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{{short description|Company offering personal development programs}}
]{{Infobox Company
{{distinguish|Landmark School|Landmark College}}
| company_name = Landmark Education
{{COI|date=October 2023}}
| company_logo = ]
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}
| company_type = ] ]
{{Infobox company
| foundation = January ]
| name = Landmark Worldwide LLC
| location = ], ]
| logo = ]
| key_people = ]: ];<ref>
| type = Privately held company ]
| founded = {{start_date|1991|1|16}}
</ref> ] <br>
| location = San Francisco, California
]: President; ]
| key_people = Harry Rosenberg, CEO{{ r | Believer_2003 | CSIndy_2019-07-24 | MJ_2009 }}
]: ];<ref name="BOD19AUG2002" /> ], Landmark Education Business Development ()<br>
| industry = ]
]: General Counsel; Chairman, ]; ]<ref name="BOD19AUG2002" /><br>
| products = The Landmark Forum, associated coursework

| revenue = $100&nbsp;million (2016){{r| Spears_2017-03-30}}
]: Vice President, Centers Division; ]<br>
| profit = $5&nbsp;million (2016){{r| Spears_2017-03-30}}
]: Vice President, Course Development<br>
| num_employees = 500 employees and 7,500 volunteers{{r| Spears_2017-03-30 | NYMag_2001-07-09 }}
]: ];<ref name="BOD19AUG2002" /> Landmark Forum Leader<br>
| parent =
Sanford Robbins: ]<ref name="BOD19AUG2002" /><br>
| subsid = {{ublist|The Vanto Group|Tekniko Licensing Corporation}}
]: Course Designer<br>
| homepage = {{URL|landmarkworldwide.com}}
| industry = ], ], ], ], ]
| footnotes =
| products = The ], associated coursework
| revenue = {{profit}}8.6% to<br>]76 million (2005)<ref>
, Landmark Education Corporate Website
</ref>
| operating_income =
| net_income = {{profit}}]2.5 million<ref name="estfriends">
, ], ], ] issue of Metro, Metro Publishing Inc.
</ref> (1997)
| num_employees = more than 450 (2006);<br>650 trained leaders, some of whom volunteer their time;<ref>
, Landmark Education website, ], states: ''"Seminar leaders are accomplished women and men who volunteer their time and talent..."''
</ref> <br>7,500 volunteers in "Assisting Program" (1998)<ref name="estfriends" />
| parent =
| subsid = Landmark Education Business Development (LEBD) <br>Landmark Education International, Inc.<ref name="articles">
See quote: ''"'This letter serves as the consent by Landmark Education Corporation for the use of the name "Landmark Education International, Inc." by our wholly-owned subsidiary, currently known as Werner Erhard and Associates International, Inc."''., , ], ]
</ref><br>] <br>Rancord Company, Ltd.
| homepage =
| footnotes =
}} }}
'''Landmark Worldwide''' (known as '''Landmark Education''' before 2013), or simply '''Landmark''', is an American ] for-profit company that offers ] programs, with their most-known being the '''Landmark Forum'''. It is one of several ] programs.


Several ] and scholars of religion have classified Landmark as a "]" (NRM), while others have called it a "self-religion," a "corporate religion," and a "religio-spiritual corporation". Landmark has sometimes been described a ]. Some religious experts dispute this claim, pointing out that Landmark does not meet some characteristics of cults, including being a religious organization, or having a central leader. Landmark has been criticized for the stress it puts on participants while it tries to convert them to a new worldview and for its recruitment tactics: Landmark does not use ], but instead pressures participants during courses to recruit relatives and friends as new customers.
'''Landmark Education ]''' (LE)<!-- the LLC org rather than the course-content--> offers ] programs in over 20 countries. An ], ], it has its headquarters in ]. Its introductory course has the name ''The Landmark Forum''.


As part of the ], which was centered in ], ] created and ran the ''est'' (]) system from 1971 to 1984, which promoted the idea that individuals are empowered when they take personal responsibility for all events in their lives, both good and bad. In 1985, Erhard modified est to be gentler and more business oriented and renamed it the Landmark Forum. In 1991, he sold the company and its concepts to some of his employees, who incorporated it as Landmark Education ], which was restructured into Landmark Education ] in 2003, and then renamed Landmark Worldwide LLC in 2013. Its subsidiary, the '''Vanto Group''', markets and delivers ] and consulting to organizations.
Landmark Education purchased the ] of ], a successor to the controversial ], and since its founding in 1991 has developed other courses.


<!-- maybe a good location for a summary of the concepts they teach in their courses /-->== History ==
Landmark Education aims its courses primarily at individuals. Its subsidiary Landmark Education Business Development (LEBD) markets and delivers training and consulting to organizations. Landmark Education's subsidiary Tekniko Licensing Corporation licenses Landmark Education's "technology" to management-consulting firms.
In 1985, ] (creator of the ] training which ran from 1971 to 1984) renamed est to the Landmark Forum, and changed the content to be gentler and somewhat more business oriented.{{r| Spears_2017-03-30 | Believer_2003 | NYT_2010-11-28 }} He promoted the idea that all events (good and bad) of an individual's life were their own making, and that individuals would be empowered when they take personal responsibility for all events in their lives, an idea based in the ].{{ r | Believer_2003 | Spears_2017-03-30 }} Many individuals liked this belief, whether or not it is true, or simply works as a ].{{ r | Believer_2003 }} The Landmark Forum's niche was for people who did not have major psychological problems, but were nonetheless seeking self-improvement; these people constituted a very large part of society and were not served by the medical psychological establishment, which concentrated on those with mental illness.{{ r | Believer_2003 | CSIndy_2019-07-24 }}


In 1991, Erhard sold the intellectual property rights associated with the Forum's concepts to some of his employees, (including his brother Harry Rosenberg who became CEO) who incorporated into "Landmark Education Corporation."{{ r | Believer_2003 | Spears_2017-03-30 | CSIndy_2019-07-24 | MJ_2009 }}<ref>] (1993). '']: The dark journey of ] from ] to exile''. New York City: ]. {{ISBN|0-312-09296-2}}, p. 254. (]).</ref> Landmark paid Erhard $3 million as an initial licensing fee, with additional payments over the next 18 years not to exceed $15 million.{{ r | NYMag_2001-07-09 }}<ref>{{cite court | litigants=Ney v. Landmark Education Corporation and Werner Erhard | vol= | reporter= | opinion=92-1979 | court=] | date=1994-02-02 | url=https://en.wikisource.org/Ney_v._Landmark_Education_Corporation_and_Werner_Erhard | quote=The parties calculated the value of WE&A's assets at $ 8,600,000. Landmark also acquired Erhard's stock in WE&AII, which was valued at $ 1,200,000. Landmark agreed, as payment for the WE&A assets and WE&AII stock, to assume liabilities in the amount of $ 6,800,000 and to pay an additional $ 3 million to Erhard. The agreedon downpayment of $ 300,000 was paid out of the account of WE&AII, whose stock was sold to Landmark. The $ 2,700,000 balance was to be paid by January 30, 1992, but payment was later extended and the due date delayed. Landmark obtained from Erhard a license to present the Forum for 18 years in the United States and internationally with the exception of Japan and Mexico. Erhard retained ownership of the license. The license was not assignable without Erhard's express written consent, and was to revert to Erhard after 18 years. Furthermore, under the Agreement, Erhard was promised 2% of Landmark's gross revenues payable on a monthly basis and, in addition, 50% of the net (pre-tax) profit payable quarterly. Such payments to Erhard were not to exceed a total payment of $ 15 million over the 18 year term of the license. }}</ref> The new company offered similar courses and employed many of the same staff.{{sfn|Marshall|1997}}{{sfn|Pressman|1993|pp=245–246, 254–255}} The Forum was reduced in length from four days to three, and its price is about 50% of the cost of the est courses.{{ r | Time_1998-03-16 }} In 2001, Rosenberg stated that Landmark had completely purchased the licenses to all of Erhard's concepts and all divisions of the company.{{ r | NYMag_2001-07-09 }}
Some critics question (for example) whether and to what degree Landmark Education courses benefit participants. Others criticise the use of volunteers by Landmark Education and examine the origins of the organization (]/] etc).<ref></ref>


In 2003, Landmark Education ] was re-structured into Landmark Education ], and in 2013 it was renamed Landmark Worldwide LLC.{{cn|date=December 2023}} Landmark Worldwide states that it operates as a ] company, whose ] all the shares of the corporation.{{ r | Landmark_website_1 }} The company states that it invests its surpluses "into making its programs, initiatives, and services more widely available."<ref name="Landmark_website_1">{{ cite web | url=https://www.landmarkworldwide.com/about/company-overview | title=Landmark Company Overview | last= | first= | work=Landmark Worldwide | date= | access-date=2023-12-07 | quote=Landmark is a for-profit company 100% owned by over 600 employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and similar international plans. The organization's executive team reports to a Board of Directors that is elected annually by the ESOP. }} </ref>
== Corporation ==


The company reported in 2019 that more than 2.4&nbsp;million people had participated in its programs since 1991.{{ r | CSIndy_2019-07-24 }} Landmark holds seminars in approximately 125 locations in more than 21 countries.<ref name=Spears_2017-03-30 /><ref>See:
Landmark Education's Charter states that the organization is "a global enterprise whose purpose is to empower and enable people and organizations to generate and fulfill new possibilities. We create and provide programs, services, and paradigms that produce extraordinary results for our customers."<ref>
* LandmarkWorldwide.com. . Retrieved on October 22, 2008.
* LandmarkWorldwide.com. {{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. Retrieved on October 22, 2008.
</ref>
* Nathan Thornberg April 10, 2011 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401192222/https://www.landmarkworldwide.com/who-we-are |date=April 1, 2019 }}</ref> Landmark's revenue surpassed $100&nbsp;million in 2018, with profits of about $5 million.{{ r | CSIndy_2019-07-24 | Spears_2017-03-30 }} The organization has 500 employees, and about 7,500 volunteers, an unusually large number of volunteers for a ''for-profit'' company.{{ r | CSIndy_2019-07-24 | NYMag_2001-07-09 }} Their use of volunteers prompted three separate investigations by the ], which concluded without requiring Landmark to make any changes to their practices.{{ r | CSIndy_2019-07-24 | p=1 }}


===Business consulting===
Landmark Education states that over 880,000 people have taken part in its introductory program, "The Landmark Forum" since 1991.<ref>
In 1993 Landmark started a subsidiary named Landmark Education Business Development (LEBD),{{cn|date=December 2023}} (later renamed to the Vanto Group) which uses the Landmark methodology to provide consulting services to businesses and other organizations.{{ r | NYT_2010-11-28 }} LEBD became the Vanto Group in 2008.<ref name=Reuters>(February 1, 2008). " {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090408040623/http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS271093+01-Feb-2008+PRN20080201 |date= 2009-04-08 }}". ]. Retrieved on October 22, 2008.</ref>
, Landmark Education website
</ref> It has compiled a text entitled "Independent Research, Case Studies, and Surveys" devoted to its courses on its corporate website,<ref>
</ref>
and trains its own course instructors intensively in Landmark's ] (also known internally as "technology").


=== Controversial marketing practices ===
Landmark Education regards the precise content of its courses as ]ed material, but provides a course syllabus for the "Landmark Forum" on their public website.<ref>
Landmark does not use advertising to reach potential customers, but instead repeatedly pressures participants during their courses to recruit relatives, friends, and acquaintances as new clients.{{ r | Believer_2003 | CSIndy_2019-07-24 | MJ_2009 |Spears_2017-03-30 | NYMag_2001-07-09 | Time_1998-03-16 | CBC_2014-10-15 | TIME_2011-04-10 }} This complete reliance on word-of-mouth advertising to market its programs has been described by reporters variously as: "evangelical",{{ r | Spears_2017-03-30 }} having "a ] taste,"{{ r | TIME_2011-04-10 }} "a quasi-pyramid scheme,"{{ r | Believer_2003 }} and including a "hard, hard sell."{{ r | MJ_2009 }}
</ref>


=== Memberships and accreditations === === Accusations of being a cult ===
Landmark has faced accusations of being a ].{{r | CSIndy_2019-07-24 | Spears_2017-03-30 }}<ref name=Barker_2004 /> Several commentators unrelated to Landmark have stated that because it has no single central leader, is a ] (non-religious) organization, and it tries to unite (and re-unite) participants with their family and friends (rather than isolate them) that it does not meet many of the characteristics of a cult.{{ r | CSIndy_2019-07-24 | Spears_2017-03-30 | Toutant }}


Landmark has threatened and pursued lawsuits against people who have called or labeled it such, including individuals (] professor ]), magazines (], ], and ''Now'') and organizations (]).{{ r | CSIndy_2019-07-24 | NYMag_2001-07-09 | PNT_2000-10-19 }} After Singer wrote a book, '']'', in which she mentioned Landmark as a controversial ] training course, Landmark sued Singer.{{ r | PNT_2000-10-19 }} The suit was resolved when Singer agreed to provide a sworn statement that Landmark is not a cult or sect.{{ r | PNT_2000-10-19 }} Singer stated that she would not recommend the group to anyone, and would not comment on whether Landmark used coercive persuasion for fear of legal recrimination from Landmark.{{ r | PNT_2000-10-19 }} In 1997, Landmark sued Cult Awareness Network (CAN) after they made statements alleging or implying that Landmark was a cult.{{ r | PNT_2000-10-19 }} That suit was resolved when CAN stated that it has no evidence that Landmark is a cult.{{ r | PNT_2000-10-19 }}
Landmark Education and its subsidiaries hold memberships in the following ] and organizations{{Fact|date=March 2007}}:


In 2004, it was revealed that Landmark had paid French anti-cult expert ] to "audit" them.{{ r | Palmer_2011 | Vézard_2004 }} Landmark had been listed as a cult by the ] 1995 list of cults; displeased by their designation, they contacted Abgrall to have them removed from the list.{{ r | Palmer_2011 | Vézard_2004 }} Abgrall wrote a report on the organization arguing that they were not a cult, arguing that they were a "harmless organization", though did conclude by recognizing that the group may have had some warning signs.{{ r | Palmer_2011 | Vézard_2004 }} Following his report they were removed from the list, and Abgrall was paid {{Euro|45,699.49}} by Landmark from the period of 2001 to 2002.{{ r | Palmer_2011 | Vézard_2004 }} Abgrall complained in 2004 when interviewed by '']'' that this had only been revealed to block his involvement in the ongoing ] cult trial, and that he had no conflict of interest as he "wrote an unfavorable report and paid my taxes."<ref name="Palmer_2011">{{Cite book |last=Palmer |first=Susan J. |author-link=Susan J. Palmer |title=The New Heretics of France: Minority Religions, la République, and the Government-Sponsored "War on Sects" |title-link=The New Heretics of France |publisher=] |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-19-973521-1 |pages=161–168, footnote 64 |language=en |chapter=Néo-Phare: The First Application of the About-Picard Law |ref=none}}</ref><ref name="Vézard_2004">{{Cite news |last=Vézard |first=Frédéric |date=2004-05-28 |title=L'embarrassant rapport de l'expert antisectes |trans-title=The embarrassing report of the anti-cult expert |url=https://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/l-embarrassant-rapport-de-l-expert-antisectes-28-05-2004-2005017489.php |access-date=2024-08-27 |work=] |language=fr-FR}}</ref>
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] (Membership Details) (CEU Qualifications)
* ]


In June 2004, Landmark filed a 1 million dollar lawsuit against ]'s Cult Education Institute, alleging that postings on the institute's websites which characterized Landmark as a cultish organization that brainwashed their clients damaged Landmark's product.<ref name="Toutant">{{cite news |last1=Toutant |first1=Charles |title=Suits Against Anti-Cult Blogger Provide Test for Online Speech |url=https://www.law.com/almID/900005547114/ |access-date=October 26, 2023 |work=New Jersey Law Journal |publisher=Law.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006121535/http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1136838328818 |archive-date=October 6, 2006 |language=en|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}}</ref> In December 2005, Landmark filed to dismiss its own lawsuit ], purportedly on the grounds of a material change in case law after the publication of an opinion in another case, ''Donato v. Moldow'', regarding the ] of 1996, even though Ross wanted to continue the case in order to further investigate Landmark's educational materials and history of suing critics.<ref name="Toutant" /> Ross stated that he does not see Landmark as a cult because they have no individual leader, but he considers them harmful because subjects are harassed and intimidated, causing potentially unsafe levels of stress.<ref name="Toutant" />
===History===
Landmark Education, known from ], ]<ref name="articles" /> to ], ]<ref>
, incorporation, Legal Document, ], ], ], Agent for ], ], ]
</ref>
as "Landmark Education Corporation (LEC)", purchased<ref>
], '']: The dark journey of ] from ] to exile''. ]: ], ]. ISBN 0-312-09296-2, p.254.(])
</ref>
certain rights to a presentation known as '''The Forum''' from ] ('''WEA''', the corporate successor of ] — '''est''' or '''EST'''). The new owners, including former staff of WEA, renamed the course '''The Landmark Forum''', further developed its content and shortened the four-day, two-weekend WEA "Forum" to three full days. Landmark Education states that it made changes to the course content at that time, and that a major re-design of the Landmark Forum took place in 1999.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Landmark Education also inherited other WE&A courses.


