If so, how should we define “young people”?

And who gets to define what a “cult” is?

Those were just two of the questions that came to mind as I read the following story:

—– Japanese Universities Taking Steps To Protect Students From Cults (The Mainichi Daily News; May 22)

Universities, which in the past had been hesitant to violate students’ freedom of religion, are now taking active steps to protect their students from religious cults.

Seeing no end to the number of new students who become involved in religious cults, student advisors at 45 universities across Japan have begun exchanging information through a mailing list on effective measures against cults.

In 2006, Osaka University found that 78 of its students were involved in three cults. In response, the school established a compulsory lecture targeted at new students about dealing with solicitations to join such groups. A lecture given on May 9 warned students of groups that may approach them under the pretext of inviting them to join clubs or participate in seminars and surveys, eventually forbidding them to socialize freely with others.

At Okayama University’s entrance exams this spring, a group claiming to offer instructions on choosing courses after acceptance to the school was found distributing fliers to exam takers. The school subsequently made the decision to issue 1,000 arm bands for members of school sanctioned clubs and groups to wear so that new students would be able to distinguish them from non-legitimate organizations. Other efforts by universities include that by Chiba University, which has set up a cult consultation office to systematize counter-cult measures. Still other schools inform parents of students whose involvement with cults has been discovered, and others rescind official school approval of groups involved in cult-like activities.

Taro Takimoto, a Yokohama-based lawyer who is well-acquainted with cult-related issues, along with Kenji Kawashima, a professor of religious studies at Keisen University and Atsushi Yamatodani, a professor of health sciences at Osaka University, were among the driving forces behind the mailing list. Among its participants are officials from Osaka University, Okayama University, Chiba University, Hokkaido University and the University of Shizuoka. In cooperation with the Japan Society for Cult Prevention and Recovery and the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales, this consortium of schools shares information obtained from former cult members and effective methods for dealing with students who have cult-related issues.

“If we neglect the cult problem, we will not only create problems for our schools but for our society as well,” says Professor Yamatodani. “Universities have the responsibility of providing students with the most up-to-date information so that they themselves can make informed decisions.”

At what age can students be trusted to make their own decisions about religion without receiving unsolicited advice from a “cult consultation office”?

If Falwell’s Liberty University defines the Democratic Party as a pro-abortion cult, are university officials justified in taking measures to protect students from it? (A recent NPR story entitled Christian College Drops Approval Of Democrats Club seems to prove that this is more than just an academic question.)

The following item that I found in my newspaper this morning perhaps sharpens the issue:

—– Daughter Is Free To Follow Own Beliefs (Margo Howard/Dear Margo/Creators Syndicate/The Columbus Dispatch; May 24)

Dear Margo: Our daughter started college a year ago, and we’ve noticed during her visits home that she’s not the sweet, innocent girl we sent away.

We raised her with strong Christian beliefs, but she says that she’s joined an atheists club and is questioning everything we taught her.

Now, my husband refuses to let her in the house and is threatening to turn her in to the FBI. I’ve tried to cure our daughter and reconcile with her, but nothing seems to work. I’ve prayed over her at night while she sleeps, enlisted friends in a phone prayer tree and even spoken to my priest about the possibility of an exorcism.

I’m at my wits’ end. How can I recover my daughter and keep her from hell? — God-fearing

Dear God-fearing: Whoa, dear. Although I am sympathetic to anyone’s devotion to his or her religion, you need to realize that your daughter is a sentient being with the right to reject your religious views.

Your husband is pathetically misguided if he thinks he can call the FBI to report the “crime” of your daughter joining an atheists club. Ditto for the exorcism.

This young woman is not possessed; she is merely questioning the religion she grew up with.

I would encourage you to understand that all people, your daughter included, have the right to think for themselves, particularly about something as meaningful as religion. As for hell, well, she appears willing to take her chances.

Although I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that Margo is being toyed with by a hoaxer, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that the letter writer was being completely serious, either.

In any event, how would you have responded to “God-fearing”?

And how would you respond if your child came home from college and announced that his or her religious beliefs are now the exact opposite of yours?