Lesson plan

Ted Patrick

Theodore "Ted" Roosevelt Patrick, Jr. (born 1930) is an American anti-cult activist, best known for his invention and prolific use of the practice known as deprogramming. He is sometimes referred to as the "father of deprogramming." In the early 1970s, following the involvement of his son in a religious cult called The Children of God, Patrick founded an organization called FREECOG (Parents' Committee to Free Our Sons and Daughters from the Children of God), and subsequently became involved with the Citizens' Freedom Foundation (later known as the Cult Awareness Network). Patrick offered what he called "deprogramming" services to people who wanted a family member extracted from a New Religious Movement. His methods involved abduction, forced confinement and physical restraint, food and sleep deprivation, and desecration of the symbols of the victim's faith. Patrick faced multiple criminal charges and civil proceedings resulting from his deprogramming activities. He was eventually convicted of crimes such as kidnapping, false imprisonment and conspiracy.

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Article summary

Theodore "Ted" Roosevelt Patrick, Jr. (born 1930) is an American anti-cult activist, best known for his invention and prolific use of the practice known as deprogramming. He is sometimes referred to as the "father of deprogramming." In the early 1970s, following the involvement of his son in a religious cult called The Children of God, Patrick founded an organization called FREECOG (Parents' Committee to Free Our Sons and Daughters from the Children of God), and subsequently became involved with the Citizens' Freedom Foundation (later known as the Cult Awareness Network). Patrick offered what he called "deprogramming" services to people who wanted a family member extracted from a New Religious Movement. His methods involved abduction, forced confinement and physical restraint, food and sleep deprivation, and desecration of the symbols of the victim's faith. Patrick faced multiple criminal charges and civil proceedings resulting from his deprogramming activities. He was eventually convicted of crimes such as kidnapping, false imprisonment and conspiracy.

Key claims

  1. date of birth: 1930 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of birth is "1930". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1364282580

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.