A secretive international church group that has been likened to a ‘brainwashing’ cult is stepping up its recruitment drive among Australian university students.
The Shincheonji Church of Jesus (SCJ), which started in South Korea 40 years ago, has been accused of taking vulnerable young people away from family and friends.
SCJ’s tactics have been exposed by former members, who said that as well as targeting university districts, it also seeks young converts in shopping malls, train stations, and on social media and dating apps.
The group, which was founded by Lee Man-Hee, now aged 92, claims to be true believers of Christianity, but is facing allegations of brainwashing vulnerable Australian children.
The explosive claims were aired by locals at a heated Town of Cambridge council briefing last month in suburban Perth.
Jim Spencer, who lives in Roleystone, said his daughter is among dozens who are spending an excessive amount of time at SJC’s premises in the area, which presents as an education facility.
‘Us parents are working hard to get our kids out. Our kids have been stolen from us,’ he told the meeting.
‘My daughter spends 16 hours a day at this place, six days a week, voluntarily.’
A secretive international church group that has often been likened to a cult is stepping up its recruitment drive among Australian university students. Shincheonji Church of Jesus members are pictured
He claimed the group targets young people and international students and lures them in through ‘non-denominational Bible studies’.
A former teacher at the church provided a written submission to the council and said Shincheonji practices are illegitimate.
‘The church bears no recognised qualifications to be an educational organisation,’ the submission read.
‘There is no certifications that justify their teachings as publicly recognised. The teachers are uncertified, as was I when I was inside.’
People aged from 15 to 25 were most likely to be targeted, with many of them being international students, who probably have few friends when the first arrive in Australia.
‘There are a lot of (recruiters) everywhere and you don’t notice it until you do,’ an ex-member told the Herald Sun.
‘It’s like you’re brainwashed … It has taken some people years to get out and even longer to heal and get their lives back on track.’
SCJ operates so secretively that those recruited but who later left, often say they were not aware they had been targeted until they’d spent at least six months in intensive ‘bible study’ classes.
‘Lifestyle, uni, job, friends and even family had to be “sacrificed” if it got in the way of the church,’ another ex-member said.
The recruiters approach what they call new ‘fruits’ in pairs.
A former member said they pretend to just be making friendly conversation, possibly by asking for directions, in a practice they call ‘love bombing’.
They ask the target questions about their age, where they live, their religion, if they’re studying and their hobbies.
The final and most important step in the process is to get the young person’s phone number.
In Victoria alone, there are more than 1,000 SCJ followers, though the Australian government does not recognise it as a church.
It is, however, a recognised charity, with its listing at the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission claiming it was established ‘to advance religion’.
It claims to do so by ‘testifying and spreading the gospel of heaven that leads to salvation promised in the Bible to all parts of the world and fulfilling its mission of evangelism to heal all nations’.
SCJ claims to have more than 300,000 around the world, with its members waiting for ‘Judgement Day’, when 144,000 believers will become high priests, while the other adherents will be immortalised.
The group’s recruitment tactics have become so concerning that the Australian Catholic University’s deputy vice chancellor Julie Cogin warned students the ‘manipulative and coercive’ SCJ was recruiting on its campus.
Tore Klevjer, the president of Cult Information and Family Support, also sent a letter to all of Australia’s universities, warning them about the ‘insidious cult’.
But he said the universities aren’t doing enough to warn students. ‘Awareness is particularly important because the group lies to them about who they are.
‘Unless they’re aware, they think they’re joining another benign group that could pose as anything.’
He said parents should question their children about new friends and warned that they could be taken away from their studies and work.
The Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which started in South Korea 40 years ago, has been accused of taking vulnerable young people away from family and friends. It often recruits around universities
But one father, whose daughter has been part of SCJ for nearly three years, said it was like she was under a ‘coercive’ spell.
‘It’s difficult to see, but on the other hand we can’t do much … if we’re tough on her she might disappear forever and leave us for the church,’ he said.
The young woman’s mother reported SCJ to the police, but they said that as no crime had been committed, there was nothing they could do.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Shincheonji Church of Jesus for comment.
Lee Man-Hee: The ‘immortal’ leader of a secretive ‘cult’ that allegedly bullies members into silence
Lee Man-Hee (pictured), whose alleged cult has 74 churches in South Korea, is considered by followers to be ‘immortal’ and even the second coming of Jesus Christ
- Lee Man-Hee, 92, is the founder of the Shincheonju Church of Jesus the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony.
- His group has been accused by Christian authorities around the world as being a secret cult that infiltrates churches and ‘deceives’ to recruit.
- Lee, whose cult has 74 churches in South Korea and has expanded around the world, including in Australia, is considered by followers to be ‘immortal’ and even the second coming of Jesus Christ.
- Very little is known about the cult, but it has been claimed that it is so strict and obsessed with secrecy that its members are bullied into silence.
- Lee’s critics charge him with self-promotion, such as his alleged trip to the UAE in 2025 to pose for photos and boost his credentials at home.
- Others – often other religious authorities – claim that he is a ‘false prophet’.
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