Training. They found that participants had a short-term increase in internal locus of control (the belief that one can control their life), but found no long-term positive or negative effects on individuals' self-perception.

Reporters

In his review of the Landmark Forum, New York Times reporter Henry Alford wrote that he "resented the pressure" placed on him during a session, but also noted that "two months after the Forum, I'd rate my success at 84 percent."[45] Time reporter Nathan Thornburgh, in his review of The Landmark Forum, said "At its heart, the course was a withering series of scripted reality checks meant to show us how we have created nearly everything we see as a problem" and "I benefited tremendously from the uncomfortable mirror the course had put in front of me."[46]

Amber Allinson, writing in The Mayfair Magazine describes Landmark's instructors as "enthusiastic and inspiring". Her review says that after doing The Landmark Forum, "Work worries, relationship dramas all seem more manageable", and that she "let go of almost three decades of hurt, anger and feelings of betrayal" towards her father.[26]

Journalist Amelia Hill with The Observer witnessed a Landmark Forum and concluded that, in her view, it is not religious or a cult. Hill wrote, "It is ... simple common sense delivered in an environment of startling intensity."[24] Karin Badt from The Huffington Post criticized the organisation's emphasis on "'spreading the word' of the Landmark forum as a sign of the participants' 'integrity'" in recounting her personal experience of an introductory "Landmark Forum" course, but noted, "at the end of the day, I found the Forum innocuous. No cult, no radical religion: an inspiring, entertaining introduction of good solid techniques of self-reflection, with an appropriate emphasis on action and transformation (not change)".[22]

Reporter Laura McClure with Mother Jones attended a three and a half-day forum, which she described as "My lost weekend with the trademark happy, bathroom-break hating, slightly spooky inheritors of est."[47] Heidi Beedle, writing for the Colorado Springs Independent in 2019 said that "The tangible benefits of Landmark’s courses may seem hard to pin down" though community projects do seem to be one, and "One thing is certain: Landmark is a program that is incredibly successful at making people feel good about Landmark."[2]

France 3 documentary

In 2004, the French channel France 3 aired a television documentary on Landmark in their investigative series Pièces à Conviction.[48] The episode, called "Voyage Au Pays des Nouveaux Gourous" ("Journey to the land of the new gurus") was highly critical of its subject.[49] Shot in large part with a hidden camera, it showed attendance at a Landmark course and a visit to Landmark offices.[50] In addition, the program included interviews with former course participants, anti-cultists, and commentators. Landmark left France following the airing of the episode and a subsequent site visit by labor inspectors that noted the activities of volunteers,[51] and sued Jean-Pierre Brard in 2004 following his appearance in the documentary.[52]

