Who Lives in Utopia?

A Brief Report on the Rajneeshpuram Research Project

Author(s): Carl A. Latkin, Richard A. Hagan, Richard A. Littman, Norman D. Sundberg
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Sociological Analysis, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Spring, 1987), pp. 73-81
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3711684 .
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Sociological Analysis 1987, 48. 1:73-81

NOTE

RESEARCH

Who
the

A Brief
Utopia?
Research
Rajneeshpuram
Lives

In

Report

on

Project

Carl A. Latkin, RichardA. Hagan, Richard A. Littman,

Norman D. Sundberg
Universityof Oregon

Initial results are reportedfrom a longitudinalstudy of Rajneeshpuram,the

Oregon communityfounded by followers of Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Demographic results indicate residents were young, predominantly
white, well educated, and from middle- and upper-middle-classbackgrounds.
Psychologicaldata indicate thepresence of healthyself-perceptions:low levels of
depression, high social support, and general life satisfaction. These data are
similar to empiricalreportsofpeople involvedin othernew religiousmovements,
but the differencesare also substantial. These data provide a base for pursuing
longitudinalworkon the readjustmentand coping strategiesoffollowers now that
the communehas disbanded. Generalproceduresare outlinedfor the continued
trackingof groupmembers.Some conjecturesare providedconcerningthe issues
and resources related to joining the Rajneeshee movement.
In the summerof 1981, the followers of an Indianreligious leader purchaseda
large tract of land in central Oregon and proceeded to the establishment of a
community.They were followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh,who had previously
led a large ashramin Poona, India, some 90 miles southwestof Bombay.A varietyof
factors, includingalleged public harassmentand poor health, led Rajneeshto move
to the United States in 1981. Soon thereafter,he acceptedan invitationto live at the
new site, now named Rajneeshpuram.
Once "the ranch"became Rajneesheepropertythe occupantsrapidlydeveloped
manyof the amenitiesof a modem city. Although initiallya small community,by the
springof 1982 over 500 people called Rajneeshpuramhome. The populationcontin1. We would like to thank Benton Johnson and Beverly Fagot for their helpful comments on an earlier
version of the manuscript.

73

74

SOCIOLOGICALANALYSIS

ued to skyrocket: approximately4000 people had relocatedthere by winter, 1985.

The extensivebuildingprogramneededto accommodatethese people, along with the
Rajneeshee presence in general, sparked serious objections from environmental
leaders in the state and from inhabitantsof the neighboringcommunities. The result
has been a steady stream of legal battles ever since.
By the winter of 1982, we had learned enough about the community to realize
that an extraordinaryevent was takingplace. Here was a social system in the making
that was guided by a set of explicit beliefs and principles aboutpeople, personality,
work, community,and religion. It was a humanpotentialmovementin the seclusion
of the high Oregon desert. Social scientists may have fantasizedabout such a social
experiment, but here it was. We began a study of them, and this is a report of our
initial findings.2
Although our research is to the best of our knowledge the only longitudinal
study of the commune, Rajneeshpuramhas not been wanting for publicity. The
Rajneesheeswere big news. In fact, they were a media event. Rajneeshpuramwas a
regularfeatureon both nationaland local television, and rarelya day went by that a
majorarticledid not appearin the state's largernewspapers.Unfortunately,coverage
focused almost entirely on legal suits brought by or against the commune, the
conflict between the commune and the "old-timers" of easternOregon, and, in the
fall of 1984 the influx of the homeless under the commune's share-a-homeproject.
There are otherwrittensources of informationon the Rajneeshees,but it is almost all
either anecdotaland frequentlypolemical, historical, or analyticaland textual, the
latter especially by those interested in the religious and philosophical nature of
Bhagwan'sthoughts(Clarke, 1983). To our knowledge, the data reportedbelow are
the only source of informationcollected throughempiricalmethods;for this reason,
our findings will be useful to anyone interestedin the demographicquestion of who
becomes a follower and the personalityquestion of what these people are like. We
have includeddetails of the collection procedure(s)and data from the beginnings of
our project; the effort was centered around learning more about the background
characteristicsof the Rajneeshees.

PROCEDURES
Two surveys were administeredat Rajneeshpuram,one in August and the other
in October, 1983. The first survey was administered through Rajneeshee work
groups(or temples, as they referredto them), which held regularmeetingsto discuss
work-relatedissues. Each group included people who were working on the same
type of project (i.e., all the people in constructionin one group). Each group had a
coordinator,and a meeting of all coordinatorswas held weekly. At the coordinator
meeting prior to our arrival, a city official announced the intent and plans of our
study. The coordinatorswere instructedto pick up the necessary number of forms
2. This project was partially supportedby a Biomedical research grant awardedto the University of
Oregon, FY 1984-85.

RESEARCH
NarE

75

from a central location, where three members of the researchteam had delivered
packets of questionnairesand instructions. The coordinatorsthen handed out the
questionnairesto members of their respectiveworkgroups. Once a meeting ended,
the coordinatorreturnedall forms, completedand uncompleted,to the centraldrop
location.
The questionnaireswere prenumberedfrom001 to 999 and a 3 x 5 identification
card had been stapled to each copy. To insure anonymity,the identificationcards,
which includedboth the participant'snamesand subjectnumbers,were removedand
storedat Rajneeshpuram.The answersheets and formsdid not include the subject's
names, but subject number, sex, and age were included on the answer sheets. All
materialsexcept for the identificationcardswere takenback to Eugenethatsame day.
A total of 732 people completed the first survey, a very high percentage of the
estimated 800 people who were living there at the time. Of these, 635 fully completed questionnaireswere analyzed.
In the second survey, 200 people were chosen from the 635 who had successfully completedthe first form. Subjectnumberswere randomlyselected and a list of
these numberswas then phonedto Rajneeshpuram.The numberswere then matched
up to names, and these individuals were contacted concerning the possibility of
completinga second form. Those who agreedto continuewere askedto reportto the
communecafeteriaafter workon Friday.Two membersof the researchteam were on
hand, and administrationtook approximately45 minutes. Only 75% (150) of those
asked to fill out the second form actually did, and we were concerned that these
people might differ from the larger group which completedthe first survey. To test
this we looked to see if there were any differencesin how the second-timersand the
larger sample responded to the items on the first questionnaire. No significant
differences were found, which is somewhat surprisinggiven that a few differences
might have been expected by chance alone.

