David G. Bromley and Sidney H. Newton

Virginia Commonwealth University

David G. Bromley is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has studied and written extensively about religious movements in America. Among his books is Strange Gods (1982) written with Anson D. Shupe Jr.

Sidney H. Newton is a graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University.

The New Religious Movement known currently as The Family was founded in the late 1960s. It has undergone several transformations since that time and has been known variously as the "Teens for Christ," "The Children of God," and "The Family of Love." In 1967, [founder David] Berg moved his wife, Jane Miller (known in The Family as Mother Eve), and their children to Huntington Beach, California after hearing his mother's description of the "hippies" who had begun moving into the area. He and his family began witnessing to the "dropouts" and "druggies" and soon had enough help to take over a beach coffeehouse that had been run by Teen Challenge. An iconoclast himself, Berg was ideally suited to his audience. David Berg has led the movement since its beginnings in Huntington Beach, California. As early as 1952, Berg began to receive prophecies of the "end-time." This, coupled with a growing distrust of the "system" and "churchy" religion, led Berg to develop a more radical approach to missionary work.

From 1970 to 1971, the group lived a very disciplined life at the Texas Soul Clinic Ranch and developed a strict training program for new members. The goal of witnessing efforts was the total commitment of the "sheep." Joining required that the prospective member "forsake-all" worldly goods to the group and sever worldly ties. It was in reaction to this standard that the first anti-cult organization in the United States, FreeCOG, was formed. Despite the rigors of membership and the high level of dedication demanded, membership grew to about fifteen hundred.

After the move to Europe [in 1971], Berg began to encourage members to sell samples of the groups' literature, or "litness," in order to fund the growing movement. Berg himself withdrew from an active leadership role and established a hierarchical structure to maintain the day-to-day operations. Berg kept in touch with the membership and maintained authority over the movement through the "Mo Letters."

The movement has undergone many organizational changes during its history. The most dramatic of these, the Reorganization and Nationalization Revolution (RNR), was effected by Berg at the end of the 1970s. The new regulations required that the leadership in local homes be elected and include citizens of the host nation.

[In recent years] allegations of child abuse have placed the group at the center of a new controversy. The charges, stemming from selected quotes and art from old literature, as well as stories told by disaffected former members, have triggered a number of police raids on Family homes around the world. Investigations in a number of countries have exonerated The Family of abuse charges.

The Family's membership is quite different today than that of the "Teens for Christ" and the Children of God. The group has focused much of its attention on its younger members with home-schooling, teen missionary activities and the inclusion of teens within group leadership. At this time the Family claims a world-wide live-in membership of about nine thousand, two-thirds of which are teen-age or younger. The current emphasis placed on child rearing and teen missionary work reflects these demographics.