The episode was uploaded to a variety of websites, and in October 2006 Landmark issued subpoenas pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to Google Video, YouTube, and the Internet Archive demanding details of the identity of the person(s) who had uploaded those copies. These organizations challenged the subpoenas and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) became involved, planning to file a motion to quash Landmark's DMCA subpoena to Google Video.[53] Landmark eventually withdrew its subpoenas.[54][55]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Snider, Suzanne (May 1, 2003). "Est, Werner Erhard and The Corporatization of Self-Help". Believer Magazine. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Beedle, Heidi (July 24, 2019). "Landmark Worldwide, the arts community and the big, bizarre business of personal development". Colorado Springs Independent. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2020. Landmark, founded in 1991, has since trained millions worldwide. It's a for-profit company that surpassed $100 million in revenue in 2018 [...]. It is this rapid, often uncontextualized sea-change that friends and family see in Forum graduates that has led some to call Landmark a cult, a claim which Landmark has vigorously disputed in numerous libel cases against magazines like Self, Elle and Now, among others. On this point, at least, I agree with Landmark. Having thoroughly researched the company over the past month I have come to the conclusion that they definitely aren't a cult, despite the weird conversations you tend to have with Landmark advocates. For starters, they are a secular organization. And while Erhard gets his dues as the founder, he's not involved in Landmark's operations, thus it seems a stretch to think of him as the company's leader or guru. And there are other points.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Phillips, Caroline (March 1, 2017). "How an American motivational guru is inspiring British businesses". Spear's magazine. Retrieved June 6, 2018. Names like Nasa, Apple, Microsoft and GlaxoSmithKline that have benefited from its methodology. And yet others who claim that it's a cult, brainwashing, and evangelical ... More than 2.4 million people have done it in 21 countries. ... Many global brands send staff on Landmark's seminars, and others benefit from its teachings through its corporate arm, Vanto Group. 'We customise for the company using the overall methodology from Landmark,' says Steve Zaffron, Vanto Group CEO, 'along with corporate consulting methodology to elevate profitability, market share, and so forth.' ...In 2016 its revenues are projected to be just under $100 million. With just 500 employees (plus armies of volunteers) and a profit of approximately $5 million
  4. ^ a b c Grigoriadis, Vanessa (July 9, 2001). "Pay Money, Be Happy". New York. Some Landmark graduates also volunteer for the company, which has approximately 500 employees and a reported 7,500 unpaid "assistants" (though Landmark puts this number much lower) who answer phones, sign up recruits, and cater to the Forum leaders. ... Though it was rumored that Erhard sold his system for $1, it was later revealed that he received an initial payment of $3 million in addition to an eighteen-year licensing fee that was not to exceed $15 million; Erhard kept the Mexican and Japanese branches of the operation. ... Last year, Landmark had revenues of $58 million, and Rosenberg says the company has bought outright Erhard's license and his rights to Japan and Mexico.
  5. ^ Pressman, Steven (1993). Outrageous Betrayal: The dark journey of Werner Erhard from est to exile. New York City: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-09296-2, p. 254. (Out of print).
  6. ^ Marshall 1997.
  7. ^ Pressman 1993, pp. 245–246, 254–255.
  8. ^ a b Faltermayer, Charlotte; Woodbury, Richard (March 16, 1998). "The Best of Est?". Time (magazine). Archived from the original on May 29, 2007. But outreach was clearly part of the agenda. Pupils were assigned to call or write people with whom they "want to make a breakthrough," thereby introducing others to Landmark. On graduation night participants were encouraged to bring guests, who were then led away to learn more and sign on. From Day 1, attendants were told that for a limited time, the Forum's tuition included a $95 follow-up, "The Forum in Action." The crowd was also repeatedly invited to sign up for the $700 "Advanced Course." Act now and get a $100 discount.
  9. ^ "Landmark Company History – Landmark Worldwide". www.landmarkworldwide.com.
  10. ^ "a Landmark press release". Archived from the original on April 28, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  11. ^ LandmarkWorldwide.com. Landmark Fact Sheet. Retrieved on October 22, 2008.
  12. ^ "Helping professionals take up community welfare projects". Chennai, India: Hindu Times. September 13, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  13. ^ "Charity walk to boost anti-suicide initiatives". Bay of Plenty Times. August 20, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2011. Irene has undertaken the charity event as part of her Landmark Education Self Expression and Leadership course. "I had to set up a community programme of my choice that would make a difference," Irene said.
