07/01/2026
By Karen Mullins
The School of Criminology and Justice Studies is proud to announce a Dissertation Defense by Tess J. Hemmila, entitled, "An Act of Faith? Understanding Violence in Cults."
Date: Thursday, July 23, 2026
Time: 11 a.m. -1 p.m.
Location: Room 325 HSSB and via Zoom
Committee:
- Arie Perliger, Chair, School of Criminology and Justice Studies, UMass Lowell
- Emily Greene-Colozzi , School of Criminology and Justice Studies, UMass Lowell
- Neil Shortland, School of Criminology and Justice Studies, UMass Lowell
- Yan Wang, Department of Psychology, UMass Lowell
- Nelly Lahoud, Department of National Security and Strategy, U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
The study of cultic studies is riddled with misconceptions and disagreements. Much of the scholarship in the field lacks theoretical groundwork and there are few studies that attempt to study cults using a large sample. As a result, there are still many questions regarding how and why cults engage in violent behaviors. To address critical knowledge gaps, this dissertation develops and tests a theoretical framework of endogenous (within group) and exogenous (environmental) factors associated with violence. More specifically, I test whether these factors have different associations depending on the target of violence (members vs. outsiders) and if there are different associations depending on the type of violence (child abuse, sexual abuse, physical assault, homicide, suicide, and terrorism). The model identifies important conclusions about cooccurrence of violent behaviors and trajectories of violence. The findings have important implications for cultic studies researchers and for any practitioners interacting with cult groups such as social workers, policy makers, law enforcement, and educators.