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Introduces a series of articles on religious minorities in some European countries.

This chapter presents an analysis of brainwashing theories in European parliamentary and administrative reports on cults and sects. Why brainwashing notions have been so readily adopted in the European context needs further analysis. One could say this has occurred because of the tendency to accept the word of apostates when claims are made and accounts offered about what happened to them when they joined newer religions. Those claims and accounts are apparently more culturally coherent if use is made of concepts such as brainwashing and mind control.