  14. ^ "Cherish the mammary: Restaurants raise funds for breast cancer survivors". Philadelphia Daily News. July 31, 2008. Retrieved July 8, 2020. This fun idea was the brainchild of local waitress Caralea Arnold, who hopes that the one-day event will raise $5,000. She was inspired by a leadership course she recently took at Landmark Education (www. landmarkeducation. org), an inspirational online forum.
  15. ^ See:
  16. ^ Logan, David C. (1998). Transforming the Network of Conversations in BHP New Zealand Steel: Landmark Education Business Development's New Paradigm for Organizational Change (Case 1984-01). USC Marshall School of Business.
  17. ^ (February 1, 2008). "Landmark Education Business Development, LEBD, Changes Name to Vanto Group Archived 2009-04-08 at the Wayback Machine". Reuters. Retrieved on October 22, 2008.
  18. ^ Businessweek staff 2010.
  19. ^ Sacks 2009.
  20. ^ Rosman, Katherine (February 2, 2016). "Chip Wilson tries to reinvent himself after his Lululemon turmoil". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  21. ^ "The Landmark Forum - Personal Development Courses – Landmark Worldwide".
  22. ^ a b c d e Badt 2008.
  23. ^ a b Stassen 2008.
  24. ^ a b c d e Hill, Amelia (December 14, 2003). "I thought I'd be brainwashed. But how wrong could I be". The Observer. Since its creation in 1991, Landmark Education has been described variously as a cult, an exercise in brainwashing and a marketing trick cooked up by a conman to sap the vulnerable of their savings. ... Landmark has faced accusations of being a cult, but I saw nothing of that. Far from working to separate us from our families and friends, we were told there was no relationship too dead to be revived, no love too cold to be warmed.
  25. ^ McCrone 2008.
  26. ^ a b c Allinson, Amber (April 2014). "Mind over Matter". The Mayfair Magazine (U.K.). April 2014: 72–73.
  27. ^ a b See:
  28. ^ See:
  29. ^ a b c d e f Scioscia, Amanda (October 19, 2000). "Drive-thru Deliverance". Phoenix New Times. Phoenix, Arizona: Phoenix New Times, LLC. Retrieved December 19, 2020. [...] ... Landmark also boasts numerous letters from experts stating that it does not meet cult criteria. One such letter comes from Dr. Margaret Singer, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, and an expert on cults. Landmark sued Singer after she mentioned the company in her book Cults in Our Midst. Singer says she never called it a cult in her book, but simply mentioned it as a controversial New Age training course. In resolution of the suit, Singer gave a sworn statement that the organization is not a cult or sect. She says this doesn't mean she supports Landmark. "I do not endorse them -- never have," she says. Singer, who is in her 70s, says she can't comment on whether Landmark uses coercive persuasion because "the SOBs have already sued me once." "I'm afraid to tell you what I really think about them because I'm not covered by any lawyers like I was when I wrote my book."
  30. ^ a b c Toutant, Charles. "Suits Against Anti-Cult Blogger Provide Test for Online Speech". New Jersey Law Journal. Law.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2006. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  31. ^ Barker 1996: "To illustrate rather than to define: among the better-known NRMs are the Brahma Kumaris, the Chuch of Scientology, the Divine Light Mission (now known as Elan Vital), est (Erhard Seminar Training, now known as the Landmark Forum), the Family (originally known as the Children of God), ISKCON (the Hare Krishna), Rajneeshism (now known as Oslo International), Sahaja Yoga, the Soka Gakkai, Transcendental Meditation, the Unification Church (known as the Moonies) and the Way International."
  32. ^ Compare: Beckford 2003:"[...] post-countercultural religious movements such as Erhard Seminars Training (now the Landmark Forum) [...]."
  33. ^ Lockwood, Renee (2011). "Religiosity Rejected: Exploring the Religio-Spiritual Dimensions of Landmark Education". International Journal for the Study of New Religions. 2 (2). Sheffield, England: Equinox Publishing Ltd.: 225–254. doi:10.1558/ijsnr.v2i2.225. ISSN 2041-9511. Retrieved June 23, 2021. Incorporating several eastern spiritual practices, the highly emotional nature of the Landmark Forum's weekend training is such as to create Durkheimian notions of 'religious effervescence', altering pre-existing belief systems and producing a sense of the sacred collective. Group-specific language contributes to this, whilst simultaneously shrouding Landmark Education in mystery and esotericism. The Forum is replete with stories of miracles, healings, and salvation apposite for a modern western paradigm. Indeed, the sacred pervades the training, manifested in the form of the Self, capable of altering the very nature of the world and representing the 'ultimate concern'.
  34. ^ See:
  35. ^ See:
  36. ^ Clarke, Peter B. (2013). "New Religious Movements". In Taliaferro, Charles; Harrison, Victoria S.; Goetz, Stewart (eds.). The Routledge Companion to Theism. Routledge Religion Companions Series. New York: Routledge. p. 123. ISBN 9780415881647. Retrieved June 23, 2021. Like the [New Age Movement], many of the Self-religions (Heelas 1991) have been heavily influenced by Asian, and more generally Eastern, ideas of spirituality and divinity and do not acknowledge an external theistic being but rather, use spiritual and psychological techniques to reveal the god within and/or the divine self. The Forum and/or est, whose origins are in the United States (Tipton 1982) holds to the belief that the self itself is god.
