Global InformationGloriavale Christian Community information
| Gloriavale Christian Community | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Christian fundamentalism |
| Region | New Zealand |
| Founder | Neville Cooper |
| Origin | 1969 Canterbury, New Zealand |
| Number of followers | ~700 |
| Official website | gloriavale |
The Gloriavale Christian Community is a small and isolated cult located at Haupiri on the West Coast of the South Island in New Zealand. It has an estimated population of 700 as of June 2023.[1] It has operated on a property owned by the registered charitable Christian Church Community Trust since 1991.[2]
Gloriavale was founded in 1969 by travelling evangelist Neville Cooper ("Hopeful Christian").[3] Originating as the Springbank Christian Community, the group established a settlement called Gloriavale in the South Island's West Coast Region during the 1990s. Gloriavale Christian Community became a self-sufficient cult with its own school and various agricultural, tourism, and transportation businesses including a short-lived airline called Air West Coast.[4][5][6]
Gloriavale Christian Community is known for its fundamentalist Christian beliefs and practices.[7] Key beliefs and practices have included an emphasis on large families and female submission to male headship. Members (also known as the Cooperites)[8] wear distinctive uniforms; with males wearing long-sleeve blue shirts and trousers, and females wearing long blue dresses and scarves.[9] Gloriavale has also controversially shunned members who have left the community over disagreements with the leadership.[10] Gloriavale has been described as a cult due to these exclusivist religious and social beliefs and practices.[11]
During the early 21st century, Gloriavale attracted significant media coverage and public interest in New Zealand following various allegations and incidents of sexual and physical assault, and workplace exploitation including the 1995 conviction of its founder Cooper on three counts of sexual abuse.[12][13] Two separate Employment Court rulings in May 2022 and July 2023 found that its members including women and girls were employees who were subjected to prolonged labour exploitation and servitude.[14][15] In May 2022, Gloriavale's leadership apologised for various acts of abuse and labour exploitation that had occurred within the community.[16] Several Gloriavale leavers including Lilia Tarawa and Gloriavale Leavers' Support Trust have sought to raise awareness of abuses in Gloriavale and help former residents integrate into New Zealand society.[17][18]
- ^ "Subnational population estimates (RC, SA2), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996-2023 (2023 boundaries)". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023. (regional councils); "Subnational population estimates (TA, SA2), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996-2023 (2023 boundaries)". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023. (territorial authorities); "Subnational population estimates (urban rural), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996-2023 (2023 boundaries)". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023. (urban areas)
- ^ "Charity documents". Charity Services. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ Reynolds, Emma (30 August 2017). "Life after Gloriavale, the repressive cult run by an Australian sex offender". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
- ^ Tarawa 2017, pp. 12–18.
- ^ Brown, Giles (9 January 2010). "West Coast Christians in search for gas". Fairfax New Zealand. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "Schools / Homepage - Te Kete Ipurangi". TKI. Archived from the original on 14 September 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- ^ "Christian Community resisting Government immunisation drive". CathNews New Zealand. Church Resources Ltd. 5 July 2013. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ Quilliam, Rebecca (23 April 2009). "Father tells of rescuing kids from West Coast cult". NZ Herald. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ Olds, Jeremy (15 July 2014). "Gloriavale: Cult or idyllic society?". Stuff. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ "Sunday speaks to families who have recently fled Gloriavale". TVNZ. 19 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ^ "Gloriavale Christian Community at a Glance". Apologetics Index. 28 April 2015. Archived from the original on 14 September 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Stuff May 2015was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Tarawa 2017, pp. 21–22.
- ^ Edwards, Jean (10 May 2022). "Ex-members welcome Employment Court ruling over 'dangerous' Gloriavale work". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 11 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ Kenny, Jake; Naish, Joanne; Gibbs, Tatiana (13 July 2023). "Treated as slaves: Former Gloriavale women recognised as employees in Employment Court triumph". Stuff. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- ^ Leask, Anna (27 May 2022). "Gloriavale leaders apologise for sexual abuse, child labour, 'all offending'". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ Tarawa, Lilia (29 August 2017). "My life in a religious cult: 'The most dangerous place in the world is the womb of an ungodly woman'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ "Leaving Gloriavale". Radio New Zealand. 30 June 2021. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2021.