A former member of a Geelong’ doomsday cult’ is showing his support for an inquiry into protecting people from behaviours and methods of control.
Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee recently opened a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups following the exposure of Geelong Revival Centre’s internal workings.
Geelong’s Ryan Carey grew up in the Norlane Pentecostal (a form of Christianity) church but started advocating for change as the head of Stop Religious Coercion Australia after he left the church six years ago.
Mr Carey said Geelong Revival Centre operated like a “doomsday cult” during his time at the church under founder Noel Hollins, who died last year aged 93, which has greatly impacted his mental health.
“I believed that the world was going to end and that it was bad. Growing up with that threat hanging over your head as a kid, causes all sorts of anxiety and mental health issues,” he said.
“I had to ask permission to date, and I even had to ask permission to get married. We were forbidden to have contact with people who had left the group.
“There was also this fear that if we had contacted somebody who had left the group, we would be kicked out as well. A cult is never a great place to be.
“We were told that people on the outside weren’t great. We were only encouraged to mix with people from the cult. So, when you step out of that world, it’s completely different life, and it’s a better life.”
Mr Carey said the inquiry would help put structures and protections in place to protect people from coercive and controlling behaviours.
“It brings a spotlight to the damage and issues of what’s going on in these cults, high control religions and other groups that are similar,” he said.
“People have a freedom of religion, and this inquiry is not inhibiting people’s freedom of religion or freedom of belief. It’s the abusive behaviour that we’re tackling.
“We’re about making worship safe. People should be able to go to their church and be safe… We don’t want to shut down religion, we just want this behaviour that we know is harmful to stop.”
Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) Victorian state director Jasmine Yuen said she acknowledged that there were cults that needed to be investigated but was concerned that mainstream churches would be “unfairly targeted and labelled as cults”.
“This inquiry could pose great danger to religious freedom, particularly to Christian churches, as it could open the door to state control over churches,” she said.
“Since this inquiry relies on stories and testimonies based on people’s experiences, anyone who does not agree with certain teachings or practices of a church can mislabel a church as a cult.
“The government must differentiate Biblical teaching and Christian practices from those of the cults or fringe groups to ensure ‘cults’ won’t be used as an excuse for future state interference with religious affairs of churches.”
When asked about ACL’s position on the Geelong Revival Centre, Ms Yuen said they weren’t in a “position to comment” as they haven’t heard from any current or former church members.
Ms Yuen also said she was open to hearing from ex-members and people speaking out against the state’s churches to “understand their viewpoints”.
Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee will continue to accept submissions on the inquiry at parliament.vic.gov.au/cofg until July 31, with a final report to parliament due by September 30, 2026.
Geelong Revival Centre was contacted for comment but had not responded when the Independent went to print.
