Cult Inquiry Announced with Renee & Clare

Jun 3, 2025

Guest

Clare Heath McIvor

Guest

Renee Spencer

Renee Spencer is a cult survivor advocate and creator of a Cult Rubric, while Clare Heath McIvor, daughter of a cult leader, uses comedy to navigate her trauma. They discuss the newly announced parliamentary inquiry into cults in Victoria and the formation of the Victorian Cult Survivors Network. Engaging personal stories reveal the emotional struggles of relationships torn by cult involvement, while humor serves as a coping mechanism in the face of trauma. The conversation emphasizes the importance of awareness, advocacy, and identifying red flags in cult behaviors.

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ANECDOTE

Renee's Daughter Joins Cult

Renee's daughter joined the Jesus Christians cult and rapidly married within months.
Renee experienced sudden loss of contact and was thrust into cult advocacy while supporting her daughter.

ANECDOTE

Clare's Upbringing in Cultic Church

Clare grew up in Sale City Builders, controlled by her pastor dad.
The church's authoritarian control included homeschooling and isolating youth from outside influences.

ANECDOTE

Cult Family Separation and Conversion Practices

Clare described coerced separation of youth from families and arranged marriages.
Her ex-husband was subjected to gay conversion practices within the cult environment.

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A parliamentary inquiry into cults and fringe groups has recently been announced in the state of Victoria (Australia).

This inquiry has spurred a group of survivor advocates to join forces and work together to form the Victorian Cult Survivors Network.

In this episode host Laura McConnell together with Renee Spencer and Clare Heath McIvor discuss their journeys into cult survivor advocacy and their hopes for the parliamentary inquiry in Victoria. The survivor group has members from a wide variety of cults and the moderators come from a variety of cult backgrounds themselves – Laura is a Truth 2x2 survivor, Clare is a survivor of Sale City Builders, Renee has a daughter in the Jesus Christians (Kidney Cult). The group works closely with Ryan and Catherine from Stop Religious Coercion, who’re survivors of the Geelong Revival Centre, Maria who is a survivor of Children of God, and others who’ve survived groups such as Scientology and Shincheonji.

Show Notes:

Podcast Socials Links

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@truth2x2survivor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauramc.au/

Website: https://www.lauramcconnell.com.au/

Victorian Government Inquiry into Cults and Fringe Groups: https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/cofg

Renee Spencer’s Cult Rubric (and website) : https://www.recoverfromcoercivecontrol.com/how-to-spot-a-cult

Clare Heath McIvor’s website: https://kitkennedy.wordpress.com/about

Links to Support:

LBH good trauma informed, cult sensitive therapists and support are hard to find. Please persist and try to find one that works for you. If you’re in a tough spot right now, please know you’re not alone.

Here are some links to AU NZ supports and therapists which might be useful.

https://www.thereligioustraumacollective.com/

As an Australian CSA survivor, the best support I’ve accessed at my lowest points, has been through Survivor Hub - https://www.thesurvivorhub.

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