== Courses ==
The group of people who purchased the rights registered themselves initially as ], as ], and (in Japan) as ]. Corporation as "Landmark Education Corporation" (LEC) took place later in 1991. In February 2003, Landmark Education LLC succeeded LEC.<ref>
Many large companies and government agencies have paid for and encouraged their employees to take Landmark's classes.{{ r | Spears_2017-03-30 | Believer_2003 }}
Secretary of State of California website, record: Landmark Education LLP
</ref>
The coursework and ] of WEA evolved from est/], founded by ] in 1971.


], the founder and co-CEO of ], has said that Landmark aided his company's success.{{ r | Spears_2017-03-30 | p=1 }}{{ r | BusinessWeek_2010-11-18 }} He has strongly encouraged his employees and all managers to take Landmark's classes.{{ r | BusinessWeek_2010-11-18 }} ], the founder of ], is a follower of Landmark's principles, and has directed his companies to pay for employees to attend Landmark's classes.{{ r | FC_2009-04-01 | SMH_2016-02-03 | MJ_2009 }}
According to Landmark Education, ] consults from time to time with its "Research and Design team".
(See also an article in '']''.<ref>
] article, ]]
</ref>
) Erhard's younger brother (]) works as Landmark Education's Chief Executive Officer, and their sister (]) serves as the Vice President of Landmark Education's Centers Division.


Some of Landmark's courses require participants to start a ].{{ r | CSIndy_2019-07-24 | p=1 }}<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/Helping-professionals-take-up-community-welfare-projects/article15911751.ece | title = Helping professionals take up community welfare projects | publisher = Hindu Times | access-date = July 8, 2020 | date= September 13, 2010 | location= Chennai, India}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503343&objectid=11038761 | title = Charity walk to boost anti-suicide initiatives | newspaper = Bay of Plenty Times | access-date = October 14, 2011 | date=August 20, 2011 | quote = Irene has undertaken the charity event as part of her Landmark Education Self Expression and Leadership course. "I had to set up a community programme of my choice that would make a difference," Irene said.}}</ref>
According to statements made by Landmark Education CEO Harry Rosenberg in 2001:


=== Landmark Forum ===
<blockquote>
Landmark's entry course, the Landmark Forum, is the default first course for new participants and provides the foundation of all Landmark's other programs. The Landmark Forum takes place over three consecutive days plus an evening session (generally Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday evening.)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.landmarkworldwide.com/the-landmark-forum|title = The Landmark Forum - Personal Development Courses – Landmark Worldwide}}</ref> The Forum is attended in a group varying in size between 75 and 250 people. Landmark arranges the course as a dialogue in which the Forum leader presents a series of proposals and encourages participants to take the floor to relate how those ideas apply to their own individual ].{{sfn|Stassen|2008}} Course leaders set up rules at the beginning of the program and Landmark strongly encourages participants not to miss any part of the program.{{Cn|date=November 2024}} Attendees are also urged to be "coachable" (open minded to the course's concepts) and not just be observers during the course.{{ r | Time_1998-03-16 }}{{sfn|McCrone|2008}}
...Erhard kept the Mexican and Japanese branches of the operation...Last year, Landmark had revenues of $58 million, and ... the company has bought outright Erhard's license and his rights to Japan and Mexico.<ref>
'''', ], July 9, ].
</ref>
</blockquote>


Various ideas are proposed for consideration and explored during the course. These include:
The prior president and registered agent of ],<ref>, ], President and Registered Agent, ], ].</ref> (]), functions as Landmark Education's ] and Chairman of the Landmark Education Board of Directors. ] was Werner Erhard's personal attorney.<ref>, ''Westword'', Steve Jackson, ], ].<br>That got Sumerlin into some unusual reading of her own: angry correspondence from Landmark officials, including Art Schreiber, Landmark's current president and Erhard's former attorney, and Harry Rosenberg, Erhard's brother, who's on the Landmark board.</ref>


* There can be a big difference between the facts and events in a person's life and the ], interpretation, and significance the person gives to or makes up about those events.{{sfn|Stassen|2008}}{{ r | Allinson}} The course proposes that people frequently conflate facts with their own interpretations of what occurred and, as a result, create self-inflicted suffering and a loss of effectiveness in their lives.
=== Structure and financials ===
* Meaning is a function of language, something people make up, rather than something intrinsic to life or occurrences. By articulating differently in a given context, people can alter the meaning they create and experience a greater degree of effectiveness in how they deal with events.{{sfn|McCrone|2008}}
* In learning to perceive self-created meaning, people begin to see that assumptions they have made about who they are in life are actually shaped by limitations they have made up in response to past circumstances or events. This realization allows participants to articulate new meanings that are free of self-imposed constraints. The Forum goes on to train participants in actualizing these new possible meanings by sharing them with people in their lives. This creates a supportive social environment for achieving one's dreams and goals.{{sfn|McCrone|2008}}<ref name="Promise of Philosophy">{{cite journal |author1=McCarl, Steven R. |author2=Zaffron, Steve |author3=Nielson, Joyce |author4=Kennedy, Sally Lewis |date=January–April 2001 |title=The Promise of Philosophy and the Landmark Forum |journal=Contemporary Philosophy |volume=XXIII |issue=1 & 2 |doi=10.2139/ssrn.278955 |ssrn=278955}}</ref>
* The term "new possibilities" means something different from the common definition as something that may happen. Rather, the term refers to a here-and-now opportunity to be differently or take new action, free of constraints from the past.<ref name="Promise of Philosophy" />
* A person's behavior is often governed by a perceived need to look good and be right, and people are often unaware of how their behaviors are shaped by these needs.{{r | Allinson}}
* When people have persistent complaints that are accompanied by unproductive fixed ways of being and acting,<ref name="ReferenceA">See:
*{{request quotation|date=August 2017}};
*{{harv|McCrone|2008}};
*{{harv|Odasso|2008}}.</ref>


During the course, participants are encouraged to call friends and family members with whom they feel they have unresolved tensions,{{Cn|date=November 2024}} and to take responsibility for their own behavior.<ref>See:
Landmark Education LLC operates as an ] ] ]. According to Landmark Education's fact-sheet, its employees own all the ] of the ],<ref>
*{{harv|Odasso|2008}}.</ref>
], June 19, 2006, report, Landmark Education Corporation,
</ref>
with no individual holding more than 3%. The company states that it operates in such a way as to invest its surpluses into making its programs, initiatives and services more widely available.<ref>
, fact-sheet, accessed ], 2006
</ref>
The ]s elect a ]<ref name="BOD19AUG2002" />
annually. A list of ]s appears in the box above.


The evening session follows closely on the three consecutive days of the course and completes the Landmark Forum. During this final session, the participants share information about their results and bring guests to learn about the Forum.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
], Landmark Education claims that 70,000 to 80,000 people took the Landmark Forum annually, and around 50,000 take other courses offered.<ref>
, note: unverified vague and approximate information
</ref>


A 2011 ] article stated that "Landmark has been criticized for delving into the traumas of largely unscreened participants without having mental-health professionals on hand."{{ r | TIME_2011-04-10 }}
] Landmark Education maintained 52 offices in 21 countries<ref>, retrieved ]
</ref>
, with more than half of its offices in ].


== Reception ==
Landmark Education reported revenues of $70 million for 2004;<ref>
</ref>
$76 million in ]<ref>
Landmark education, website,
</ref>
.
In 1997, Landmark had 451 employees, 7,500 volunteers in the United States alone, spent $13 million on employee salaries and bonuses, spent $4 million on travel, and made a profit of $2.5 million (which it re-invested in the expansion of the company's operations<ref name="estfriends" />
.)


=== Subsidiaries === === Scholars ===


Sociologist ] and sociologist of religion ] both classified Landmark and its predecessor organization ''est'' as a "]" (NRM).<ref>{{harvnb|Barker|1996|p=126}}: "To illustrate rather than to define: among the better-known NRMs are the Brahma Kumaris, the Church of Scientology, the Divine Light Mission (now known as Elan Vital), est (Erhard Seminar Training, now known as the Landmark Forum), the Family (originally known as the Children of God), ISKCON (the Hare Krishna), Rajneeshism (now known as Oslo International), Sahaja Yoga, the Soka Gakkai, Transcendental Meditation, the Unification Church (known as the Moonies) and the Way International."</ref><ref name=Barker_2004 /><ref name=Barker_2005 /><ref>{{cite book |last=Beckford |first=James A. |author-link=James A. Beckford |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WW-XcDe-IMEC |title=New Religious Movements in the Twenty-first Century: Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global Perspective |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |isbn=0-415-96576-4 |editor1-last=Lucas |editor1-first=Phillip Charles |location=Abingdon and New York |page=256 |language=en |chapter=New Religious Movements and Globalization |quote=The prospect of a new global order is also central to many variants of the Human Potential and New Age movements and Scientology. All these very different kinds of NRM nevertheless share a conviction that human beings have, perhaps for the first time, come into possession of the knowledge required to free them from traditional structures of thought and action. Hence, the confidence of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of Transcendental Meditation, and of Werner Erhard, the founder of est (now largely re-configured as the Landmark Trust) |editor2-last=Robbins |editor2-first=Thomas |editor2-link=Thomas Robbins (sociologist)}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Beckford|2003|p=156}}:" post-countercultural religious movements such as Erhard Seminars Training (now the Landmark Forum) ."</ref> Some scholars have categorized Landmark or its predecessor organizations as a "]" or a (broadly defined) new religious movement (NRM).<ref name="Lockwood_2011" /><ref name="Heelas_1991" /><ref>See:
Landmark Education's subsidiaries include Landmark Education Business Development (LEBD), and Tekniko Licensing Corporation.
<!--progress tag (Avatar317)-->
*{{harv|Ramstedt|2007|pp=196–197}}.</ref><ref>See:
===== Landmark Education Business Development =====
*{{harv|Bhugra|1997|p=126}};
*{{harv|Chryssides|2006|pp=197–198}};
*{{harv|Lazarus|2008}};
*{{harv|Partridge|2004|p=406}}.</ref><ref>
{{cite book
| last1 = Clarke
| first1 = Peter B.
| author-link1 = Peter B. Clarke
| chapter = New Religious Movements
| editor1-last = Taliaferro
| editor1-first = Charles
| editor1-link = Charles Taliaferro
| editor2-last = Harrison
| editor2-first = Victoria S.
| editor3-last = Goetz
| editor3-first = Stewart
| title = The Routledge Companion to Theism
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CNATXtGJIvUC
| series = Routledge Religion Companions Series
| year = 2013
| location = New York
| publisher = Routledge
| publication-date = 2013
| page = 123
| isbn = 978-0-415-88164-7
| access-date = 23 June 2021
| quote = Like the , many of the Self-religions (Heelas 1991) have been heavily influenced by Asian, and more generally Eastern, ideas of spirituality and divinity and do not acknowledge an external theistic being but rather, use spiritual and psychological techniques to reveal the god within and/or the divine self. The Forum and/or ''est'', whose origins are in the United States (Tipton 1982) holds to the belief that the self itself is god.
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
| year = 1988
| editor1-last = Clarke
| editor1-first = Peter
| editor1-link = Peter B. Clarke
| editor2-last = Sutherland
| editor2-first = Stewart
| editor2-link = Stewart Sutherland, Baron Sutherland of Houndwood
| title = The World's Religions: The Study of Religion, Traditional and New Religion
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=eWeKAgAAQBAJ
| publisher = Routledge
| publication-date = 2002
| page =
| isbn = 978-1-134-92221-5
| access-date = 23 June 2021
| quote = the founder of est (the highly influential seminar training established by Erhard in 1971) observes that, 'Of all the disciplines that I studied and learned, Zen was the essential one.
}}
</ref> Others question some aspects of these characterizations.<ref name="ReferenceB">Communication for planetary transformation and the drag of public conversations: The case of Landmark Education Corporation. Patrick Owen Cannon, University of South Florida</ref><ref>See:
*{{harv|Beckford et al., eds.|2007|pp=229, 687}}{{request quotation|date=December 2020}};
*{{harv|Bromley|2007|p=48}}.
</ref><ref>Education Embraced: Substantiating the Educational Foundations of Landmark Education's Transformative Learning Model Marsha L. Heck International Multilingual Journal of Contemporary Research, 3(2), pp. 149–162 DOI: 10.15640/imjcr.v3n2a14</ref>


Renee Lockwood, a sociology of religion researcher at ] described Landmark as a "corporate religion" and a "religio-spiritual corporation" because of its emphasis on teaching techniques for improvement in personal and employee productivity, which is marketed to businesses as well as government agencies.{{r|Lockwood_2012}} Sociologist of religion ] says that Landmark could be considered an NRM.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Robbins |first1=Thomas |author-link1=Thomas Robbins (sociologist) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vA8edg7bv0kC |title=The SAGE Handbook of the Sociology of Religion |last2=Lucas |first2=Philip Charles |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4462-0652-2 |editor1-last=Beckford |editor1-first=James A. |editor1-link=James A. Beckford |page=229 |chapter=From 'Cults' to New Religious Movements: Coherence, Definition, and Conceptual Framing in the Study of New Religious Movements |quote= many other types of groups have emerged that could fall under the purview of NRM study. We have suggested some of these in the above paragraph. Others might include religio-therapy groups such as Avatar, Mindspring, and Landmark Forum . |access-date=December 19, 2020 |editor2-last=Demerath |editor2-first=N. Jay}}
Landmark Education Business Development, founded in 1993, utilizes the "technology" of Landmark Education in providing consulting services to various companies.
</ref> ], a researcher on NRMs and cults said: "''est'' and Landmark may have some of the attributes typically associated with religion, but it is doubtful whether they should be accorded full status as religious organizations."<ref name="Chryssides_1999" />


], professor of ] and an expert in ], stated in 2014 that Landmark's business is "to teach people that the values they have held up until now have held them back; that indeed they need a new set of values and this group can provide those new sets of values ... I don't know of any academic research that verifies that kind of perspective" and while some individuals feel "cleansed" or "invigorated" by Landmark's training, others may feel violated by the pressure put on them to reveal their innermost secrets to strangers during Landmark's training sessions.{{ r | CBC_2014-10-15 }}
The ] (USC) ] carried out a ] into the work of Landmark Education Business Development (LEBD) at . The report concluded that the set of interventions in the organization produced a 50% improvement in safety, a 15% to 20% reduction in key benchmark costs, a 50% increase in ], and a 20% increase in raw steel production. The USC makes the full report available. {{Fact|date=April 2007}}


