Glenn Close Cult Upbringing Revealed
Glenn Close's cult upbringing was revealed in a new interview by the actress.
Glenn Close's cult, previously called Moral Re-Armament in the interview, had her feeling limited and unsure of herself.
Close told New York Magazine, "It was a cult, where everyone was told to think alike, and that's devastating. I decided that I would not trust even my instincts because I didn't know what they were. Everything had been dictated."
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Her parents initially joined MRA, which was founded by Frank Buchman in 1938. It taught of the Four Absolutes: absolute honesty, absolute purity, absolute unselfishness and absolute love. Buchman's group had close ties to Germany, and Buchman even attempted to meet Adolf Hitler several times.
Buchman once praised Hitler, saying, "I thank Heaven for a man like Adolf Hitler, who built a front line of defense against the anti-Christ of Communism."
Buchman believed that the problem in Europe and throughout the world at this time was "a moral one" and suggested, "the nations must re-arm morally. Moral recovery is essentially the forerunner of economic recovery."
MRA taught that there were several rules that must be followed. "The first rule is that we listen honestly for everything that may come … the second rule is that we test the thoughts that come, to see which are from God."
Buchman also taught, "The world is looking for an answer and, by the Grace of God, there is an answer. But be clear on this point, the answer is not in any man or any group of man. The answer rests in the living God. It rests in God-controlled supernationalism."
Father John A. Hardon offered a critique of the MRA in "An Evaluation of Moral Rearmament."
He wrote: "It is neither a church nor a religious sect. There are no dogmas to profess; no rites to practice. MRA exists only to change the lives of men, to make zealous reformers out of sinners who still remain members of their individual churches. [It] can hardly serve as the basis for authenticated worship of God."
Close has not spoken publicly about what religion, if any, she currently practices. She is married to David Shaw and has one daughter, Annie.
