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NOTE
RESEARCH
Who
the
A Brief
Utopia?
Research
Rajneeshpuram
Lives
In
Report
on
Project
73
74
SOCIOLOGICALANALYSIS
PROCEDURES
Two surveys were administeredat Rajneeshpuram,one in August and the other
in October, 1983. The first survey was administered through Rajneeshee work
groups(or temples, as they referredto them), which held regularmeetingsto discuss
work-relatedissues. Each group included people who were working on the same
type of project (i.e., all the people in constructionin one group). Each group had a
coordinator,and a meeting of all coordinatorswas held weekly. At the coordinator
meeting prior to our arrival, a city official announced the intent and plans of our
study. The coordinatorswere instructedto pick up the necessary number of forms
2. This project was partially supportedby a Biomedical research grant awardedto the University of
Oregon, FY 1984-85.
RESEARCH
NarE
75
from a central location, where three members of the researchteam had delivered
packets of questionnairesand instructions. The coordinatorsthen handed out the
questionnairesto members of their respectiveworkgroups. Once a meeting ended,
the coordinatorreturnedall forms, completedand uncompleted,to the centraldrop
location.
The questionnaireswere prenumberedfrom001 to 999 and a 3 x 5 identification
card had been stapled to each copy. To insure anonymity,the identificationcards,
which includedboth the participant'snamesand subjectnumbers,were removedand
storedat Rajneeshpuram.The answersheets and formsdid not include the subject's
names, but subject number, sex, and age were included on the answer sheets. All
materialsexcept for the identificationcardswere takenback to Eugenethatsame day.
A total of 732 people completed the first survey, a very high percentage of the
estimated 800 people who were living there at the time. Of these, 635 fully completed questionnaireswere analyzed.
In the second survey, 200 people were chosen from the 635 who had successfully completedthe first form. Subjectnumberswere randomlyselected and a list of
these numberswas then phonedto Rajneeshpuram.The numberswere then matched
up to names, and these individuals were contacted concerning the possibility of
completinga second form. Those who agreedto continuewere askedto reportto the
communecafeteriaafter workon Friday.Two membersof the researchteam were on
hand, and administrationtook approximately45 minutes. Only 75% (150) of those
asked to fill out the second form actually did, and we were concerned that these
people might differ from the larger group which completedthe first survey. To test
this we looked to see if there were any differencesin how the second-timersand the
larger sample responded to the items on the first questionnaire. No significant
differences were found, which is somewhat surprisinggiven that a few differences
might have been expected by chance alone.
RESULTS
Demographics
The surveysemphasizedtwo sets of information:demographicsandpsychological well-being. The first survey focused solely on demographicswhile the second
stressedboth forms of information.Data reportedbelow on the first surveyare based
on the 635 respondentswho completedthe form without major error. It should be
notedthatnot all totalscome out to 100%, due to occasionalunclearmarkingsby the
respondentsor to the roundingof numberson our part. The second surveystartedby
asking more demographicquestions. Of the 150 who filled out the second form, the
datareportedhere are based on a randomselection of 100 questionnaires.Data from
the second questionnaireare indicatedwith an asterisk.
Age and Sex: Fifty-fourpercentof the respondentswere female with an average
age of 33.9 years. Forty-six percent were male with an averageage of 34.7 years.
Family: Seventy-fourpercent of the respondentsreportedthey were married,
76
SOCIOLOGICALANALYSIS
at a
Rajneeshec
White
Black or Negro
Hisparnic/Spanish/Latino
Other
1A9
Religious
Background
917.
1%
2%
67.
at a
Sannyasin
1
1%
1%
97
13%
267
6%
8%
13%
10%
8%
8%
87%
37%
1-3 monthis
3-6 months
6-12 months
1-2 years
2-3 years
3-5 years
5 or more years
never
Ethnic
Center
Background
No religious
background
Roman Catholic
Jewish
Htindu or Buddist
Protestant
Other
1l%
27%
20%
47.
30%
4%,
sponses.
ReligiousOrientation:TableOne presentsreligiousand ethnicbackground
weresannyasinsfor5 yearsor moreand
information.Abouthalfof therespondents
abouttwo-thirds(63%) were living at a Rajneesheecenterprior to movingto
themselvesas religiouspriorto becomFortypercentcharacterized
Rajneeshpuram.
not.
did
and
a
60%
ing sannyasin
40%
In responseto the question,"Howdid you first hear of Rajneeshism?"
mentionedfriends,30%booksor tapedmaterialsof Bhagwan,and 10%through
visitinga Rajneeshcenter.No otherspecificsourcewasmentionedin morethan3%
of the cases.
Education: Ninety-five percent of the respondentsgraduatedfrom high school
RESEARCHNOTE
77
beyond." TableTwo (*) lists this informationfor a randomsampleof 100 along with
academic area of degree.
Place of residence: Table Three presents size of community from which the
participantscame. About half (48 %) were from cities of 100,000 or greater.This is
in sharp contrastto their present situation: the nearest town of 10,000 or more is
about 100 miles away.
TABLE 2
ACADEMICBACKGROUND
Hlighest
None or unlclear
Hligh school/secondary
Commntlity or junior
college
Bachelor's
(BA, BS)
degree
Obtained
Degree
8%
17%
6%
33%
(AA)
75%
Master's
Doctorate
degree
(PhD,
2'4%
12%
36%
Academic
Area
of
Degree
27%
33%
10%
10%
Math)
TABLE 3
COMMUNITY
SIZE BACKGROUND
Size
spent
Farm
Town Less than 5,000
5,000-20,000
25,000-100,000
100,000-500,000
More than 500,000
to age 18
78
SOCIOLOGICALANALYSIS
TABLE 4
POLITICALAND ECONOMIC
BACKGROUND
Political
Categorized
Background
as
Percent
Radical
Very liberal
Somewhat liberal
Somewhat conservative
Very conservative
Neither liberal
nor conservative
11
31
20
2
0
36
Economic Background
Highest
Percent
16
26
24
15
10
4
2
3
RESEARCHNOTE
79
TABLE 5
LIFE SATISFACTION
Scale
Now
Previously
0
1
2
Extremely dissatisfied;
never worse
2%
10%
07
07.