Landmark maintains that it is an educational foundation and denies being a religious movement.<ref name=Lockwood_2011 /><ref name=Puttick_2004/>
===== Tekniko Licensing Corporation =====


====Large Group Awareness Training study====
], originally owned by Werner Erhard, formed the successor organization to his Transformational Technologies. Werner Erhard and a management consultant named James Selman originally incorporated Transformational Technologies in 1984.<ref>
{{main|Evaluating a Large Group Awareness Training}}
], ], pg. 217., ]
<br/>
"In July 1984 a company named Transformational Technologies was incorporated in the state of New York. The corporate charter listed a successful management consultant, a small, wiry man named James Selman, as the company's chief executive officer, but the sole owner of the new firm was Werner Erhard. Selman was a longtime est enthusiast, having gone through the training in 1975 while he was a partner at the prominent management consulting firm Touche Ross. He later quit to work for Erhard, and now he was ready to put into place one of Erhard's long-standing objectives - applying the principles of est to the world of big business. Together Erhard and Selman embarked on a plan to sell, at a handsome price, franchises in Transformational Technologies to independent business consultants who then would be licensed to utilize Erhard's est-influenced "technology". Within eighteen months nearly fifty franchises had been sold at a cost of $25,000 apiece. The franchise agreement also required each independedt consultant to pay a portion of his or her revenues to Erhard's company.
</ref>
Landmark Education referred to Tekniko Licensing Corporation as one of the company's "wholly owned subsidiaries".<ref>
, Landmark Education website.<br>"The qualified candidate would be accountable for managing all administrative and financial aspects of one of Landmark Education’s wholly owned subsidiaries, Tekniko Licensing Corporation. Working with Landmark Education Business Development, this person acts a liaison and resource for a wide variety of corporations that License Tekniko’s Technology for use in their corporations."
</ref>
According to ], on the other hand, Terry M. Giles fully owns Tekniko Licensing Corporation,<ref>, ], May 3, 2000. "Mr. Giles is the owner of Tekniko Licensing Corporation, which licenses intellectual properties owned by Tekniko to businesses throughout the world.
</ref>
and as of ], 2006, SEC filings also listed Mr. Terry M. Giles as the ] of Landmark Education Corporation.<ref>
, Form SB-2, April 7, 2006. "Mr. Giles currently also serves as Chairman of Giles Enterprises, a private holding company for various business enterprises, as Chairman of the Board of Landmark Education Corporation, a private company providing seminars on personal growth and responsibility, as Chairman of Mission Control Productivity, Inc., a private company, and as the owner of GWE, LLC, a private company specializing in lender financing.
</ref>


In 1985, a group of psychology researchers studied participants of the Forum, (a ] course) and compared their outcomes to a ] of non attendees. They published their results in the book '']''. They found that participants had a short-term increase in ] (the belief that one can control their life), but found no long-term positive or negative effects on individuals' ].
== Courses and Programs ==


=== Media ===
The ''Curriculum for Living'' is the core set of four programs that Landmark Education offers:
] reporter Nathan Thornburgh, in his review of The Landmark Forum, said "At its heart, the course was a withering series of scripted reality checks meant to show us how we have created nearly everything we see as a problem" and "I benefited tremendously from the uncomfortable mirror the course had put in front of me."{{ r | TIME_2011-04-10}}
# The ''Landmark Forum'', introductory course and pre-requisite for other courses
# The ''Landmark Forum in Action Seminar'', optional seminar included in the tuition-cost of the Landmark Forum
# The ''Landmark Advanced Course''
# The ''Self Expression and Leadership Program'' (SELP)


Reporter Laura McClure with '']'' attended a three and a half-day forum, which she described as "My lost weekend with the trademark happy, bathroom-break hating, slightly spooky inheritors of est."{{ r | MJ_2009 }} Heidi Beedle, writing for the '']'' in 2019 said that "The tangible benefits of Landmark's courses may seem hard to pin down" though ] do seem to be one, and "One thing is certain: Landmark is a program that is incredibly successful at making people feel good about Landmark."{{ r | CSIndy_2019-07-24 }}
A full list of Landmark Education's other courses and programs, which are only available to those who have completed the ''Landmark Forum'', is given on
their .


{{Anchor|France 3 documentary}}<!-- Courtesy note: ] redirects here -->
==== The Landmark Forum ====
In 2004, the French channel ] aired a television documentary on Landmark in their investigative series '']''.<ref name=VLNG_transcript >{{ cite web | url=http://88.80.16.63/leak/suppressed-french-documentary-on-landmark-forum-cult--24-may-2004.txt | title=French Documentary Transcript: "Voyage to the Land of the New Gurus" | last= | first= | date=2004-05-24 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090913100315/http://88.80.16.63/leak/suppressed-french-documentary-on-landmark-forum-cult--24-may-2004.txt | archive-date=2009-09-13 }}</ref> The episode, called "Voyage Au Pays des Nouveaux Gourous" ("Journey to the land of the new gurus") was highly critical of its subject.<ref>See:
*{{harv|Roy|2004}};
===== Logistics of the Landmark Forum =====
*{{harv|TD|2004}};

*{{harv|Tessier|2004}}.</ref> Shot in large part with a hidden camera, it showed attendance at a Landmark course and a visit to Landmark offices.{{sfn|Roy|2004}} In addition, the program included interviews with former course participants, anti-cultists, and commentators. Landmark left France following the airing of the episode and a subsequent site visit by labor inspectors that noted the activities of volunteers,<ref>
The Landmark Forum takes place over three consecutive days and an evening session (generally Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday evening). Each full day begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at approximately 10:00 p.m. Breaks occur approximately every 2 to 3 hours, with a 90-minute dinner break. Forum leaders assign homework for participants to carry out during breaks and after the course ends in the evening. The Tuesday evening session generally runs from 7:00 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. (in certain locations, from 7:30 p.m. to 10:45 p.m.).
See:

*{{harv|Lemonniera|2005}}, French text: "L'Inspection du Travail débarque dans les locaux de Landmark, constate l'exploitation des bénévoles et dresse des procès-verbaux pour travail non déclaré." English translation: "Labor inspectors turned up at the offices of Landmark, noted the exploitation of volunteers and drew up a report of undeclared employment.";
==== Assisting Program ====
*{{harv|Landmark staff|2004}}, Landmark's response;

] Harry Rosenberg commented on the ''Assisting Program'' in a ] ] case study (now <!-- since when? -->]):

<blockquote>
In addition to our 420 staff members around the world, the people in the ''Assisting Program'' play a critical role at Landmark. We have a remarkable group of 7500 people participating on a weekly basis. They are both committed to our work, and to getting personal value out of the ''Assisting Program''. They know we are a ] and still they commit their time and effort.<ref>
] study: ''Landmark Education Corporation: Selling a Paradigm Shift'', ], ], ], case # 9-898-081, page 13., quote, ] ].
</ref>
</blockquote>

==== The Introduction Leaders Program (ILP) ====

The Introduction Leaders Program forms part of the Leadership Curriculum and consists of a six-month intensive leadership-training program that prepares participants to lead ''Introductions to the Landmark Forum'' and trains people in the "distinctions" of ]. The course forms the foundation of the training for leaders (i.e., presenters) of all of Landmark Education's other programs.

== Jargon/Distinctions ==

Landmark Education utilizes some specific terms (some of them categorized as "distinctions") in its courses. Articles in ''Metroactive''<ref name="estfriends" />
and in ''Life Positive''<ref>
Bhattacharya, Anupama (May 1999). "". ''Life Positive''. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
</ref>
have provided short ]s of a few terms.
* '''Racket(s)''': Recurring complaints in tandem with a "way of being" that allow persons to justify themselves and their ] but which can rob them of opportunities for satisfaction and joy; ways of ] that allow people to justify themselves and their point of view; preconceived notions of why one is right and others are wrong.
* '''Strong Suit''' previously known as '''Formula for success''', or '''Winning formula''' : Ways of being originating in what Landmark Education identifies as the three main transitional stages of one's life — early childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. These may have worked repeatedly in the past but they can obstruct more effective approaches. Alternative definition: a way of being that has worked well in the past and that we keep using, which keeps us from perceiving new options.
* '''Vicious circle''': Possibility-limiting concepts that determine experience and shape future experiences; a sphere where our concepts determine our experience.
* '''Taking a stand''': Putting attention on a vision for the future; putting our attention on our vision of life that gives us ]-expression
* '''Distinguishing ourselves and our world through language''': The world consists of language and can be altered through language.
* '''Breakthrough''': Abandoning old habits and embracing a new way of being; looking at things from a different perspective, getting a new understanding of ].
* '''Already/always listening:''' Listening to others with preconceived notions of what they really mean.
* '''Possibility''' A phenomenon that exists in and impacts the present. (As distinct from the regular usage of ''possibility'' meaning "something that perhaps might happen in the future".
* '''Enrollment''' essentially having (or creating) a conversation in which you move, touch or inspire someone by 'causing a new possibility to be present'.
Landmark Education itself has defined other terms in its literature:
* '''distinction / distinguish''': "o distinguish something means to take something from an undifferentiated background and bring it to the foreground."<ref>
</ref>

== Evaluations of Landmark Education ==

Landmark Education relies heavily on ] from ]s to portray its ]. ], ], and ] vary in their reported outcomes.

=== Studies commissioned by Landmark Education===
==== DYG study ====

An analysis done for Landmark Education by DYG, Inc. and interpreted by ], chairman of , Inc., ("Analysis of The Landmark Forum and Its Benefits") consisted of a survey conducted of more than 1300 people who completed The Landmark Forum during a three-month period at some undisclosed time. Some details of the study ], especially concerning ] methods and ] of study participants, remain undefined in what Landmark Education refers to as the "Full Study".{{Fact|date=March 2007}}

On the other hand, Yankelovich himself personally endorses Landmark Education in his book ''The Magic of Dialog'' (2001, pages 143 - 144).<ref>
Daniel Yankelovich: ''The Magic of Dialog: Transforming Conflict into Cooperation''. New York: Touchstone, 2001. ISBN 0-684-86566-1
</ref>

Yankelovich concluded from the survey that 90% to 95% self-reported "value" in taking the course. {{Fact|date=March 2007}}

==== Harris Interactive ====

A survey carried out by ] for Landmark Education Corporation concluded that one third of respondents who had "completed the Landmark Forum" self-reported an increase of 25% or more in their incomes, 70% worried less about money and assessed themselves as more effective in managing their finances, and an unspecified percentage reported working fewer hours. Landmark Education's summary of the survey has not made it clear over what time-duration or when Harris Interactive conducted this study.<ref>
</ref>

A more recent study by the same firm (), into the opinions of health professionals and educators, including doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, teachers, and academicians concluded that:
<blockquote>Harris Interactive found that survey results showed that the vast majority of respondents held very positive views regarding Landmark Education programs as more than nine of ten agreed that Landmark’s programs were responsibly and professionally conducted, produced practical and powerful results, and made a profound difference in their lives. Moreover, nearly all respondents (96%) agreed that Landmark Education Programs provided great value.<ref>http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters/clientnews/2007_LandmarkEducation.pdf</ref></blockquote>

=== Other studies ===
==== International Society for Performance Improvement ====

The International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) website contains a ] report of Landmark Education Business Development (LEBD)'s involvement with improving safety at ] Ltd., which ran the largest copper-mine in the world and employed 5,000 people. The ISPI report notes that when LEBD started working with Minera Escondida, the company had a total injury-frequency rate of 23.7 accidents per million ] worked. Five months later, after LEBD had finished its program with Minera Escondida, the injury rate had reduced by over 50% to 11.5 accidents per million man-hours worked. ISPI reported that Landmark "created" this environment of improved safety. The ISPI awarded LEBD a "Got Results" award for its actions.<ref>
International Society for Performance Improvement, award to LEBD,
</ref>

==== The Talent Foundation ====

A study by ],<ref></ref> chaired by Sir ] (Chancellor, ]), and led by Dr. ], used the Landmark Forum for the initial stage of a study ('"A Shortcut to Motivated and Adaptive Workforces"). The study found that:

<blockquote>
"Within two years of participating from Landmark's three-day program, individuals showed:

* Significantly higher levels of ], motivation, and self-confidence.
* More proactive attitudes related to their learning and ability to apply new skills at work.
* More confidence in finding opportunities to apply their skills and make a difference at work."<ref>
,
</ref>
</blockquote>

== Legal disputes ==

For general discussion of legal matters (not necessarily resulting in court cases) see ].

For details of litigation involving Landmark Education, see ].

In November 2006, Landmark Education used legal action designed to discover the identities of ] internet users who posted material, which postings Landmark Education regarded as a breach of copyright. In that case, Landmark attempted (unsuccessfully) to use the direct ] provisions of the United States ] to discover the identity of the anonymous internet poster(s) – and to suppress the posting – of the French documentary '']'' in the ], ] and ].

In a ] article: "Psychogroups and Cults in Denmark", the researchers assert that some people have thought of Landmark Education as associated with "cultic groups" due to the "high level of one-sided sales pressure that many people report."<ref name="Kronberg"> , '']'', Vol. 1, No. 1, ], by Deacon ], B.Th. and Consultant ], B.Th. of the ] in ].
</ref> </ref>
and sued ] in 2004 following his appearance in the documentary.{{sfn|Palmer|2011}}


The episode was uploaded to a variety of websites, and in October 2006 Landmark issued subpoenas pursuant to the ] to ], YouTube, and the ] demanding details of the identity of the person(s) who had uploaded those copies. These organizations challenged the subpoenas and the ] (EFF) became involved, planning to file a motion to quash Landmark's DMCA subpoena to Google Video.<ref>See:
On ], ] Landmark Education in ]. As in France, the causes of the closure included a diminishing ] in participating, evinced in connection with very critical articles in the press and on television<ref>
*{{harv|EFF staff|2011}};
'''', ].
*{{harv|Landmark (Art Schreiber)|2006a}};
</ref>
*{{harv|Landmark (Art Schreiber)|2006b}};
. The airing of two documentaries on national ] by the broadcasting corporation ] on ], ] and on ], ] called "]" (Happiness ]) in the program series "" contributed to the termination of the organization there.<ref>
*{{harv|EFF staff|2007}}.
, 2004, Lofgrens Analys AB.
</ref> Landmark eventually withdrew its subpoenas.<ref>
</ref>
. ]. Retrieved May 25, 2020 – "In a settlement reached November 29, 2006 Landmark agreed to withdraw the subpoena to Google and end its quest to pierce the anonymity of the video's poster. Landmark has also withdrawn its subpoena to the Internet Archive."
{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
</ref><ref>. ]. Retrieved May 25, 2020 – "A controversial self-help group has backed off its attack on an Internet critic after the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) intervened in the case."</ref>


==In popular culture==
==== Governmental classification ====
{{main|EST and The Forum in popular culture}}
===== Austria =====
In "]," the third episode of the second season of the American drama television series ], est and The Forum are parodied.


