Actor Joaquin Phoenix has spoken out about his parents' involvement in a controversial 'Christian' cult, Children of God.
In an interview with Playboy magazine, Phoenix was asked about his family's time as part of the group, which has now been renamed The Family. Along with his parents, four siblings and other members, he travelled through Central and South America in the early 1970s, but left the organisation when his parents became disenchanted with the group's ideals.
"When people bring up Children of God, there's always something vaguely accusatory about it. It's guilt by association. I think it was really innocent on my parents' part. They really believed, but I don't think most people see it that way. I've always thought that was strange and unfair," he said.
"As I understand it, you're on the outside of that group until you're accepted. I don't think we ever got to that point, because frankly, as it got closer, I think my parents went, 'Wait a minute. This is more than a religious community. There's something else going on here, and this doesn't seem right.' And so they left very early on."
Phoenix explained that his parents were introduced to Children of God by friends after having a "religious experience".
"[They] felt strongly about it. They wanted to share that with other people who wanted to talk about their experience with religion," he said.
"These friends were like, 'Oh, we believe in Jesus as well.' I think my parents thought they'd found a community that shared their ideals. Cults rarely advertise themselves as such. It's usually someone saying, 'We're like-minded people. This is a community,' but I think the moment my parents realized there was something more to it, they got out."
Founded by former Baptist and Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor David Brandt in 1968, Children of God became known for forming "colonies" in cities across the US and distributing tracts.
Its use of "Flirty Fishing", where women were encouraged to use sex to proselytise, has since gained significant media attention. Taking Jesus' command to the disciples to be "fishers of men", Brandt told female members to engage in sexual acts with men outside the group as "bait", insisting that it was a form of "deep witness".
These women were referred to as "God's whores" and "hookers for Jesus" within the cult.
Phoenix distanced himself from these practices. "I think a lot of what has been exposed about the group happened in the 1980s," he said. "It's kind of a typical progression of something like that, you know? It starts out one way and takes some time before it evolves into something else."
Children of God was dissolved a decade after it's founding following allegations of serious misconduct, the misuse of funds and leaders having abused their positions. However, the majority of members stayed and reformed under the name Family of Love, and later The Family, which retains many of the same beliefs.
At the beginning of 2005, there were over 10,000 members worldwide.