2%
10%
4
5
Neither satisfied
nor dissatisfied
0%
13%
R
6
7
Extrenely satisfied;
best evec
17.
0%
37
11%
82X
23%
11%
227
3%
5X
80
SOCIOLOGICALANALYSIS
DISCUSSION
There are definite similarities between individualswho resided at Rajneeshpuramand membersof other new religions:affluent,well-educated,and
aroundthirtyyears old (Bird& Reimer,1983; Volinn,1985; Melton& Moore,
1982). As Kilbourneand Richardson(1984) pointout, these types of individuals
have the economic means to try out new religions. With Rajneeshees, finances may
factorinjoining;manyfollowerstraveledto India,
havebeenanespeciallyimportant
sawBhagwan,andthenbecamesannyasins.AlthoughtheRajneesheedemographics
differences.The most
resemblethose of othernew religions,thereare substantial
notableis education.
of the Rajneesheesis extremelyhigh. As
The graduateeducationalattainment
in general.It
mentionedearlier,we do notknowif ourresultsrepresentRajneeshees
maybe the case thathighlyeducatedRajneesheesweremoreinclinedto quittheir
jobs andgo to theranch,believingthatif theyso desiredtheycouldalwaysleaveand
obtaina decentjob elsewhere.It is possiblethe communesystematicallyselected
sannyasinswith advancededucation.One otherexplanationfor the high level of
education,and one thatseveralsannyasinsespouse,is thatthese were individuals
whohadalreadyreapedsociety'smaterialrewards,becamebored,andsubsequently
soughtspiritualfulfillment.
Theresultsfrommeasuresof self-reported
psychologicalwell-beingdifferfrom
datacompiledon othernewreligions.Galanter,Rabkin,Rabkin,& Deutsch(1979)
foundthatalthoughjoiningthe "Moonies"didincreaselevelsof psychologicalwellbeing,themeanscoreof convertswasstillbelowthenorm.Thisis notthecase with
Rajneeshees.Theyscorewell aboveaverage.Galanter'sdataindicatethata higher
sense of well-beingis not simply the result of the methodologicalproblemof
mortality.Lowscorersdo notdropout. Indeed,Galanterfoundthattheyweremore
likely to remain.
the Rajneesheeresponsesby comparing
Oneshouldbe cautiousin interpreting
truewiththementalhealthdata,
themwiththoseof othergroups.Thisis particularly
whereseveralmethodological/practical
ambiguitiesexist. First, these inventories
are only one formof data,i.e., self-report.Second,one cannotassumeitemswill
havethe samemeaningin differentcultures.Third,the resultsareconfoundedwith
the Rajneesheephilosophyof emphasizingthe positiveelementsof life. The scales
couldbe tappingphilosophyinsteadof mentalstatus;however,fromourobservations
individualsat the ranchappearedin generalto be happyandwell adjusted.
disClosingnote: In the winterof 1985 the communityof Rajneeshpuram
one of the adultsand
undertaken:
banded.Twofollow-upstudiesweresubsequently
one of the children.Botharedesignedto examinethe adjustment
processandhow
lives of former
the
touch
to
continues
at
the experienceof living Rajneeshpuram
in
are
residents.Additionalreportsof the project currently preparation.3
RESEARCHNOTE
81
REFERENCES
Bird, F and Reimer,B. 1983. "ParticipationRatesin New Religions and ParareligiousMovements." Pp.
215-238 in E. Barker,ed., Of Gods and Men, New Religious Movementsin the West.Macon, GA:
Mercer University Press.
Clarke, R. 1983. Rajneeshismand Its Principles. Reportto the Oregon Committeefor the Humanities.
Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University.
Cohen, S., and Hoberman,H. M. 1983. "Positive Events and Social Supportsas Buffersof Life Change
Stress." Journal of Applied Social Psychology 13:99-125.
Cohen, S., Kamart, T., and Mermelstein, R. (in press). "A Global Measure of Perceived Stress."
Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
Galanter,M., Rabkin,R., Rabkin,J., and Deutsch, A. 1979. "The 'Moonies': A Psychological Study of
Conversion and Membership in a ContemporaryReligious Sect." AmericanJournal of Psychiatry
136:165-170.
Harter,S. 1983. ThePerceived Competenceand Social AcceptanceScale for Children.Denver, CO: The
University of Denver.
Kilbourne, B. and Richardson,J. T. 1984. "Psychotherapyand New Religions in a PluralisticSociety."
American Psychologist 39:237-251.
Melton, G. J. and Moore, R. L. 1982. The Cult Experience. New York:Pilgrim Press.
Radloff, L. S. 1977. "The CES-D Scale: A Self-Report Depression Scale of Research in the General
Population." Applied Psychological Measurement1:385-401.
Rosenberg, M. 1965. Social and Adolescent Self-Image. Princeton, NJ: PrincetonUniversity Press.
Volinn, E. 1985. "EasternMeditationGroups: Why Join?" Sociological Analysis 46:147-156.
Yancey,W. L., Rigsby,L., and McCarthy,J. D. 1972. "Self-Esteemand Social Class." AmericanJournal
of Sociology 789:338-359.