== See also ==
In Austria in 1996, the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Youth and the Family published a list of 200 groups it labelled cults (in German: ''Sekten'')<ref>
* ]
"Sekten : Wissen schützt. Eine Information des Bundesministeriums für Umwelt, Jugend und Familie, Stubenbastei 5, 1010 Wien, 1996 (Sects : Knowledge protects. Information from the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Youth and the Family, Stubenbastei 5, 1010 Wien, 1996)
* ]
</ref>
* ]
* ]


== Footnotes ==
In the , the government of Austria included Landmark Education among the "sects":
{{Reflist|30em|refs=


<ref name=Heelas_1991 >{{cite book |last=Heelas |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Heelas |editor1-first=S.R. |editor1-last=Sutherland |editor2-first=P.B. |editor2-last=Clarke |title=The Study of Religion: Traditional and New Religions |year=1991 |publisher=Routledge |location= London |isbn=0-415-06432-5 |chapter=Western Europe: Self Religions | pages=165–166, 171 }}</ref>
<blockquote>
The vast majority of groups termed "sects" by the Government are small organizations with fewer than 100 members. Among the larger groups is the Church of Scientology, with between 5,000 and 6,000 members, and the Unification Church, with approximately 700 adherents throughout the country. Other groups found in the country include Divine Light Mission, Eckankar, Hare Krishna, the Holosophic community, the Osho movement, Sahaja Yoga, Sai Baba, Sri Chinmoy, Transcendental Meditation, Landmark Education, the Center for Experimental Society Formation, Fiat Lux, Universal Life, and The Family.<ref>
, ].
</ref>
</blockquote>
The , however, did not list Landmark Education among the examples of cults, although the wording makes it plain that the list is not intended to be comprehensive.


<ref name=Time_1998-03-16>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,987975,00.html | title=The Best of Est? | last1=Faltermayer | first1=Charlotte | last2=Woodbury | first2=Richard | date=1998-03-16 | magazine=] | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070529235150/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,987975,00.html | archive-date=2007-05-29 | quote=But outreach was clearly part of the agenda. Pupils were assigned to call or write people with whom they "want to make a breakthrough," thereby introducing others to Landmark. On graduation night participants were encouraged to bring guests, who were then led away to learn more and sign on. From Day 1, attendants were told that for a limited time, the Forum's tuition included a $95 follow-up, "The Forum in Action." The crowd was also repeatedly invited to sign up for the $700 "Advanced Course." Act now and get a $100 discount. }}</ref>
===== Belgium =====


<ref name=Chryssides_1999>{{cite book | last1 = Chryssides | first1 = George D. | author-link1 = George Chryssides | year = 2001 | orig-date = 1999 | chapter = The Human Potential Movement | title = Exploring New Religions | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=S4_rodMYMygC | series = Issues in Contemporary Religion | location = New York | publisher = A&C Black | page = 314 | isbn = 978-0-8264-5959-6 | access-date = March 23, 2017 | quote = ''est'' and Landmark have addressed human problems in a radical way, setting super-empirical goals, and addressing what some may regard as a spiritual aspect of human nature (the Core Self, the Source, which is at least godlike, if not divine. ''est'' and Landmark may have some of the attributes typically associated with religion, but it is doubtful whether they should be accorded full status as religious organizations.}}</ref>
A Parliamentary Inquiry of the ] into cults and their dangers listed and discussed Landmark Education in an official report of ] 1997.<ref>
''Enquête Parlementaire visant à élaborer une politique en vue de lutter contre les practiques illégales des sectes et le danger qu'elles représentent pour la société et pour les personnes, particulièrement les mineurs d'âge. Rapport fait au nom de la Commission d'enquête par MM. Duquesne et Willems. Partie II.''
http://www.dekamer.be/FLWB/pdf/49/0313/49K0313008.pdf -- bilingual report in French and Flemish, retrieved ].
</ref>


<ref name=PNT_2000-10-19>{{cite news |last1=Scioscia |first1=Amanda |date=October 19, 2000 |title=Drive-thru Deliverance |url=https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/drive-thru-deliverance-6419949 |work=] |location= Phoenix, Arizona |publisher= Phoenix New Times, LLC |access-date= December 19, 2020 |quote= Landmark vigorously disputes the cult accusation and freely threatens or pursues lawsuits against those who call it one ... Landmark also boasts numerous letters from experts stating that it does not meet cult criteria. One such letter comes from Dr. Margaret Singer, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, and an expert on cults. Landmark sued Singer after she mentioned the company in her book Cults in Our Midst. Singer says she never called it a cult in her book, but simply mentioned it as a controversial New Age training course. In resolution of the suit, Singer gave a sworn statement that the organization is not a cult or sect. She says this doesn't mean she supports Landmark. "I do not endorse them -- never have," she says. Singer, who is in her 70s, says she can't comment on whether Landmark uses coercive persuasion because "the SOBs have already sued me once." "I'm afraid to tell you what I really think about them because I'm not covered by any lawyers like I was when I wrote my book." }}</ref>
===== France =====


<ref name=NYMag_2001-07-09>{{cite news | last = Grigoriadis | first = Vanessa | author-link1 = Vanessa Grigoriadis | title = Pay Money, Be Happy | url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/culture/features/4932/index1.html | work = ] | date = July 9, 2001 | quote=Some Landmark graduates also volunteer for the company, which has approximately 500 employees and a reported 7,500 unpaid "assistants" (though Landmark puts this number much lower) who answer phones, sign up recruits, and cater to the Forum leaders. ... Though it was rumored that Erhard sold his system for $1, it was later revealed that he received an initial payment of $3 million in addition to an eighteen-year licensing fee that was not to exceed $15 million; Erhard kept the Mexican and Japanese branches of the operation. ... Last year, Landmark had revenues of $58 million, and Rosenberg says the company has bought outright Erhard's license and his rights to Japan and Mexico. }}</ref>
In France, the report of the ] ] (), published as part of its investigations a list of purported cults compiled by the general information division of the ] ('']'') in association with cult-watching groups, included Landmark Education.


<ref name=Believer_2003 >{{cite magazine | last1=Snider | first1=Suzanne | title=Est, Werner Erhard and The Corporatization of Self-Help | url=https://www.thebeliever.net/est-werner-erhard-and-the-corporatization-of-self-help/ | magazine=] | access-date=2023-11-01 | date=1 May 2003}}</ref>
This report has come under fire from international groups, the United States government, and even the French Prime Minister. The group has since been dissolved.


<ref name=Puttick_2004>{{cite book |last=Puttick |first=Elizabeth |editor-first=Christopher Hugh |editor-last=Partridge |title=Encyclopedia of New Religions |year=2004 |publisher=Lion |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-7459-5073-0 |chapter=Landmark Forum (est) |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofne0000unse_d3h6 | pages=406–407}}</ref>
===== Germany =====


<ref name=Barker_2004>{{cite book | last1 = Barker | first1 = Eileen | author-link1 = Eileen Barker | chapter = General Overview of the 'Cult Scene' in Great Britain | editor1-last = Lucas | editor1-first = Phillip Charles | editor2-last = Robbins | editor2-first = Thomas | editor2-link = Thomas Robbins (sociologist) | title = New Religious Movements in the Twenty-first Century: Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global Perspective | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WW-XcDe-IMEC | series = Sociology/Religious studies | year = 2004 | location = New York | publisher = Psychology Press | publication-date = 2004 | page = 28 | isbn = 978-0-415-96577-4 | access-date = 23 June 2021 | quote = Erhard Seminars Training (''est'') and other examples of the human potential movement joined indigenous new religions, such as the Emin, Exegesis, the Aetherius Society, the School of Economic Science, and the Findhorn community in the north of Scotland, and a number of small congregations within mainstream churches were labelled 'cults' as they exhibited some of the more enthusiastic characteristics of new religions and their leaders.}}</ref>
In 1994 a report of the Senate Committee of the State of ] in ] included Landmark Education in a report on cults with the sub-title "entities espousing a ] and new religions". Landmark Education sued for correction and, on ], 1997, the Berlin court (Volksgericht 27A) endorsed a new classification-scheme which now represented Landmark Education as a "Providor of Life Guidance"(''Anbieter von Lebenshilfe''). <ref>
''"Sekten" - Risiken und Nebenwirkungen: Informationen zu ausgewählten neuen religiõsen und weltanschaulichen Bewegungen und Psychoangeboten''. Herausgeben von der Senatsverwaltung fũr Schule, Jugend and Sport. Redaktion: Anne Rũhle, Ina Kunst. Stand: Dezember 1997. Downloadable in PDF form from http://www.berlin.de/imperia/md/content/sen-familie/sog_psychogruppen_sekten/risiken_und_nebenwirkungen_1.pdf
Retrieved ].
<br>
Quoted text extracts from the Table of Contents in the original German:
<br>
7 Ausgewählte Anbieter<br>
7.1 Gruppen mit christlichem Hintergrund ...<br>
7.2 Gruppen mit heidnischem Hintergrund ...<br>
7.3 Gruppen mit hinduistischem Hintergrund ...<br>
7.4 Anbieter von Lebenshilfe <br>
kommerziell: <br>
7.4.1 Bruno Grõning-Freundeskreise <br>
7.4.2 Kontext Seminar GmbH <br>
7.4.3 Landmark Education (LE) <br>
7.4.4 Art Reade <br>
7.4.5 Scientology <br>
7.4.6 The Natale Institute (TNI) <br>
nicht kommerziell: <br>
7.4.7 Verein zur Fõrderung der psychologischen Menschenkenntniss (VPM) <br>
7.5 Okkultismus/Satanismus <br>
7.6 Sogenannte Strukturvertriebe
</ref>


<ref name=Barker_2005>{{cite book | last1 = Barker | first1 = Eileen | author-link1 = Eileen Barker | chapter = New Religious Movements in Europe | editor1-last = Jones | editor1-first = Lindsay | title = Encyclopedia of Religion | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ODIOAQAAMAAJ | year = 2005 | location = Detroit |publisher=MacMillan | page = 6568 | isbn = 978-0028657431 | quote = The majority of NRMs are, however, not indigenous to Europe. Many can be traced to the United States (frequently to California), including offshoots of the Jesus Movement (such as the Children of God, later known as the Family); the Way International; International Churches of Christ; the Church Universal and Triumphant (known as Summit Lighthouse in England); and much of the human potential movement (such as est, which gave rise to the Landmark Forum, and various practices developed through the Esalen Institute). }}</ref>
=== Sales and marketing practices ===


<ref name=MJ_2009 >{{ cite magazine | url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/08/landmark-42-hours-500-65-breakdowns/ | title=The Landmark Forum: 42 Hours, $500, 65 Breakdowns | last=McClure | first=Laura | magazine=] | date=August 17, 2009 | access-date=October 13, 2020 | quote= }}</ref>
In an article published in ] on ], ], Charlotte Faltermayer wrote:


<ref name=FC_2009-04-01 >{{cite magazine |last=Sacks |first=Danielle |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/1208950/lululemons-cult-of-selling |magazine=] |title=Lululemon's Cult of Selling - Lululemon has created a cult following for its yoga gear. Its secret? The Secret, as well as other controversial self-help classics. |date=April 1, 2009 | quote=A cult following is the most coveted accessory in retail, and Lululemon's is even more lustworthy than its Velocity Gym Bag. It wasn't built on the work of some Jobs-ian swami, however, but on the sources of Lulu founder and chairman Chip Wilson's own spiritual awakening. Wilson has mixed a heady self-actualizing cocktail from equal parts Landmark Forum (seminars based on the philosophy of Werner Erhard), the books of motivational business guru Brian Tracy, and Oprah-endorsed best seller The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne. He is now hard at work formalizing them in a Lululemon "internal constitution." }}</ref>
<blockquote>
Critics say Landmark is an elaborate marketing game that relies heavily on volunteers. Says Tom Johnson, an "exit counselor" often summoned by concerned parents to tend to alumni: "They tire your brain; they make you vulnerable." Says critic Liz Sumerlin: "The participants end up becoming recruiters. That's the whole purpose." Psychiatrists who speak on Landmark's behalf dispute these claims. But Sumerlin says a 1993 Forum turned her fiance (now her ex) into a robot. She organized an anti-Landmark hot line and publications clearinghouse. Landmark officials made sounds to sue her.
</blockquote>


<ref name=BusinessWeek_2010-11-18 >{{cite news |url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_48/b4205098143983.htm | work=] |title=General Tso, Meet Steven Covey |access-date=March 14, 2011 |date=November 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306230429/https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/magazine/content/10_48/b4205098143983.htm |archive-date=March 6, 2016 | quote=Cherng is an avid consumer of self-improvement programs. ... He has since 2003 been a participant in Life Academy, a Taiwanese organization that follows a "life manual" dedicated to the "advancement of the human spirit." He is a devotee of Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Deepak Chopra's The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, and Don Miguel Ruiz's Four Agreements. Recently, Cherng has become passionate about the Landmark Forum, a program that utilizes Werner Erhard's EST methodology, which Psychology Today described as one that, "tore you down and put you back together." }}</ref>
In ], ] from ''], Weekend'' took the Landmark Forum and reported:


<ref name=NYT_2010-11-28 >{{cite news |last=Alford |first=Henry |title=You're O.K., But I'm Not. Let's Share |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/fashion/28Landmark.html |newspaper=] |location=New York |date=November 26, 2010 }}</ref>
<blockquote>
I made some eye-opening discoveries about myself and how I function in the world. One of the most irritating aspects of ''The Forum'' is the hard sell to sign up future participants.<ref>
Jill P. Capuzzo, '']'', ],
</ref>
</blockquote>


<ref name=TIME_2011-04-10 > {{ cite magazine | url=https://time.com/archive/6595354/change-we-can-almost-believe-in/ | title=Change We Can (Almost) Believe In | last=Thornburgh | first=Nathan | magazine=] | date=2011-04-10 | quote=By the end of the course, almost all of us felt giddy with exhaustion and catharsis, but there was a fair amount of pressure to sign up for additional instruction. If we were serious about our transformation, we were told, we would enlist friends and family and even co-workers to take the $495 Forum themselves. It had just enough of a Ponzi taste that I stepped firmly and finally back outside the Landmark circle. (A Landmark executive later told me the company is "committed" to toning down the hard sell.) }} </ref>
=== Allegations of brainwashing ===


<ref name=Lockwood_2011 >{{cite journal
Three court cases involving Landmark have included the claim of brainwashing; none resulted in Landmark being ruled as brainwashing anyone. Each had a slightly different outcome:
| last1 = Lockwood

| first1 = Renee
# In ''Ney vs. Landmark Education et al.'' (1992), Stephanie Ney sued Landmark claiming she suffered a ] following participation in the Landmark Forum. The court ruled that while her participation may or may not have played a part in her breakdown, this had no relevance as Virginia law did not allow her to claim damages since she suffered no physical harm.
| title = Religiosity Rejected: Exploring the Religio-Spiritual Dimensions of Landmark Education
# In ''Been vs. Weed and Landmark Education'' (2002), Jason Weed claimed that the Landmark Advanced Course had caused him to experience a ] in which he killed a ] employee. The court ruled that Landmark did not precipitate his psychosis in the Federal criminal trial of Weed. There is an ongoing wrongful death civil suit against Landmark and others by the family of the deceased.
| url = https://journal.equinoxpub.com/IJSNR/article/view/12184
# In ''Landmark Education vs. Lell'', Landmark sued Martin Lell for using the word "Brainwashing" in the title of his book on Landmark Education (''Das Forum: Protokoll einer Gehirnwäsche: Der Psycho-Konzern Landmark Education'' , Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich, 1997, ISBN 3-423-36021-6). The court ruled the description "brainwashing" a matter of opinion, and let the title of the book stand.
| journal = International Journal for the Study of New Religions

| publisher = Equinox Publishing Ltd.
In ] Landmark Education asked Dr. ], a psychologist and past President of the ] (APA), to evaluate the effectiveness, safety, and appropriateness of the procedures in the Landmark Forum. Fowler reported that he saw nothing to suggest that the Landmark Forum itself would cause harm to participants, and that the course had none of the characteristics associated with a cult, and that the Landmark Forum did not place individuals at risk of "mind control", "brainwashing", or "thought control".<ref>
| publication-place = Sheffield, England
, ], Landmark Education '''Corporate Website''', Document number '''"L-014E"'''. 'I saw nothing in the Landmark Forum I attended to suggest that it would be harmful to any participant. ... the Landmark Forum is nothing like psychotherapy ... has none of the characteristics typical of a cult ...does not place individuals at risk of any form of "mind control" "brainwashing" or "thought control."'
| publication-date = 2011
</ref>.
| volume = 2

| issue = 2
=== Use of "loaded language" ===
| pages = 225–254

| doi = 10.1558/ijsnr.v2i2.225
Some articles have reported that the Landmark Education's coursework uses "]" and "]":
| issn = 2041-9511
| access-date = 23 June 2021
A former ] disciple made the comparison to "loaded language", in an article in ''NOW Toronto''.<ref>
| quote = Incorporating several eastern spiritual practices, the highly emotional nature of the Landmark Forum's weekend training is such as to create Durkheimian notions of 'religious effervescence', altering pre-existing belief systems and producing a sense of the sacred collective. Group-specific language contributes to this, whilst simultaneously shrouding Landmark Education in mystery and esotericism. The Forum is replete with stories of miracles, healings, and salvation apposite for a modern western paradigm. Indeed, the sacred pervades the training, manifested in the form of the Self, capable of altering the very nature of the world and representing the 'ultimate concern'.
, Enzo Di Matteo, ''NOW Toronto'', April, 2000.
}}
<br>
"The "milieu control," use of "loaded language" and "organized peer pressure," former EST disciple Kevin Garvey says, are all part of "a patterned exercise designed and orchestrated to undercut any comprehensible discussion, all behind the facade of being this profound self-exploration." "
</ref>

