Ronald Enroth

Ronald M. Enroth (October 28, 1938 – February 3, 2023) was an American professor of sociology at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, and an evangelical Christian author of books concerning what he defined as "cults" and "new religious movements" and important figure in the Christian countercult movement.

Early life Born in Weehawken, New Jersey, Enroth was raised in Ridgefield, New Jersey, and attended Dwight Morrow High School in nearby Englewood, New Jersey. After his family moved to New Paltz, New York, he transferred to New Paltz High School.

Academic career Enroth was a graduate of Houghton College and earned his M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky. He was the Social Science editor for the periodical the Christian Scholar's Review (1987–1990). He also served for a number of years on the board of reference for the ministry the Spiritual Counterfeits Project in Berkeley, California. In 1987 he delivered the Tanner Annual Lecture at the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois. In 1994, Westmont College awarded Enroth twice for both Faculty Researcher of the Year and also Teacher of the Year in Social Sciences.

JPUSA Controversy In 1993, Enroth's book Recovering from Churches That Abuse set off a "firestorm of debate among religious scholars," centered around a chapter on the group Jesus People USA which included several stories of alleged abuse within the group.

James T. Richardson, former president of the Association for the Sociology of Religion and currently professor of sociology and Judicial studies (University of Nevada, Reno), criticized Enroth's book and research methods in an issue of JPUSA's Cornerstone magazine, writing in part:

Enroth's book can be viewed as another in a long line of popular books that teach people how to become good victims by reinterpreting their past. Ironically, this thoroughly non-sociological book makes use of a sociological truth--that people are constantly reinterpreting their past to make their view of that past more functional for their present--as he delivers the message that people's problems are not really their fault. Someone else is always to blame. This line of thought is controversial from several perspectives, of course, including the theological and the therapeutic. … Enroth reminds the reader several times that he is a sociologist, thus implying that he is doing sociology in the book, but this slim volume is not sociological. There is no attempt to sample properly, or to limit generalizations in any explicit way. There is no effort to discuss the issue of self-serving accounts that plague all such books of this 'anticult' bent, and there is a glossing over of the writer's own particular religious persuasion. Furthermore, there is virtually no recognition of the considerable scholarly research that might be used to counter the apparent thesis of Enroth, who seems to believe that religious groups that require heavy discipline and commitment should be avoided in favor of less demanding mainstream groups.

JPUSA elders, who attempted to convince Enroth to remove the chapter prior to the release of the book, referred to the chapter as "poison in the well." Ruth Tucker, a professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School also defended JPUSA saying Enroth was "sadly misdirected and his research methods seriously flawed."

As a result of the book's chapter on JPUSA, according to a later newspaper article, "scores" of members read it and decided to leave the group.

Later life and death Enroth retired from Westmont College after forty-seven years of teaching and moved to Hawaii, where he died on February 3, 2023, at the age of 84.