Miriam Williams Boeri

Miriam Williams at the Cannes Film Festival, 2001

Miriam Williams Boeri is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Kennesaw State University in the state of Georgia. She is a former first-generation member of The Family International.

Williams Boeri left the cult in 1988, and in 1998 she published a book, Heaven's Harlots: My Fifteen Years As a Sacred Prostitute in the Children of God, about her experiences in the group. In the same year, she also established the ExCOGnet web site.

New Religious Movements/Cult Research [1]

Roundtable Discussion at American Sociological Association 98th Annual Meeting (2003)

Sex and Cults: From Free-Sex to Sex-less
Discussion co-leader: Miriam Williams Boeri, Kennesaw State University
Abstract:
News of a new communal group makes spectacular headlines periodically with some focus on the group's sexual behaviors. The recently-famous Raelians are reported to practice a type of free-sex; the late members of Heaven's Gate were believed to adhere total sexual abstinence, which was seen as a motive for their practice of male castration; whereas the Children of God made news from time to time due to various sexual norms within the group that included sacred prostitution and sex with children. In mass media reports, these groups are called "cults." Although not all cults are religious or spiritually-oriented, cults are usually discussed in sociological literature as "new religious movements." This roundtable discussion includes all types of communal groups in a discussion of the range of sexual practices that are known to exist, with a focus on a sociological understanding of these groups' sexual behaviors and beliefs. The idea of collective living arrangements with alternative social structures is not new to the American culture. During the nineteenth century, a number of such groups proliferated, such as the Shakers, Mormons and Oneidans. These communal groups experimented with a wide variety of sexual social structures. The Shakers practiced celibacy and channeled their sexual energies into frenzied dancing activities; the Mormons promoted the practice of polygyny; and the Oneidans allowed sexual relations with multiple partners, referred to as "complex marriages." In sociological literature, these nineteenth century groups are called "utopian communities." A note on the term "cult:" According to Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language (1960), the term cult means "devoted attachment to, or extravagant admiration for, a person, principle, etc., especially when regarded as a fad: as, the cult of nudism." Sociologically, according to Robbins (1998), the term "cult" has been employed to refer to innovative religious groups, while the term "sect" refers to groups that split off from mainstream religions. Bainbridge (1997) writes that "a cult movement is a deviant religious organization with novel beliefs and subcultures" (p. 24), but some scholars prefer to use the term "new religious movement" instead of cult. The terms cult and new religious movement are used interchangeably in this discussion.

Paper Presented at the Association for the Sociology of Religion 65th Annual Meeting (2003)

Title: Becoming Promiscuous: Examining The Social Re-Construction Of Identity In A New Religious Movement
Author: Miriam Williams Boeri, Emory University
Abstract:
According to social construction theory, during primary socialization human beings learn to accept a legitimate reality, to develop a sense of self and identity, and to act out behaviors according to accepted roles. Socialization, however, is ongoing, and the behaviors and attitudes that are part of a social identity must continually be maintained. Re-socialization involves a radical change in subjective reality, which includes replicating affective identification with new role models, new significant others, and a new legitimating social structure. Thus, identity is dependent on a self that has been constructed and re-constructed by a continual flow of social factors and events constraining, guiding, intimidating, encouraging, and working with the actor. In this paper, I look at the extreme changes in self and identity through the social re-construction of reality by membership in a Christian communal group that required sacred prostitution. Through content analysis of the group's literature and interviews with former members, this study explores the social re-construction of reality with its effects on female identity.

More Information

• Miriam W. Boeri, Ph.D.
• Heaven's Harlots: My Fifteen Years As a Sacred Prostitute in the Children of God Cult
• American-Buddha Online Library - Heaven's Harlots: My Fifteen Years As a Sacred Prostitute in the Children of God Cult
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 'Heaven's Harlot' looks back on Jesus freak days — 1998-07-25

Multimedia

• Video: 1995 interview with Miriam Williams about life in The Family (29:37, 13.2MB)