In an article in '']'', Vanessa Grigoriadis states that "the Forum drives its points home with loaded language, relentless repetition, and a carefully constructed environment."<ref>
, ], Vanessa Grigoriadis, July 9, 2001.
<br>
''Like those organizations, the Forum drives its points home with loaded language, relentless repetition, and a carefully constructed environment. "We controlled even subtle things like the quality of light and the sound that came out of the microphones," says White. "The style of lettering on all the signs had to be exactly the same or it was a really big deal. We covered the mirrors. We put all the chairs in a specific order."''
</ref> </ref>


<ref name=Lockwood_2012 >{{cite journal |last=Lockwood |first=Renee D. |date=2012-06-01 |title=Pilgrimages to the Self: Exploring the Topography of Western Consumer Spirituality through 'the Journey' |journal=Literature & Aesthetics |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=108–130 |doi= |s2cid=142958283 | quote= Yet perhaps a more salient manifestation of this phenomenon exists in the form of corporate religions, groups with a specific religio-spiritual function that are established, managed, and presented as corporations. Representing the ultimate fusion of the sacred and the economic, corporate religion may be interpreted as the latest manifestation of the Human Potential Movement, with groups and practitioners such as Anthony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, and Landmark Education. Within corporate spirituality, the late-modern concept of the internalised sacred is paramount, with the "Self" offering epoch-specific modes of salvation in the form of seminars and spiritual products. The philosophy and praxes of corporate religions are predominantly bound by the ethics of market capitalism and the values of Western consumer culture. To this end, they are often tailored towards improving productivity amongst individuals and employees, and are subsequently marketed not only to individuals, but also to companies and government agencies. For religio-spiritual corporations such as Landmark Education, all previous ideas and beliefs must be dissolved and washed away in order to create 'nothing,' a clean slate from which truth may arise. }}</ref>
'']'' referred to Landmark Education's use of language as "eccentric jargon".<ref>"The Story of Our Lives.", ], Vanora Bennett, July ].
</ref>


<ref name=CBC_2014-10-15 >{{cite news |last1=Rusnell |first1=Charles |last2=Russell |first2=Jennie |date=October 17, 2014 |title=Alberta Health Services staff pressured to attend controversial seminars - Government continued to use Landmark Education despite employee complaints |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-health-services-staff-pressured-to-attend-controversial-seminars-1.2798835 |newspaper=] |location=Ottawa, Ontario | quote="They are manipulative, they are controlling, they involve coercive persuasion," said Steve Kent, a University of Alberta sociology professor. Kent is an internationally recognized expert in deviant ideological and religious groups who has studied Landmark and similar organizations for decades. }} </ref>
== Religious implications ==
Some references to Landmark Education's courses compare them to religious subject matter:


<ref name=SMH_2016-02-03>{{Cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/chip-wilson-tries-to-reinvent-himself-after-his-lululemon-turmoil-20160203-gmk4h3.html|title=Chip Wilson tries to reinvent himself after his Lululemon turmoil|last=Rosman|first=Katherine|date=February 2, 2016|website=]|language=en| quote=Punctuality is a central focus of Wilson's. It is also a key principle espoused by the Landmark Forum, a leadership development program based on Werner Erhard's EST curriculum. When Wilson was running Lululemon, the company paid for employees to attend Landmark seminars; Kit and Ace employees enjoy the same benefit. One of the main lessons of Landmark is that punctuality is a strong indicator of personal integrity. }}</ref>
], formerly of the Christian ] , states that Landmark "has theological implications".<ref>
, ''The Skeptic's Dictionary'', , Published by ], ], ], ISBN 0-471-27242-6.
</ref>
The Apologetics Index (an online Christian ministry providing research resources on what it considers cults, sects, other religious movements, doctrines, and practices) maintains a page on Landmark Education.<ref>
Apologetics Index, page,
</ref>


<ref name=Spears_2017-03-30>{{cite news |title= How an American motivational guru is inspiring British businesses |work=] |first= Caroline |last= Phillips | date= March 1, 2017 | access-date= June 6, 2018 | url = https://spearswms.com/american-motivational-guru-inspiring-british-businesses/ | quote=And yet others who claim that it’s a cult, brainwashing, and evangelical — about which more later. ... And now to that important question: is it a cult, brainwashing and evangelical? Cross out the first two; tick the third (but not in a literal, bible-bashing way — it’s just that there’s a lot of American hard sell). The party line is that evangelism is not a corporate approach: they attribute it to the individuals’ passion. But I don’t buy that. Whipping up the fervour and lurve is how they put bums on seats. }}</ref>
An opposing view appears in the article "A Very Nineties Weekend" in the international ] weekly '']'' stating that several Catholic priests have endorsed Landmark, and that the Trappist monk ] has praised the Forum for bringing about a "full human enlivenment".<ref>
, '']'', Annabel Miller, 29/05/1999; (requires free registration to access). "Several Catholic priests and religious sisters have endorsed Landmark. The Trappist monk ] has praised the Forum for bringing about a "full human enlivenment" which make people "more lively" in the practice of whatever faith they have.
</ref>


<ref name=CSIndy_2019-07-24>{{cite news | url = https://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/landmark-worldwide-the-arts-community-and-the-big-bizarre-business-of-personal-development/Content?oid=20065897 | title = Landmark Worldwide, the arts community and the big, bizarre business of personal development | newspaper =] | access-date = July 8, 2020 | date=July 24, 2019 | first = Heidi | last = Beedle | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724095838/https://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/landmark-worldwide-the-arts-community-and-the-big-bizarre-business-of-personal-development/content/?oid=20065897 | archive-date=2019-07-24 | quote=}}</ref>
Other examples of commentary from clergy appear on the .


}}
In ], two years after the emergence of Landmark Education, Rev. Dr. ] conducted a survey of clergy to assess their opinions of cults, entitled . The 53 respondents came from the ] area and included 43 Lutheran clergy and seminarians, one Roman Catholic and one Jewish clergyman, and an Evangelical minister. The highest percentage (28%) of those questioned about "The cults I am most concerned about are", gave the answer of "Scientology, est/Forum, Lifespring".<ref>
, The Rev. ], D. D., ''Cult Observer'', Vol. 11, No. 3 (]).
</ref>


== References ==
In ]' ] book (published 10 years ''after'' the establishment of Landmark Education), '']'', Werner Erhard, Erhard Seminars Training and The Forum are discussed<ref name="oddgods">{{cite book
{{refbegin|30em}}
| last = Lews
| first = James R.
| authorlink =James R. Lewis
| coauthors =
| title = ]
| publisher =Prometheus Books
| date =2001
| location =]
| pages =382-387
| url =
| doi =
| id = }}
</ref>. ''Odd Gods'' describes the spiritual influences of the coursework, including ], ], ], ], ] and Asian spiritual leaders<ref name="oddgods" />.


;Books
In ] theologians Deacon ], B.Th. and Consultant ], B.Th. of the ] in ] discussed the religious aspects of Landmark Education, stating: ''"Also we see a large number of people joining groups, such as Landmark and Amway, which become controversial because of their sales practices."''<ref name="Kronberg" />
* {{cite book |last=Anderson |first=Kurt |editor1-first=Lillian |editor1-last=Ross |title=The Fun of It: Stories from The Talk of the Town; The New Yorker |year=2007 |publisher=Vintage Books/Random House |location=New York |isbn=978-0-375-75649-8 |chapter=Son of EST: The Terminator of Self-Doubt |url=https://archive.org/details/funofitstoriesf00ross }}
* {{cite book |last=Atkin |first=Douglas |title=The Culting of Brands: Turn Your Customers Into True Believers |publisher=Penguin/Portfolio |location=New York |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-59184-027-5 |chapter=What Is Required of a Belief System? |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/cultingofbrandsw0000atki }}
* {{cite book |last=Barker |first=Eileen |author-link=Eileen Barker |editor-first=Dinesh |editor-last=Bhugra |editor-link=Dinesh Bhugra |title=Psychiatry and Religion: Context, Consensus and Controversies |year=1996|publisher=Routledge |location=London and New York |isbn=0-415-08955-7 |chapter=New Religions and Mental Health |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s3tqDwAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book |last=Bartley |first=William W. |title=Werner Erhard: The Transformation of a Man |publisher=Clarkson N. Potter |location=New York |year=1978 |isbn=0-517-53502-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/wernererhard00will }}
* {{cite book |last=Beckford |first=James A. |author-link1 = James A. Beckford |title=Social Theory and Religion |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |year=2003 |isbn=0-521-77431-4 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7nIhAwAAQBAJ }}
* {{cite book |editor1-first=James A. |editor1-last=Beckford |editor1-link=James A. Beckford |editor2-first=Jay |editor2-last=Demerath |title=The SAGE Handbook of the Sociology of Religion |year=2007 |publisher=SAGE |location=London |isbn=978-1-4129-1195-5 |ref={{sfnRef|Beckford et al., eds.|2007}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Bhugra |first=Dinesh |title=Psychiatry and Religion: Context, Consensus and Controversies |publisher=Routledge |year=1997 |isbn=0-415-16512-1 }}
* {{cite book |last=Boulware |first=Jack |title=San Francisco Bizarro |publisher=Macmillan/St. Martins |location=New York |year=2000 |isbn=0-312-20671-2 }}
* {{cite book |last=Bromley |first=David G. |author-link=David G. Bromley |title=Teaching New Religious Movements |year=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford and New York |isbn=978-0-19-517729-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=Chryssides |first=George |title=Exploring New Religions |year=1999 |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |location=New York }}
* {{cite book |last=Chryssides |first=George D. |author-link=George D. Chryssides |title=The A to Z of New Religious Movements |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-8108-5588-7 }}
* {{cite book |last=Clarke |first=Peter B. |author-link=Peter B. Clarke |editor1-first=Charles |editor1-last=Taliaferro |editor2-first=Victoria S. |editor2-last=Harrison |editor3-first=Stewart |editor3-last=Goetz |title=The Routledge Companion to Theism |year=2012 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0-415-88164-7 |page=123 |chapter=New Religious Movements }}
* {{cite book |last=Colman |first=Andrew M. |title=A Dictionary of Psychology |year=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-953406-7 }}* {{cite book |last=Eisner |first=Donald A. |title=The Death of Psychotherapy: From Freud to Alien Abductions |year=2000 |publisher=Praeger |location=Westport, Connecticut |isbn=0-275-96413-2 }}
* {{cite book |last=Farber |first=Sharon Klayman |title=Hungry for Ecstasy: Trauma, the Brain, and the Influence of the Sixties |publisher=Jason Aronson/Rowman & Littlefield |location=Lanham, Maryland |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7657-0858-8 }}
* {{cite book |last=Gastil |first=John |title=The Group in Society |year=2010 |publisher=SAGE |location=Los Angeles |isbn=978-1-4129-2468-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=Goldwag |first=Arthur |title=Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies |year=2009 |publisher=Vintage/Random House |location=New York |isbn=978-0-307-39067-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/cultsconspiracie00gold }}
* {{cite book | last1=Conway | first1=Flo | last2=Siegelman | first2=Jim | title=Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change | publisher=Stillpoint | location=New York | year=1995 | isbn=0-9647650-0-4 |ref={{sfnRef|Conway and Siegelman|1995}} }}
* {{cite book |last1=Koocher |first1=Gerald P. |last2=Keith-Spiegel |first2=Patricia |title=Ethics in Psychology and the Mental Health Professions: Standards and Cases |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-514911-1 |ref={{sfnRef|Koocher and Keith-Spiegel|2008}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Palmer |first=Susan |author-link=Susan J. Palmer |title=The New Heretics of France: Minority Religions, la Republique, and the Government-Sponsored War on Sects |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pY5pAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford UP |isbn=978-0-19-987599-3 }}
* {{cite book |last=Paris |first=Joel |title=Psychotherapy in an Age of Narcissism: Modernity, Science, and Society |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=New York |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-230-33696-4 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Partridge |first1=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Partridge |last2= Puttick |first2=Elizabeth|title=New Religions: A Guide |publisher =Oxford University Press, USA |year=2004 |isbn=0-19-522042-0 |ref={{harvid|Partridge|2004}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Pressman |first=Steven |title=Outrageous Betrayal: The Dark Journey of Werner Erhard from est to Exile |publisher=St. Martin's |location=New York |year=1993 |isbn=0-312-09296-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/outrageousbetray00stev }}
* {{cite book |last1=Ramstedt |first1=Martin |editor1-first=Daren |editor1-last=Kemp |editor2-first=James R. |editor2-last=Lewis |editor2-link=James R. Lewis (scholar) |title=Handbook of the New Age |series=Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion |volume=1 |year=2007 |publisher=BRILL |location=Leiden |page=196 |isbn=978-90-04-15355-4 |chapter=New Age and Business: Corporations as Cultic Milieus? }}
* {{cite book |last=Richardson |first=James T. |editor-first=William H. |editor-last=Swatos, Jr. |title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Society |publisher=AltaMira |location=Walnut Creek, California |year=1998 |isbn=0-7619-8956-0 |chapter=est (THE FORUM) }}
* {{cite book |last=Rupert |first=Glenn A. |editor1-first=James R. |editor1-last=Lewis |editor2-first=J. Gordon |editor2-last=Melton |title=Perspectives on the New Age |publisher=SUNY Press |location=Albany, New York |year=1992 |isbn=0-7914-1213-X |chapter=Employing the New Age: Training Seminars }}
* {{cite book |last=Saliba |first=John A. |title=Understanding New Religious Movements |publisher=Rowman Altamira |location=Walnut Creek, California |year=2003 |page=88 |isbn=978-0-7591-0355-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=Sharot |first=Stephen |title=Comparative Perspectives on Judaisms and Jewish Identities |year=2011 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |location=Detroit, Michigan |isbn=978-0-8143-3401-0 }}
* {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Stuart |editor1-first=David G. |editor1-last=Bromley |editor1-link=David G. Bromley |editor2-first=J. Gordon |editor2-last=Melton |editor2-link=J. Gordon Melton |title=Cults, Religion, and Violence |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |year=2002 |isbn=0-521-66898-0 |chapter=Public Agency Involvement in Government–Religious Movement Confrontation }}


