Scholarly research: What drives apostates obsession?
Stuart A. Wright explores the distinction between the apostate narrative and the role of the apostate, asserting that the former follows a predictable pattern in which the apostate utilizes a “captivity narrative” that emphasizes manipulation, entrapment and being victims of “sinister cult practices.” These narratives provide a rationale for a “hostage-rescue” motif, in which cults are likened to POW camps, and deprogramming [is seen as] a heroic rescue effort. He also makes a distinction between “leavetakers” and “apostates”, asserting that despite the popular literature and lurid media accounts of “rescued or recovering ‘ex-cultists’, empirical studies of defectors from new religious movements “generally indicate favorable, sympathetic, or at the very least mixed responses toward their former group.” Gordon Melton, while testifying as an expert witness in a lawsuit, said that when investigating groups, one should not rely solely upon the unverified testimony of ex-members, and that h