  37. ^ Barker, Eileen (2004). "General Overview of the 'Cult Scene' in Great Britain". In Lucas, Phillip Charles*(Clarke 2012, p. 123); Robbins, Thomas (eds.). New Religious Movements in the Twenty-first Century: Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global Perspective. Sociology/Religious studies. New York: Psychology Press. p. 28. ISBN 9780415965774. Retrieved June 23, 2021. Erhard Seminars Training (est) and other examples of the human potential movement joined indigenous new religions, such as the Emin, Exegesis, the Aetherius Society, the School of Economic Science, and the Findhorn community in the north of Scotland, and a number of small congregations within mainstream churches were labelled 'cults' as they exhibited some of the more enthusiastic characteristics of new religions and their leaders.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link)
  38. ^ Clarke, Peter; Sutherland, Stewart, eds. (1988). The World's Religions: The Study of Religion, Traditional and New Religion. Routledge (published 2002). ISBN 9781134922215. Retrieved June 23, 2021. [...] the founder of est (the highly influential seminar training established by Erhard in 1971) observes that, 'Of all the disciplines that I studied and learned, Zen was the essential one.
  39. ^ Chryssides, George D. (2001) [1999]. "The Human Potential Movement". Exploring New Religions. Issues in Contemporary Religion. New York: A&C Black. p. 314. ISBN 9780826459596. Retrieved March 23, 2017. [...] est and Landmark [...] have addressed human problems in a radical way, setting super-empirical goals, and addressing what some may regard as a spiritual aspect of human nature (the Core Self, the Source, which is at least godlike, if not divine. est and Landmark may have some of the attributes typically associated with religion, but it is doubtful whether they should be accorded full status as religious organizations.
  40. ^ Robbins, Thomas; Lucas, Philip Charles (2007). "From 'Cults' to New Religious Movements: Coherence, Definition, and Conceptual Framing in the Study of New Religious Movements". In Beckford, James A.; Demerath, N. Jay (eds.). The SAGE Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. p. 229. ISBN 9781446206522. Retrieved December 19, 2020. [...] many other types of groups have emerged that could fall under the purview of NRM study. We have suggested some of these in the above paragraph. Others might include [...] religio-therapy groups such as Avatar, Mindspring, and Landmark Forum [...].
  41. ^ Communication for planetary transformation and the drag of public conversations: The case of Landmark Education Corporation. Patrick Owen Cannon, University of South Florida
  42. ^ See:
  43. ^ Education Embraced: Substantiating the Educational Foundations of Landmark Education's Transformative Learning Model Marsha L. Heck International Multilingual Journal of Contemporary Research, 3(2), pp. 149–162 DOI: 10.15640/imjcr.v3n2a14
  44. ^ Puttick 2004, pp. 406–407.
  45. ^ Alford 2010, p. L1.
  46. ^ Thornburgh, Nathan (April 10, 2011). "Change We Can (Almost) Believe In". Time Magazine. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  47. ^ McClure, Laura (August 17, 2009). "The Landmark Forum: 42 Hours, $500, 65 Breakdowns". Mother Jones. Retrieved October 13, 2020. The company also vigorously guards its reputation from critics. After I told [Public Relations director Deborah] Beroset I'd be writing an article on my mixed feelings about the Forum, she called several times and sent me an email that might be described as threatening—but in the most benign, centered kind of way.
  48. ^ "French Documentary Transcript: "Voyage to the Land of the New Gurus"". May 24, 2004. Archived from the original on September 13, 2009.
  49. ^ See:
  50. ^ Roy 2004.
  51. ^ See:
    • (Lemonniera 2005), French text: "L'Inspection du Travail débarque dans les locaux de Landmark, constate l'exploitation des bénévoles et dresse des procès-verbaux pour travail non déclaré." English translation: "Labor inspectors turned up at the offices of Landmark, noted the exploitation of volunteers and drew up a report of undeclared employment.";
    • (Landmark staff 2004), Landmark's response;
    • (Badt 2008), quote: It was this TV program that closed down the Landmark in France, leaving it only 24 other countries in which to spread its word.
  52. ^ Palmer 2011.
  53. ^ See:
  54. ^ Landmark Education and the Internet Archive. Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved May 25, 2020 – "In a settlement reached November 29, 2006 Landmark agreed to withdraw the subpoena to Google and end its quest to pierce the anonymity of the video's poster. Landmark has also withdrawn its subpoena to the Internet Archive."
  55. ^ Self-Help Group Backs Off Attack on Internet Critic. Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved May 25, 2020 – "A controversial self-help group has backed off its attack on an Internet critic after the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) intervened in the case."

References

External links

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