“A smart person won’t join a cult”: a lesson-conversation was held for 9th grade students at Lida school No. 11translated

On November 4, the rector of the Church of All Saints, Archpriest Vladimir Yaromich, conducted a lesson-conversation for ninth-graders. The students were offered the topic “A smart person will not join a cult”: the meeting was dedicated to preventing the involvement of young people in destructive sects and cults.

The priest told the schoolchildren how a destructive sect differs from a traditional religious community and what signs should alert them.

The priest especially drew the attention of schoolchildren to the psychological mechanisms of recruitment. Recruiters often act under the guise of charity projects, language courses, psychological training or health practices. The main goal is to force a person to stop thinking critically and gradually subordinate him to someone else’s will.

“A smart person is not one who never makes mistakes, but one who knows how to check information, ask questions and is not afraid to say “no,” emphasized Father Vladimir. “Freedom begins with a sober look at what is offered to you.”

The schoolchildren asked the priest questions about how to recognize a recruiter, where to turn for help, and how to support a friend who has fallen under the influence of such an organization.

The organizers of the meeting noted that such conversations help teenagers...