''Let Our Children Go!'' is a nonfiction book by

Ted Patrick Theodore "Ted" Roosevelt Patrick, Jr. (born 1930) is an American anti-cult activist, whose invention and prolific use of the practice known as deprogramming led him to being referred to as the "father of deprogramming." In the early 1970s, fol ...

with Tom Dulack about Patrick's experience with

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

deprogramming Deprogramming is a controversial tactic that seeks to dissuade someone from "strongly held convictions" such as religious beliefs. Deprogramming purports to assist a person who holds a particular belief system—of a kind considered harmful by thos ...

. It was first published in 1976 by

E. P. Dutton E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group. Creator Edward Payson Dutton (January 1, ...

, but was republished by

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in ...

in 1977. The book alternates between sections written by Patrick and Dulack in describing encounters with cults including the Children of God, the Love Family, the Hare Krishna, and the

Unification Church The Unification Church () is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists or sometimes informally Moonies. It was founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon in Seoul, South Korea, as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unificatio ...

Plot Summary

''Let Our Children Go!'' is primarily a first-person narrative from

himself, with some commentary from Tom Dulack at the beginning of each chapter. Patrick describes his initial encounters with

cults Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ha ...

like the Children of God through his son and nephew, and his personal investigation into the Children of God in

Santee, California Santee is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. The population was 60,037 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the East County region. The city is bisected by the San Diego River, a linear greenbelt that includes parks, trails ...

. Eventually, he developed the process of

through what he called brainwashing at Santee. Patrick illustrates his notable deprogramming cases like Dan Voll, Kathy Crampton, and so on. Sometimes, he replaces the names of deprogramming subjects to protect their identities. He also details his legal issues that he dealt with up to 1976, and his various successful or otherwise attempts at defending against allegations of

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

and

false imprisonment False imprisonment or unlawful imprisonment occurs when a person intentionally restricts another person's movement within any area without legal authority, justification, or the restrained person's permission. Actual physical restraint is n ...

through the " choice of evils" defense.

Reception

Joni Bodart for ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

'' notes that although "disjointed and hard to follow at times", the book "should make absorbing reading for young adults who might themselves be solicited by the cults". In the ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'', Mark R. Yerburgh commended Patrick for having the courage to tackle such a contentious subject matter. Anson D. Shupe for the ''

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion The ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'' (''JSSR'') is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell in the United States under the auspices of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, dedicated to ...

'' calls the book a "collection of apologetic vignettes about

, the archetypical deprogrammer". Shupe believes the book "is replete with instances of Patrick's alleged indefatigability, his

altruism Altruism is the concern for the well-being of others, independently of personal benefit or reciprocity. The word ''altruism'' was popularised (and possibly coined) by the French philosopher Auguste Comte in French, as , for an antonym of egoi ...

, and his monopoly on deprogramming skill", which has the result of dehumanizing groups about which Shupe argues Patrick knows nothing. Peter Rowley for ''

The Christian Century ''The Christian Century'' is a Christian magazine based in Chicago, Illinois. Considered the flagship magazine of US mainline Protestantism, the monthly reports on religious news; comments on theological, moral, and cultural issues; and reviews ...

'' believes that one of the central messages of the book – that without deprogramming, members of

new religious movements A new religious movement (NRM), also known as a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin, or they can be part of a wider re ...

generally never leave – is incorrect based on his own experience with members of the

International Society for Krishna Consciousness The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, is a religious organization that follows the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. It was founded on 13 July 1966 in New York City by ...

References

1976 non-fiction books Books about cults Deprogrammers English-language non-fiction books E. P. Dutton books {{reli-book-stub