;Journals
Specifically, Kronberg and Lindebjerg posited that Landmark Education's courses seem to fill a void in the lives of disillusioned young adults, who have not found answers in religion: ''"Landmark seems to appeal to young people between 20 and 35 in liberal professions who are disillusioned with or discouraged about their lives. Landmark seems to be a scientific substitute for the need for religious answers to life's fundamental questions."''<ref name="Kronberg" />
* {{cite journal |author=Schneider |year=1995 |title=Der Pädagogische Bereich als Operationsfeld für Psychokulte |journal=20 Jahre Elterninitiative |volume=e.V. |pages=189–190 |publisher=University of Tubingen, Theologische Abteilung |isbn=3-927890-23-5 |issn=0720-3772 }}


;Web sources
== See also ==
* {{cite web |author=Landmark (Art Schreiber) |url=http://www.culteducation.com/reference/landmark/landmark107.pdf |title=Declaration of Arthur Schreiber; US District Court, New Jersey; Civil Action No.04-3022(JCL) |date=May 3, 2005 |website=CEI |publisher=Cult Education Institute |access-date=January 27, 2015 }}
=== People associated with Landmark Education, past/present ===
* {{cite web |author=Landmark (Art Schreiber) |url=https://www.eff.org/files/filenode/landmark/archive_landmark_request.pdf |title=Landmark's letter to the Internet Archive |year=2006a |website=eff.org |publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation |access-date=January 23, 2015 }}
* ] - ] CEO of Landmark Education and brother of Werner Erhard (])
* {{cite web |author=Landmark (Art Schreiber) |url=https://www.eff.org/files/filenode/landmark/google_landmarkdec.pdf |title=Landmark's letter to Google |year=2006b |website=eff.org |publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation |access-date=January 23, 2015 }}
* ] - Vice President of Centers Division (Landmark Education) and sister of Werner Erhard (])
* {{cite web |author=Landmark staff |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/landmark-education-business-development-lebd-changes-name-to-vanto-group-56770627.html |title=Landmark Education Business Development, LEBD, Changes Name to Vanto Group |website=PRNewswire |date=February 1, 2008 |access-date=October 22, 2008 |ref={{sfnRef|Landmark press release|2008}} |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120183657/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/landmark-education-business-development-lebd-changes-name-to-vanto-group-56770627.html |archive-date=January 20, 2018 }}
* ] - ] CEO, Landmark Education Business Development, LEBD
* {{cite web|author=Landmark staff |url=http://www.landmarkeducation.com/display_content.jsp?top=26&mid=659&bottom=676&siteObjectID=707 |title=Landmark Education Celebrates 11 Years of Business and Growth |year=2002 |website=Landmark Education |location=San Francisco, California |access-date=October 22, 2008 |ref={{sfnRef|Landmark staff|2002a}} |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927213240/http://www.landmarkeducation.com/display_content.jsp?top=26&mid=659&bottom=676&siteObjectID=707 |archive-date=September 27, 2007 }}
* ] - Vice President in charge of course development, Landmark Education; Forum leader
*{{cite web |author=Landmark staff|url=http://landmarkeducation.com/OVERVW/default.htm |title=Overview |date=2002 |website=Landmark Education |location=San Francisco, California |access-date=January 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020803185812/http://landmarkeducation.com/OVERVW/default.htm |archive-date=August 3, 2002 |ref={{sfnRef|Landmark staff|2002b}} }}
* ] - founding member, Landmark Education; Forum leader, prominent course designer
*{{cite web |author=Landmark staff|url=http://www.landmarkeducation.fr/menu.jsp?top=20447&siteObjectID=21551 |title=Landmark Education – Droit de Répons – France 3 |website=Landmark Education |location=San Francisco, California |year=2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721001823/http://www.landmarkeducation.fr/menu.jsp?top=20447&siteObjectID=21551 |archive-date=July 21, 2011 |language=fr |access-date=October 23, 2008 }}
* ] - Forum leader, Landmark Education
*{{cite web |author=Landmark staff|url=http://www.landmarkworldwide.com/who-we-are/company-overview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721172129/http://www.landmarkworldwide.com/who-we-are/company-overview |archive-date=July 21, 2013 |title=Overview |website=Landmark Education |year=2014 |location=San Francisco, California |access-date=October 22, 2014 |ref={{sfnRef|Landmark staff|2014a}} }}
* ]/]
*{{cite web |author=Landmark staff |url=http://www.landmarkworldwide.com/who-we-are |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721172235/http://www.landmarkworldwide.com/who-we-are |archive-date=July 21, 2013 |title=Landmark Fact Sheet |website=Landmark Worldwide |year=2014 |location=San Francisco, California |access-date=January 22, 2015 |ref={{sfnRef|Landmark staff|2014b}} }}
*{{cite web |author=Landmark staff|title=The Landmark Advanced Course |url=http://www.landmarkworldwide.com/after-the-landmark-forum/advanced-programs/advanced-course |website=Landmark Worldwide |year=2015 |access-date=January 17, 2015 }}


*{{cite web |author=CASS staff |url=http://kepler.ss.ca.gov/corpdata/ShowLpllcAllList?QueryLpllcNumber=200305810074 |title=LP/LLC Information |website=California Secretary of State |year=2003 |publisher=California |location=Sacramento, California |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080131201220/http://kepler.ss.ca.gov/corpdata/ShowLpllcAllList?QueryLpllcNumber=200305810074 |archive-date=January 31, 2008 |access-date=October 23, 2008 }}
=== Related topics ===
*{{cite web|author=CASS staff |url=http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/corpdata/ShowAllList?QueryCorpNumber=C1197599 |title=Entity Number C1197599 |website=California Secretary of State |publisher=California |location=Sacramento, California |year=1987 |access-date=October 23, 2008 |ref={{sfnRef |11=CASS staff |12=1987 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/20110721034252/http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/corpdata/ShowAllList?QueryCorpNumber=C1197599 |archive-date=July 21, 2011 }} |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129063713/http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/corpdata/ShowAllList?QueryCorpNumber=C1197599 |archive-date=November 29, 2014 }}
==== Media ====
* {{cite web |author=EFF staff |url=https://www.eff.org/cases/landmark-and-internet-archive |title=Landmark and the Internet Archive |year=2011 |website=eff.org |publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation |access-date=January 23, 2015 }}
* '']'', film with ], (1977)
* {{cite web |author=EFF staff |url=https://www.eff.org/files/filenode/landmark/eff_letter.pdf |title=EFF and Internet Archive response to Landmark |year=2007|website=eff.org |publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation |access-date=January 23, 2015 }}
* '']'', ] documentary by ], (2002)
*{{cite web |author=Office of International Religious Freedom |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2005/51539.htm |title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: Austria |year=2005 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=August 28, 2013 }}
* '']'', Documentary (2004)
*{{cite web |author=Office of International Religious Freedom |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2005/51583.htm |title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: Sweden |year=2006 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=August 28, 2013 }}
* '']'', Documentary, (2006)


;News articles
==== Other ====
* {{cite news |author=ABC News staff |title=Defence workers trained by 'cult' |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/02/2205464.htm?section=australia |work=ABC News |location=Sydney, NSW |access-date=January 29, 2015 |ref={{sfnRef|ABC News staff|2008}} }}
* ]
* {{cite news |last=Bass |first=Alison |title=The Forum: Cult or comfort? |newspaper=] |publisher=] |date=March 3, 1999 }}
* ]
<ref name=Hill_2003 >{{cite news |last=Hill |first=Amelia |title=I thought I'd be brainwashed. But how wrong could I be |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/dec/14/ameliahill.theobserver |newspaper=] |date=December 14, 2003 | quote=Since its creation in 1991, Landmark Education has been described variously as a cult, an exercise in brainwashing and a marketing trick cooked up by a conman to sap the vulnerable of their savings. ... Landmark has faced accusations of being a cult, but I saw nothing of that. Far from working to separate us from our families and friends, we were told there was no relationship too dead to be revived, no love too cold to be warmed. }}</ref>
* ]
* {{cite news |last=Bauder |first=Don |date=August 7, 1994 |title=Firm Turns to est Guru; Still Slides |newspaper=Union-Tribune |location=San Diego }}
* ]
* {{cite news |last=Dewan|first=Shaila|newspaper=]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/us/04giles.html|title=Hired to Bring Order, Kings' Adviser Brings Peace|date=May 3, 2010|access-date=November 2, 2010 |ref=CITEREFDewan3_May_2010 }}*{{cite news |last=Gordon |first=Suzanne |date=December 1978 |title=Let Them Eat est |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/07/hunger-artist |newspaper=Mother Jones |location=San Francisco, California |access-date=December 8, 2014 }}
* ]
* {{cite news |last=Faltermayer |first=Charlotte |date=June 24, 2001 |title=The Best of est? |url= http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,138763,00.html |newspaper=Time Magazine |location=New York |access-date=December 8, 2014 }}
* ] (Maslow & Rogers and ])
* {{cite news |last=Grigoriadis |first=Vanessa |date=July 9, 2001 |title=Pay Money, Be Happy |url=http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/culture/features/4932/index1.html |newspaper=New York Magazine |location=New York City |access-date=September 6, 2014 }}
* ]
* {{cite news |last=Hellard |first=Peta |date=June 11, 2006 |title=Stress Fear in $700 Child Forum: WA children as young as eight who attend "life-changing" coaching sessions by a controversial US company could have difficulty with their schoolwork afterwards, according to experts |newspaper=Sunday Times |publisher=News Corporation |location=Perth, Western Australia }}
* ] and ]
* {{cite news |last=Hukill |first=Traci |date=July 15, 1998 |title= The est of Friends |journal=] |url=http://www.metroactive.com/landmark/landmark1-9827.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123235400/http://metroactive.com/landmark/landmark1-9827.html |archive-date=January 23, 2009 |access-date=January 23, 2015 }}
* ] (])
* {{cite news |last=Kornbluth |first=Jesse |date=March 19, 1976 |title=The Fuhrer over EST |newspaper=New Times |publisher=Hirsch |location=New York }}
* {{cite news |last=Lazarus |first=Baila |title=Attain Freedom from the Past |newspaper=Jewish Independent |date=April 11, 2008 }}
* {{Cite news |last=Lemonniera |first=Marie |title=Chez les gourous en cravate |newspaper=] |date=May 19, 2005 |url=http://hebdo.nouvelobs.com/hebdo/parution/p2115/dossier/a268827-chez_les_gourous_en_cravate.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121000653/http://hebdo.nouvelobs.com/hebdo/parution/p2115/dossier/a268827-chez_les_gourous_en_cravate.html |archive-date=January 21, 2009|language=fr |access-date=December 7, 2008 }}
* {{cite news |last=Marshall |first=Jeannie |date=June 27, 1997 |title=The est in the Business: That old seventies personal growth fad has been resurrected and retooled, and it's coming soon to a corporation near you |newspaper=National Post: Saturday Night |location=Toronto, Ontario }}
* {{cite news |last=McClure |first=Laura |date=July–August 2009 |title=The Landmark Forum: 42 Hours, $500, 65 Breakdowns; My lost weekend with the trademark happy, bathroom-break hating, slightly spooky inheritors of est |url=https://www.motherjones.com/media/2009/07/landmark-42-hours-500-65-breakdowns |newspaper=Mother Jones |location=San Francisco, California |access-date=December 8, 2014 }}
* {{cite news |last=McCrone |first=John |title=A Landmark Change |newspaper=The Press Supplement |location=Christchurch New Zealand |date=November 22, 2008 }}
* {{cite news |last1=Mullally |first1=Una |last2=Burke |first2=John |date=July 31, 2005 |title=Labour senator promotes group classified in France as 'cult-like' |newspaper=Sunday Tribune |location=Dublin Ireland |ref={{sfnRef|Mullally and Burke|2005}} }}
* {{cite news |last=Odasso |first=Diane |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-odasso/my-landmark-experience_b_105502.html |title=My Landmark Experience |work=] |date=June 5, 2008 |access-date=December 9, 2009 }}
* {{cite news|last=Palme |first=Christian |url=http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/landsting-kopte-kurs-av-landmark |title=Landsting köpte kurs av Landmark |newspaper=Dagens Nyheter |publisher=DN.SE |date=June 3, 2002 |access-date=April 18, 2012 |ref=CITEREFPalme3_June_2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807091642/http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/landsting-kopte-kurs-av-landmark |archive-date=August 7, 2011 }}
*{{cite news |last=Rolfe |first=Peter |date=March 9, 2008 |title=We Pay for Seminars: TAXPAYERS are picking up the bill to send police officers and bureaucrats on a controversial personal enlightenment course |newspaper=Sunday Herald Sun |location=Melbourne, Victoria }}
*{{Cite news |last=Roy |first=Anne |title=France 3: L'investigation prend du galon |work=] |date=May 24, 2004 |url=https://www.humanite.fr/node/306038 |access-date=September 21, 2014 |language=fr }}
*{{cite news |last=D'Souza |first=Christa |date=July 13, 2008 |title=Sex Therapy |newspaper=The Times |location=London }}
*{{cite news |last=Stassen |first=Wilma |url=https://www.health24.com/Mental-Health/Living-with-mental-illness/Inside-a-Landmark-Forum-weekend-20120721 |title=Inside a Landmark Forum weekend |date=September 11, 2008 |newspaper=Health 24 |access-date=October 2, 2019 }}
*{{Cite news |author=TD |title=Une secte démasquée grâce à la caméra cachée |newspaper=] |date=May 24, 2004 |url=http://www.leparisien.fr/loisirs-et-spectacles/une-secte-demasquee-grace-a-la-camera-cachee-24-05-2004-2005006048.php |language=fr |access-date=September 21, 2014 }}
*{{Cite news |last=Tessier |first=Odine |title=Voyage au pays des nouveaux gourous |newspaper=] |date=May 20, 2004 |url=http://www.lepoint.fr/culture/2007-01-17/voyage-au-pays-des-nouveaux-gourous/249/0/28932 |language=fr |access-date=September 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213070836/http://www.lepoint.fr/culture/2007-01-17/voyage-au-pays-des-nouveaux-gourous/249/0/28932 |archive-date=December 13, 2014 }}
{{refend}}


== External links== == Further reading ==
* {{cite news |last=Rayman |first=Graham |date=May 20, 2008 |title=Suit Against Sperm-Bank Firm Claims Sexual Harassment and Cult-Like Behavior |newspaper=] |location=New York |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-05-20/news/sperm-bank-lawsuit | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803030318/http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-05-20/news/sperm-bank-lawsuit/ | archive-date=2008-08-03 }}
;Corporate sites
* Logan, David C. (1998). Transforming the Network of Conversations in BHP New Zealand Steel: Landmark Education Business Development's New Paradigm for Organizational Change (Case 1984-01). USC Marshall School of Business.
*
** (subsidiary)
;Link directories
*
*


== References and footnotes == == External links ==
{{commons}}
<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
*{{Official website|https://www.landmarkworldwide.com/}}
<references />
</div>


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Latest revision as of 19:21, 19 November 2024

Company offering personal development programs Not to be confused with Landmark School or Landmark College.
A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. It may require cleanup to comply with Misplaced Pages's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Please discuss further on the talk page. (October 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Landmark Worldwide LLC
Company typePrivately held company LLC
IndustryPersonal development
FoundedJanuary 16, 1991 (1991-01-16)
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California
Key peopleHarry Rosenberg, CEO
ProductsThe Landmark Forum, associated coursework
Revenue$100 million (2016)
Net income$5 million (2016)
Number of employees500 employees and 7,500 volunteers
Subsidiaries
  • The Vanto Group
  • Tekniko Licensing Corporation
Websitelandmarkworldwide.com

Landmark Worldwide (known as Landmark Education before 2013), or simply Landmark, is an American employee-owned for-profit company that offers personal-development programs, with their most-known being the Landmark Forum. It is one of several Large Group Awareness Training programs.

