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The Cultic Studies Journal has published two articles on the TM movement, one critical of the use of Transcendental Meditation to promote social progress in Israel, and a second by researchers explaining how the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs can be used to reduce conflict and enhance quality of life.
Four articles have been published about TM in the Cult Observer. Three of the articles summarize statements made in an article appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association (see section on "Marketing of herbal products" in this article). A fourth, by Kevin Garvey, a member of the American Family Foundation, makes accusations of spousal and child abuse, but doesn't present evidence.<ref>[http://www.csj.org/infoserv_groups/grp_eastern/tm/grpindex_tm.htm ''Transcendental Meditation'']</ref>
According to a 1987 article in the Washington Post, the [[Cult Awareness Network]], which is now owned and operated by associates of the Church of Scientology, held a press conference and demonstration in Washington, D.C., charging that Transcendental Meditation is a cult. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/trans_med/tm2.htm]. The article quoted Steve Hassan, editor of two books on cults and a former follower of the Rev. [[Sun Myung Moon, [http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/t/tm/]], as saying "They want you to dress and think and speak in a certain way and not to ask questions. They go into hypnotic trances and shut off who they are as a person."<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/trans_med/tm2.htm ''Group Says Movement a Cult''], [[The Washington Post]], Phil McCombs, July 2 1987</ref>
A 1995 report "Cults in France," commissioned for the French National Assembly ,<ref>[http://www.cftf.com/french/Les_Sectes_en_France/cults.html''Cults in France''], The Board of Inquiry Into Cults, October 4 1958</ref> lists Transcendental Meditation as one of 175 cults. The report defines cults broadly and includes Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Church of Christ, and Rosicrucians. It provides estimates of each cult's size in France and the rest of the world.
Books that accuse the TM movement of exhibiting cult-like behavior include Michael A. Persinger's 1980 "TM and Cult Mania". <ref>[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0815803923 ''TM and Cult Mania''], Michael A. AndPersinger et al, Christopher Pub House, May 1980, ISBN 0815803923</ref> and former TM teachers Joe Kellett<ref name="MedControv"/> and Curtis Mailloux <ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20000308180136/nasw.org/users/ASkolnick/mav.html ''JAMA, Medical News & Perspectives''], Oct. 2, 1991</ref> have also claimed it is a deceptive and harmful cult.
Researcher David Orme-Johnson, who states that he has authored over 100 studies related to Transcendental Meditation Technique (most of them peer-reviewed),<ref>[http://www.truthabouttm.org/truth/Home/AboutDavidOrme-Johnson/index.cfm] ''About David Orme-Johnson, Ph.D.'']</ref> also states that the “The Transcendental Meditation organization is not a cult.” He argues that research shows that the Transcendental Meditation technique produces effects in practitioners that are “the opposite to those found in people who allegedly get involved in cults.” And he cites, as examples, a dissertation done at York University and one done at Harvard that suggest that meditators show more autonomous thought. He states that a cult is a “closed system of thought that does not submit itself to outside validation,” whereas the “Transcendental Mediation organization is the opposite because it submits its theories to the rigors of scientific testing.” He says that over 200 universities have conducted research on the Transcendental Meditation technique.<ref>[http://www.truthabouttm.org/truth/IndividualEffects/IsTMaCult/index.cfm ''Issue: Is the Transcendental Meditation organization a cult?'']</ref>
===Suit alleges mental health required for safe practice===
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