Steven Hassan

==Involvement with the Unification Church==
Hassan was raised in a [[Jews|Jewish]] family in [[Queens, New York]].<ref name="freedomofmind" />

At age 19, while pursuing a poetry degree at [[Queens College, City University of New York|Queens College]], Hassan was recruited into the [[Unification Church]],<ref name="slate" /> and spent 27 months as a member.<ref name="sam">{{cite web |url=https://www.apologeticsindex.org/489-cult-expert-steve-hassan |title=Steven Hassan, M.Ed., LMHC, NCC, Cult Expert |date=March 8, 2019 |work=Apologetics Index |access-date=August 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812170858/https://www.apologeticsindex.org/489-cult-expert-steve-hassan |archive-date=August 12, 2021}}</ref><ref name="hypnosis" /> He was involved in recruiting, fundraising, and political campaigning for the Church. According to Rudin, Hassan was "a former Unification-Church high official who was a national leader of [[Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles|CARP]]". {{r|rudin|page=37}} Hassan reported living in communal housing and sleeping less than four hours a night.<ref name="bmag" /> In an interview, he said that he believed [[Richard Nixon]] was an [[archangel]] and that, during the [[Watergate]] scandal, he and other members of the Church engaged in prayer and [[fasting]] to "prove their loyalty to the president".<ref name="slate">{{cite news |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/06/steven-hassan-former-moonie-trumpism-cult-theory.html |title=The Man Who Wants to Free Trump Supporters From "Mind Control" |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |date=June 1, 2021 |access-date=August 23, 2021 |last=Allen |first=Rachel}}</ref> He also reported surrendering his bank account to the Unification Church, and quitting college and his job to work for the church.<ref name="slate" /> Hassan said that "he was ready to kill or die for" [[Sun Myung Moon]].<ref name="bmag" />

In 1976, after working for two full days without sleep, Hassan fell asleep while driving, resulting in a serious automobile accident that required medical care. Hassan's parents hired "[[deprogramming|deprogrammers]]" who seized him from his sister's home and took him to an apartment. After five days of isolation and intensive deprogramming, Hassan became convinced that he had been "brainwashed" by the church. Feeling shame at his gullibility and guilt for his recruitment of others, he decided to "dedicate his life to studying cults and developing strategies to help their members escape."<ref name="bmag" />{{r|rudin|pages=37-38}}

Hassan returned to his Jewish faith after leaving the Unification Church.<ref name="freedomofmind">{{Cite web |url=https://freedomofmind.com/the-truth-about-steven-hassan/ |title=The Truth About Steven Hassan |work=Freedom of Mind Resource Center |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708040704/https://freedomofmind.com/the-truth-about-steven-hassan/ |archive-date=July 8, 2020}}</ref>