Several sociologists and scholars of religion have classified Landmark as a "new religious movement" (NRM), while others have called it a "self-religion," a "corporate religion," and a "religio-spiritual corporation". Landmark has sometimes been described a cult. Some religious experts dispute this claim, pointing out that Landmark does not meet some characteristics of cults, including being a religious organization, or having a central leader. Landmark has been criticized for the stress it puts on participants while it tries to convert them to a new worldview and for its recruitment tactics: Landmark does not use advertising, but instead pressures participants during courses to recruit relatives and friends as new customers.

As part of the Human Potential Movement, which was centered in San Francisco, Werner Erhard created and ran the est (Erhard Seminars Training) system from 1971 to 1984, which promoted the idea that individuals are empowered when they take personal responsibility for all events in their lives, both good and bad. In 1985, Erhard modified est to be gentler and more business oriented and renamed it the Landmark Forum. In 1991, he sold the company and its concepts to some of his employees, who incorporated it as Landmark Education Corporation, which was restructured into Landmark Education LLC in 2003, and then renamed Landmark Worldwide LLC in 2013. Its subsidiary, the Vanto Group, markets and delivers training and consulting to organizations.

History

In 1985, Werner Erhard (creator of the est training which ran from 1971 to 1984) renamed est to the Landmark Forum, and changed the content to be gentler and somewhat more business oriented. He promoted the idea that all events (good and bad) of an individual's life were their own making, and that individuals would be empowered when they take personal responsibility for all events in their lives, an idea based in the Human Potential Movement. Many individuals liked this belief, whether or not it is true, or simply works as a placebo. The Landmark Forum's niche was for people who did not have major psychological problems, but were nonetheless seeking self-improvement; these people constituted a very large part of society and were not served by the medical psychological establishment, which concentrated on those with mental illness.

In 1991, Erhard sold the intellectual property rights associated with the Forum's concepts to some of his employees, (including his brother Harry Rosenberg who became CEO) who incorporated into "Landmark Education Corporation." Landmark paid Erhard $3 million as an initial licensing fee, with additional payments over the next 18 years not to exceed $15 million. The new company offered similar courses and employed many of the same staff. The Forum was reduced in length from four days to three, and its price is about 50% of the cost of the est courses. In 2001, Rosenberg stated that Landmark had completely purchased the licenses to all of Erhard's concepts and all divisions of the company.

In 2003, Landmark Education Corporation was re-structured into Landmark Education LLC, and in 2013 it was renamed Landmark Worldwide LLC. Landmark Worldwide states that it operates as a for-profit company, whose employees own all the shares of the corporation. The company states that it invests its surpluses "into making its programs, initiatives, and services more widely available."

The company reported in 2019 that more than 2.4 million people had participated in its programs since 1991. Landmark holds seminars in approximately 125 locations in more than 21 countries. Landmark's revenue surpassed $100 million in 2018, with profits of about $5 million. The organization has 500 employees, and about 7,500 volunteers, an unusually large number of volunteers for a for-profit company. Their use of volunteers prompted three separate investigations by the United States Department of Labor, which concluded without requiring Landmark to make any changes to their practices.

Business consulting

In 1993 Landmark started a subsidiary named Landmark Education Business Development (LEBD), (later renamed to the Vanto Group) which uses the Landmark methodology to provide consulting services to businesses and other organizations. LEBD became the Vanto Group in 2008.

Controversial marketing practices

Landmark does not use advertising to reach potential customers, but instead repeatedly pressures participants during their courses to recruit relatives, friends, and acquaintances as new clients. This complete reliance on word-of-mouth advertising to market its programs has been described by reporters variously as: "evangelical", having "a Ponzi taste," "a quasi-pyramid scheme," and including a "hard, hard sell."

Accusations of being a cult

Landmark has faced accusations of being a cult. Several commentators unrelated to Landmark have stated that because it has no single central leader, is a secular (non-religious) organization, and it tries to unite (and re-unite) participants with their family and friends (rather than isolate them) that it does not meet many of the characteristics of a cult.

Landmark has threatened and pursued lawsuits against people who have called or labeled it such, including individuals (clinical psychology professor Margaret Singer), magazines (Elle, Self, and Now) and organizations (Cult Awareness Network). After Singer wrote a book, Cults in Our Midst, in which she mentioned Landmark as a controversial New Age training course, Landmark sued Singer. The suit was resolved when Singer agreed to provide a sworn statement that Landmark is not a cult or sect. Singer stated that she would not recommend the group to anyone, and would not comment on whether Landmark used coercive persuasion for fear of legal recrimination from Landmark. In 1997, Landmark sued Cult Awareness Network (CAN) after they made statements alleging or implying that Landmark was a cult. That suit was resolved when CAN stated that it has no evidence that Landmark is a cult.

In 2004, it was revealed that Landmark had paid French anti-cult expert Jean-Marie Abgrall to "audit" them. Landmark had been listed as a cult by the Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France 1995 list of cults; displeased by their designation, they contacted Abgrall to have them removed from the list. Abgrall wrote a report on the organization arguing that they were not a cult, arguing that they were a "harmless organization", though did conclude by recognizing that the group may have had some warning signs. Following his report they were removed from the list, and Abgrall was paid €45,699.49 by Landmark from the period of 2001 to 2002. Abgrall complained in 2004 when interviewed by Le Parisien that this had only been revealed to block his involvement in the ongoing Order of the Solar Temple cult trial, and that he had no conflict of interest as he "wrote an unfavorable report and paid my taxes."

In June 2004, Landmark filed a 1 million dollar lawsuit against Rick Alan Ross's Cult Education Institute, alleging that postings on the institute's websites which characterized Landmark as a cultish organization that brainwashed their clients damaged Landmark's product. In December 2005, Landmark filed to dismiss its own lawsuit with prejudice, purportedly on the grounds of a material change in case law after the publication of an opinion in another case, Donato v. Moldow, regarding the Communications Decency Act of 1996, even though Ross wanted to continue the case in order to further investigate Landmark's educational materials and history of suing critics. Ross stated that he does not see Landmark as a cult because they have no individual leader, but he considers them harmful because subjects are harassed and intimidated, causing potentially unsafe levels of stress.

Courses

Many large companies and government agencies have paid for and encouraged their employees to take Landmark's classes.

Andrew Cherng, the founder and co-CEO of Panda Express, has said that Landmark aided his company's success. He has strongly encouraged his employees and all managers to take Landmark's classes. Chip Wilson, the founder of Lululemon Athletica, is a follower of Landmark's principles, and has directed his companies to pay for employees to attend Landmark's classes.

Some of Landmark's courses require participants to start a community project.

Landmark Forum

Landmark's entry course, the Landmark Forum, is the default first course for new participants and provides the foundation of all Landmark's other programs. The Landmark Forum takes place over three consecutive days plus an evening session (generally Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday evening.) The Forum is attended in a group varying in size between 75 and 250 people. Landmark arranges the course as a dialogue in which the Forum leader presents a series of proposals and encourages participants to take the floor to relate how those ideas apply to their own individual lives. Course leaders set up rules at the beginning of the program and Landmark strongly encourages participants not to miss any part of the program. Attendees are also urged to be "coachable" (open minded to the course's concepts) and not just be observers during the course.

Various ideas are proposed for consideration and explored during the course. These include:

  • There can be a big difference between the facts and events in a person's life and the meaning, interpretation, and significance the person gives to or makes up about those events. The course proposes that people frequently conflate facts with their own interpretations of what occurred and, as a result, create self-inflicted suffering and a loss of effectiveness in their lives.
  • Meaning is a function of language, something people make up, rather than something intrinsic to life or occurrences. By articulating differently in a given context, people can alter the meaning they create and experience a greater degree of effectiveness in how they deal with events.
  • In learning to perceive self-created meaning, people begin to see that assumptions they have made about who they are in life are actually shaped by limitations they have made up in response to past circumstances or events. This realization allows participants to articulate new meanings that are free of self-imposed constraints. The Forum goes on to train participants in actualizing these new possible meanings by sharing them with people in their lives. This creates a supportive social environment for achieving one's dreams and goals.
  • The term "new possibilities" means something different from the common definition as something that may happen. Rather, the term refers to a here-and-now opportunity to be differently or take new action, free of constraints from the past.
  • A person's behavior is often governed by a perceived need to look good and be right, and people are often unaware of how their behaviors are shaped by these needs.
  • When people have persistent complaints that are accompanied by unproductive fixed ways of being and acting,

During the course, participants are encouraged to call friends and family members with whom they feel they have unresolved tensions, and to take responsibility for their own behavior.

The evening session follows closely on the three consecutive days of the course and completes the Landmark Forum. During this final session, the participants share information about their results and bring guests to learn about the Forum.

A 2011 Time article stated that "Landmark has been criticized for delving into the traumas of largely unscreened participants without having mental-health professionals on hand."

Reception

Scholars

Sociologist Eileen Barker and sociologist of religion James A. Beckford both classified Landmark and its predecessor organization est as a "new religious movement" (NRM). Some scholars have categorized Landmark or its predecessor organizations as a "self religion" or a (broadly defined) new religious movement (NRM). Others question some aspects of these characterizations.

Renee Lockwood, a sociology of religion researcher at The University of Sydney described Landmark as a "corporate religion" and a "religio-spiritual corporation" because of its emphasis on teaching techniques for improvement in personal and employee productivity, which is marketed to businesses as well as government agencies. Sociologist of religion Thomas Robbins says that Landmark could be considered an NRM. George Chryssides, a researcher on NRMs and cults said: "est and Landmark may have some of the attributes typically associated with religion, but it is doubtful whether they should be accorded full status as religious organizations."

Stephen A. Kent, professor of Sociology and an expert in new religious movements, stated in 2014 that Landmark's business is "to teach people that the values they have held up until now have held them back; that indeed they need a new set of values and this group can provide those new sets of values ... I don't know of any academic research that verifies that kind of perspective" and while some individuals feel "cleansed" or "invigorated" by Landmark's training, others may feel violated by the pressure put on them to reveal their innermost secrets to strangers during Landmark's training sessions.

Landmark maintains that it is an educational foundation and denies being a religious movement.

Large Group Awareness Training study

Main article: Evaluating a Large Group Awareness Training

In 1985, a group of psychology researchers studied participants of the Forum, (a Large Group Awareness Training course) and compared their outcomes to a control group of non attendees. They published their results in the book Evaluating a Large Group Awareness Training. They found that participants had a short-term increase in internal locus of control (the belief that one can control their life), but found no long-term positive or negative effects on individuals' self-perception.

Media

Time reporter Nathan Thornburgh, in his review of The Landmark Forum, said "At its heart, the course was a withering series of scripted reality checks meant to show us how we have created nearly everything we see as a problem" and "I benefited tremendously from the uncomfortable mirror the course had put in front of me."

Reporter Laura McClure with Mother Jones attended a three and a half-day forum, which she described as "My lost weekend with the trademark happy, bathroom-break hating, slightly spooky inheritors of est." Heidi Beedle, writing for the Colorado Springs Independent in 2019 said that "The tangible benefits of Landmark's courses may seem hard to pin down" though community projects do seem to be one, and "One thing is certain: Landmark is a program that is incredibly successful at making people feel good about Landmark."

In 2004, the French channel France 3 aired a television documentary on Landmark in their investigative series Pièces à Conviction. The episode, called "Voyage Au Pays des Nouveaux Gourous" ("Journey to the land of the new gurus") was highly critical of its subject. Shot in large part with a hidden camera, it showed attendance at a Landmark course and a visit to Landmark offices. In addition, the program included interviews with former course participants, anti-cultists, and commentators. Landmark left France following the airing of the episode and a subsequent site visit by labor inspectors that noted the activities of volunteers, and sued Jean-Pierre Brard in 2004 following his appearance in the documentary.

The episode was uploaded to a variety of websites, and in October 2006 Landmark issued subpoenas pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to Google Video, YouTube, and the Internet Archive demanding details of the identity of the person(s) who had uploaded those copies. These organizations challenged the subpoenas and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) became involved, planning to file a motion to quash Landmark's DMCA subpoena to Google Video. Landmark eventually withdrew its subpoenas.

In popular culture

Main article: EST and The Forum in popular culture

In "The Plan," the third episode of the second season of the American drama television series Six Feet Under, est and The Forum are parodied.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Snider, Suzanne (May 1, 2003). "Est, Werner Erhard and The Corporatization of Self-Help". Believer Magazine. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  2. ^ Beedle, Heidi (July 24, 2019). "Landmark Worldwide, the arts community and the big, bizarre business of personal development". Colorado Springs Independent. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  3. ^ McClure, Laura (August 17, 2009). "The Landmark Forum: 42 Hours, $500, 65 Breakdowns". Mother Jones. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  4. ^ Phillips, Caroline (March 1, 2017). "How an American motivational guru is inspiring British businesses". Spear's magazine. Retrieved June 6, 2018. And yet others who claim that it's a cult, brainwashing, and evangelical — about which more later. ... And now to that important question: is it a cult, brainwashing and evangelical? Cross out the first two; tick the third (but not in a literal, bible-bashing way — it's just that there's a lot of American hard sell). The party line is that evangelism is not a corporate approach: they attribute it to the individuals' passion. But I don't buy that. Whipping up the fervour and lurve is how they put bums on seats.
  5. ^ Grigoriadis, Vanessa (July 9, 2001). "Pay Money, Be Happy". New York. Some Landmark graduates also volunteer for the company, which has approximately 500 employees and a reported 7,500 unpaid "assistants" (though Landmark puts this number much lower) who answer phones, sign up recruits, and cater to the Forum leaders. ... Though it was rumored that Erhard sold his system for $1, it was later revealed that he received an initial payment of $3 million in addition to an eighteen-year licensing fee that was not to exceed $15 million; Erhard kept the Mexican and Japanese branches of the operation. ... Last year, Landmark had revenues of $58 million, and Rosenberg says the company has bought outright Erhard's license and his rights to Japan and Mexico.
  6. ^ Alford, Henry (November 26, 2010). "You're O.K., But I'm Not. Let's Share". New York Times. New York.
  7. Pressman, Steven (1993). Outrageous Betrayal: The dark journey of Werner Erhard from est to exile. New York City: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-09296-2, p. 254. (Out of print).
  8. Ney v. Landmark Education Corporation and Werner Erhard, 92-1979 (United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit 1994-02-02) ("The parties calculated the value of WE&A's assets at $ 8,600,000. Landmark also acquired Erhard's stock in WE&AII, which was valued at $ 1,200,000. Landmark agreed, as payment for the WE&A assets and WE&AII stock, to assume liabilities in the amount of $ 6,800,000 and to pay an additional $ 3 million to Erhard. The agreedon downpayment of $ 300,000 was paid out of the account of WE&AII, whose stock was sold to Landmark. The $ 2,700,000 balance was to be paid by January 30, 1992, but payment was later extended and the due date delayed. Landmark obtained from Erhard a license to present the Forum for 18 years in the United States and internationally with the exception of Japan and Mexico. Erhard retained ownership of the license. The license was not assignable without Erhard's express written consent, and was to revert to Erhard after 18 years. Furthermore, under the Agreement, Erhard was promised 2% of Landmark's gross revenues payable on a monthly basis and, in addition, 50% of the net (pre-tax) profit payable quarterly. Such payments to Erhard were not to exceed a total payment of $ 15 million over the 18 year term of the license.").
  9. Marshall 1997.
  10. Pressman 1993, pp. 245–246, 254–255.
  11. ^ Faltermayer, Charlotte; Woodbury, Richard (March 16, 1998). "The Best of Est?". Time. Archived from the original on May 29, 2007. But outreach was clearly part of the agenda. Pupils were assigned to call or write people with whom they "want to make a breakthrough," thereby introducing others to Landmark. On graduation night participants were encouraged to bring guests, who were then led away to learn more and sign on. From Day 1, attendants were told that for a limited time, the Forum's tuition included a $95 follow-up, "The Forum in Action." The crowd was also repeatedly invited to sign up for the $700 "Advanced Course." Act now and get a $100 discount.
  12. ^ "Landmark Company Overview". Landmark Worldwide. Retrieved December 7, 2023. Landmark is a for-profit company 100% owned by over 600 employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and similar international plans. The organization's executive team reports to a Board of Directors that is elected annually by the ESOP.
  13. See:
  14. (February 1, 2008). "Landmark Education Business Development, LEBD, Changes Name to Vanto Group Archived 2009-04-08 at the Wayback Machine". Reuters. Retrieved on October 22, 2008.
  15. ^ Rusnell, Charles; Russell, Jennie (October 17, 2014). "Alberta Health Services staff pressured to attend controversial seminars - Government continued to use Landmark Education despite employee complaints". CBC.ca. Ottawa, Ontario. "They are manipulative, they are controlling, they involve coercive persuasion," said Steve Kent, a University of Alberta sociology professor. Kent is an internationally recognized expert in deviant ideological and religious groups who has studied Landmark and similar organizations for decades.
  16. ^ Thornburgh, Nathan (April 10, 2011). "Change We Can (Almost) Believe In". Time. By the end of the course, almost all of us felt giddy with exhaustion and catharsis, but there was a fair amount of pressure to sign up for additional instruction. If we were serious about our transformation, we were told, we would enlist friends and family and even co-workers to take the $495 Forum themselves. It had just enough of a Ponzi taste that I stepped firmly and finally back outside the Landmark circle. (A Landmark executive later told me the company is "committed" to toning down the hard sell.)
  17. ^ Barker, Eileen (2004). "General Overview of the 'Cult Scene' in Great Britain". In Lucas, Phillip Charles; Robbins, Thomas (eds.). New Religious Movements in the Twenty-first Century: Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global Perspective. Sociology/Religious studies. New York: Psychology Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-415-96577-4. Retrieved June 23, 2021. Erhard Seminars Training (est) and other examples of the human potential movement joined indigenous new religions, such as the Emin, Exegesis, the Aetherius Society, the School of Economic Science, and the Findhorn community in the north of Scotland, and a number of small congregations within mainstream churches were labelled 'cults' as they exhibited some of the more enthusiastic characteristics of new religions and their leaders.
  18. ^ Toutant, Charles. "Suits Against Anti-Cult Blogger Provide Test for Online Speech". New Jersey Law Journal. Law.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2006. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  19. ^ Scioscia, Amanda (October 19, 2000). "Drive-thru Deliverance". Phoenix New Times. Phoenix, Arizona: Phoenix New Times, LLC. Retrieved December 19, 2020. Landmark vigorously disputes the cult accusation and freely threatens or pursues lawsuits against those who call it one ... Landmark also boasts numerous letters from experts stating that it does not meet cult criteria. One such letter comes from Dr. Margaret Singer, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, and an expert on cults. Landmark sued Singer after she mentioned the company in her book Cults in Our Midst. Singer says she never called it a cult in her book, but simply mentioned it as a controversial New Age training course. In resolution of the suit, Singer gave a sworn statement that the organization is not a cult or sect. She says this doesn't mean she supports Landmark. "I do not endorse them -- never have," she says. Singer, who is in her 70s, says she can't comment on whether Landmark uses coercive persuasion because "the SOBs have already sued me once." "I'm afraid to tell you what I really think about them because I'm not covered by any lawyers like I was when I wrote my book."
  20. ^ Palmer, Susan J. (2011). "Néo-Phare: The First Application of the About-Picard Law". The New Heretics of France: Minority Religions, la République, and the Government-Sponsored "War on Sects". Oxford University Press. pp. 161–168, footnote 64. ISBN 978-0-19-973521-1.
  21. ^ Vézard, Frédéric (May 28, 2004). "L'embarrassant rapport de l'expert antisectes" [The embarrassing report of the anti-cult expert]. Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  22. ^ "General Tso, Meet Steven Covey". Bloomberg Businessweek. November 18, 2010. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2011. Cherng is an avid consumer of self-improvement programs. ... He has since 2003 been a participant in Life Academy, a Taiwanese organization that follows a "life manual" dedicated to the "advancement of the human spirit." He is a devotee of Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Deepak Chopra's The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, and Don Miguel Ruiz's Four Agreements. Recently, Cherng has become passionate about the Landmark Forum, a program that utilizes Werner Erhard's EST methodology, which Psychology Today described as one that, "tore you down and put you back together."
  23. Sacks, Danielle (April 1, 2009). "Lululemon's Cult of Selling - Lululemon has created a cult following for its yoga gear. Its secret? The Secret, as well as other controversial self-help classics". Fast Company. A cult following is the most coveted accessory in retail, and Lululemon's is even more lustworthy than its Velocity Gym Bag. It wasn't built on the work of some Jobs-ian swami, however, but on the sources of Lulu founder and chairman Chip Wilson's own spiritual awakening. Wilson has mixed a heady self-actualizing cocktail from equal parts Landmark Forum (seminars based on the philosophy of Werner Erhard), the books of motivational business guru Brian Tracy, and Oprah-endorsed best seller The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne. He is now hard at work formalizing them in a Lululemon "internal constitution."
  24. Rosman, Katherine (February 2, 2016). "Chip Wilson tries to reinvent himself after his Lululemon turmoil". The Sydney Morning Herald. Punctuality is a central focus of Wilson's. It is also a key principle espoused by the Landmark Forum, a leadership development program based on Werner Erhard's EST curriculum. When Wilson was running Lululemon, the company paid for employees to attend Landmark seminars; Kit and Ace employees enjoy the same benefit. One of the main lessons of Landmark is that punctuality is a strong indicator of personal integrity.
  25. "Helping professionals take up community welfare projects". Chennai, India: Hindu Times. September 13, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  26. "Charity walk to boost anti-suicide initiatives". Bay of Plenty Times. August 20, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2011. Irene has undertaken the charity event as part of her Landmark Education Self Expression and Leadership course. "I had to set up a community programme of my choice that would make a difference," Irene said.
  27. "The Landmark Forum - Personal Development Courses – Landmark Worldwide".
  28. ^ Stassen 2008.
  29. ^ McCrone 2008.
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference Allinson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ McCarl, Steven R.; Zaffron, Steve; Nielson, Joyce; Kennedy, Sally Lewis (January–April 2001). "The Promise of Philosophy and the Landmark Forum". Contemporary Philosophy. XXIII (1 & 2). doi:10.2139/ssrn.278955. SSRN 278955.
  32. ^ See:
  33. See:
  34. Barker 1996, p. 126: "To illustrate rather than to define: among the better-known NRMs are the Brahma Kumaris, the Church of Scientology, the Divine Light Mission (now known as Elan Vital), est (Erhard Seminar Training, now known as the Landmark Forum), the Family (originally known as the Children of God), ISKCON (the Hare Krishna), Rajneeshism (now known as Oslo International), Sahaja Yoga, the Soka Gakkai, Transcendental Meditation, the Unification Church (known as the Moonies) and the Way International."
  35. Barker, Eileen (2005). "New Religious Movements in Europe". In Jones, Lindsay (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion. Detroit: MacMillan. p. 6568. ISBN 978-0028657431. The majority of NRMs are, however, not indigenous to Europe. Many can be traced to the United States (frequently to California), including offshoots of the Jesus Movement (such as the Children of God, later known as the Family); the Way International; International Churches of Christ; the Church Universal and Triumphant (known as Summit Lighthouse in England); and much of the human potential movement (such as est, which gave rise to the Landmark Forum, and various practices developed through the Esalen Institute).
  36. Beckford, James A. (2004). "New Religious Movements and Globalization". In Lucas, Phillip Charles; Robbins, Thomas (eds.). New Religious Movements in the Twenty-first Century: Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global Perspective. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. p. 256. ISBN 0-415-96576-4. The prospect of a new global order is also central to many variants of the Human Potential and New Age movements and Scientology. All these very different kinds of NRM nevertheless share a conviction that human beings have, perhaps for the first time, come into possession of the knowledge required to free them from traditional structures of thought and action. Hence, the confidence of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of Transcendental Meditation, and of Werner Erhard, the founder of est (now largely re-configured as the Landmark Trust)
  37. Beckford 2003, p. 156:" post-countercultural religious movements such as Erhard Seminars Training (now the Landmark Forum) ."
  38. ^ Lockwood, Renee (2011). "Religiosity Rejected: Exploring the Religio-Spiritual Dimensions of Landmark Education". International Journal for the Study of New Religions. 2 (2). Sheffield, England: Equinox Publishing Ltd.: 225–254. doi:10.1558/ijsnr.v2i2.225. ISSN 2041-9511. Retrieved June 23, 2021. Incorporating several eastern spiritual practices, the highly emotional nature of the Landmark Forum's weekend training is such as to create Durkheimian notions of 'religious effervescence', altering pre-existing belief systems and producing a sense of the sacred collective. Group-specific language contributes to this, whilst simultaneously shrouding Landmark Education in mystery and esotericism. The Forum is replete with stories of miracles, healings, and salvation apposite for a modern western paradigm. Indeed, the sacred pervades the training, manifested in the form of the Self, capable of altering the very nature of the world and representing the 'ultimate concern'.
  39. Heelas, Paul (1991). "Western Europe: Self Religions". In Sutherland, S.R.; Clarke, P.B. (eds.). The Study of Religion: Traditional and New Religions. London: Routledge. pp. 165–166, 171. ISBN 0-415-06432-5.
  40. See:
  41. See:
  42. Clarke, Peter B. (2013). "New Religious Movements". In Taliaferro, Charles; Harrison, Victoria S.; Goetz, Stewart (eds.). The Routledge Companion to Theism. Routledge Religion Companions Series. New York: Routledge. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-415-88164-7. Retrieved June 23, 2021. Like the , many of the Self-religions (Heelas 1991) have been heavily influenced by Asian, and more generally Eastern, ideas of spirituality and divinity and do not acknowledge an external theistic being but rather, use spiritual and psychological techniques to reveal the god within and/or the divine self. The Forum and/or est, whose origins are in the United States (Tipton 1982) holds to the belief that the self itself is god.
  43. Clarke, Peter; Sutherland, Stewart, eds. (1988). The World's Religions: The Study of Religion, Traditional and New Religion. Routledge (published 2002). ISBN 978-1-134-92221-5. Retrieved June 23, 2021. the founder of est (the highly influential seminar training established by Erhard in 1971) observes that, 'Of all the disciplines that I studied and learned, Zen was the essential one.
  44. Communication for planetary transformation and the drag of public conversations: The case of Landmark Education Corporation. Patrick Owen Cannon, University of South Florida
  45. See:
  46. Education Embraced: Substantiating the Educational Foundations of Landmark Education's Transformative Learning Model Marsha L. Heck International Multilingual Journal of Contemporary Research, 3(2), pp. 149–162 DOI: 10.15640/imjcr.v3n2a14
  47. Lockwood, Renee D. (June 1, 2012). "Pilgrimages to the Self: Exploring the Topography of Western Consumer Spirituality through 'the Journey'". Literature & Aesthetics. 22 (1): 108–130. S2CID 142958283. Yet perhaps a more salient manifestation of this phenomenon exists in the form of corporate religions, groups with a specific religio-spiritual function that are established, managed, and presented as corporations. Representing the ultimate fusion of the sacred and the economic, corporate religion may be interpreted as the latest manifestation of the Human Potential Movement, with groups and practitioners such as Anthony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, and Landmark Education. Within corporate spirituality, the late-modern concept of the internalised sacred is paramount, with the "Self" offering epoch-specific modes of salvation in the form of seminars and spiritual products. The philosophy and praxes of corporate religions are predominantly bound by the ethics of market capitalism and the values of Western consumer culture. To this end, they are often tailored towards improving productivity amongst individuals and employees, and are subsequently marketed not only to individuals, but also to companies and government agencies. For religio-spiritual corporations such as Landmark Education, all previous ideas and beliefs must be dissolved and washed away in order to create 'nothing,' a clean slate from which truth may arise.
  48. Robbins, Thomas; Lucas, Philip Charles (2007). "From 'Cults' to New Religious Movements: Coherence, Definition, and Conceptual Framing in the Study of New Religious Movements". In Beckford, James A.; Demerath, N. Jay (eds.). The SAGE Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. p. 229. ISBN 978-1-4462-0652-2. Retrieved December 19, 2020. many other types of groups have emerged that could fall under the purview of NRM study. We have suggested some of these in the above paragraph. Others might include religio-therapy groups such as Avatar, Mindspring, and Landmark Forum .
  49. Chryssides, George D. (2001) . "The Human Potential Movement". Exploring New Religions. Issues in Contemporary Religion. New York: A&C Black. p. 314. ISBN 978-0-8264-5959-6. Retrieved March 23, 2017. est and Landmark have addressed human problems in a radical way, setting super-empirical goals, and addressing what some may regard as a spiritual aspect of human nature (the Core Self, the Source, which is at least godlike, if not divine. est and Landmark may have some of the attributes typically associated with religion, but it is doubtful whether they should be accorded full status as religious organizations.
  50. Puttick, Elizabeth (2004). "Landmark Forum (est)". In Partridge, Christopher Hugh (ed.). Encyclopedia of New Religions. Oxford: Lion. pp. 406–407. ISBN 978-0-7459-5073-0.
  51. "French Documentary Transcript: "Voyage to the Land of the New Gurus"". May 24, 2004. Archived from the original on September 13, 2009.
  52. See:
  53. Roy 2004.
  54. See:
    • (Lemonniera 2005), French text: "L'Inspection du Travail débarque dans les locaux de Landmark, constate l'exploitation des bénévoles et dresse des procès-verbaux pour travail non déclaré." English translation: "Labor inspectors turned up at the offices of Landmark, noted the exploitation of volunteers and drew up a report of undeclared employment.";
    • (Landmark staff 2004), Landmark's response;
  55. Palmer 2011.
  56. See:
  57. Landmark Education and the Internet Archive. Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved May 25, 2020 – "In a settlement reached November 29, 2006 Landmark agreed to withdraw the subpoena to Google and end its quest to pierce the anonymity of the video's poster. Landmark has also withdrawn its subpoena to the Internet Archive."
  58. Self-Help Group Backs Off Attack on Internet Critic. Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved May 25, 2020 – "A controversial self-help group has backed off its attack on an Internet critic after the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) intervened in the case."

References

Books
Journals
  • Schneider (1995). "Der Pädagogische Bereich als Operationsfeld für Psychokulte". 20 Jahre Elterninitiative. e.V.. University of Tubingen, Theologische Abteilung: 189–190. ISBN 3-927890-23-5. ISSN 0720-3772.
Web sources
News articles

Further reading

External links

Werner Erhard
History
Books
  1. Hill, Amelia (December 14, 2003). "I thought I'd be brainwashed. But how wrong could I be". The Observer. Since its creation in 1991, Landmark Education has been described variously as a cult, an exercise in brainwashing and a marketing trick cooked up by a conman to sap the vulnerable of their savings. ... Landmark has faced accusations of being a cult, but I saw nothing of that. Far from working to separate us from our families and friends, we were told there was no relationship too dead to be revived, no love too cold to be warmed.
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