RESULTS
Demographics
The surveysemphasizedtwo sets of information:demographicsandpsychological well-being. The first survey focused solely on demographicswhile the second
stressedboth forms of information.Data reportedbelow on the first surveyare based
on the 635 respondentswho completedthe form without major error. It should be
notedthatnot all totalscome out to 100%, due to occasionalunclearmarkingsby the
respondentsor to the roundingof numberson our part. The second surveystartedby
asking more demographicquestions. Of the 150 who filled out the second form, the
datareportedhere are based on a randomselection of 100 questionnaires.Data from
the second questionnaireare indicatedwith an asterisk.
Age and Sex: Fifty-fourpercentof the respondentswere female with an average
age of 33.9 years. Forty-six percent were male with an averageage of 34.7 years.
Family: Seventy-fourpercent of the respondentsreportedthey were married,

76

SOCIOLOGICALANALYSIS

14% single, 10% divorced,and 2% widowedor separated.A minorityof the

Rajneesheeshave children:25% reportedhavingchildrenand 11% statedtheir
childrenwereliving at Rajneeshpuram.
Inthe secondsurveywe askedthequestion,"Areyoupresentlylivingwithyour
thattheywere.Thisquestionis similarto the
spouse?"Sixty-fivepercentresponded
to
in
"Does
questionused the first survey,
yourspouselive at Rajneeshpuram?"
rewhich 67% of the participants
answeredyes, indicatingsome consistencyin
TABLE 1
CHARACTERISTICS
MEIMBER

at a
Rajneeshec

Length of time spent

prior to moving to the ranch

White
Black or Negro
Hisparnic/Spanish/Latino
Other

1A9

Religious

Background
917.
1%
2%
67.

at a
Sannyasin
1
1%
1%
97
13%
267

6%
8%
13%
10%
8%
8%
87%
37%

1-3 monthis
3-6 months
6-12 months
1-2 years
2-3 years
3-5 years
5 or more years
never

Ethnic

Center

Background

No religious
background
Roman Catholic
Jewish
Htindu or Buddist
Protestant
Other

1l%
27%
20%
47.
30%
4%,

sponses.
ReligiousOrientation:TableOne presentsreligiousand ethnicbackground
weresannyasinsfor5 yearsor moreand
information.Abouthalfof therespondents
abouttwo-thirds(63%) were living at a Rajneesheecenterprior to movingto
themselvesas religiouspriorto becomFortypercentcharacterized
Rajneeshpuram.
not.
did
and
a
60%
ing sannyasin
40%
In responseto the question,"Howdid you first hear of Rajneeshism?"
mentionedfriends,30%booksor tapedmaterialsof Bhagwan,and 10%through
visitinga Rajneeshcenter.No otherspecificsourcewasmentionedin morethan3%
of the cases.
Education: Ninety-five percent of the respondentsgraduatedfrom high school

to "Pleaselist degree(s),diploand64%froma university.Weaskedparticipants

from
highschool, secondaryschooland
ma(s),andcertificate(s)youhavereceived

RESEARCHNOTE

77

beyond." TableTwo (*) lists this informationfor a randomsampleof 100 along with
academic area of degree.
Place of residence: Table Three presents size of community from which the
participantscame. About half (48 %) were from cities of 100,000 or greater.This is
in sharp contrastto their present situation: the nearest town of 10,000 or more is
about 100 miles away.
TABLE 2
ACADEMICBACKGROUND

Hlighest
None or unlclear
Hligh school/secondary
Commntlity or junior
college
Bachelor's
(BA, BS)
degree

Obtained

Degree

8%
17%
6%
33%

(AA)

75%
Master's
Doctorate

degree
(PhD,

(MA, MS, MFA, etc.)

JD, MD, etc.)

2'4%
12%
36%

Academic

Arts and Hlumanities

Social
Sciences
Natural
Sciences
(inc.
Professions

Area

of

Degree

27%
33%
10%
10%

Math)

TABLE 3
COMMUNITY
SIZE BACKGROUND

Size

of community in whlich participant

spent

Farm
Town Less than 5,000
5,000-20,000
25,000-100,000
100,000-500,000
More than 500,000

most of time prior

57
10%
16%
22%
13%
35%

to age 18

78

SOCIOLOGICALANALYSIS
TABLE 4
POLITICALAND ECONOMIC
BACKGROUND

Political
Categorized

Background

as

Percent

Radical
Very liberal
Somewhat liberal
Somewhat conservative
Very conservative
Neither liberal
nor conservative

11
31
20
2
0
36

Economic Background
Highest

Income per Year

Less than $10,000

$10,000-$20,000
$20,001-$30,000
$30,001-$40,000
$40,001-$50,000
$50,001-$75,000
$75,001-$100,000
Over $100,000

Percent
16
26
24
15
10
4
2
3

Income and political orientation:Table Four gives data on political orientation

and income. We thoughtthe question of highest income would be a good indication
of previous income because many sannyasins were living at Rajneeshee centers
before coming to Rajneeshpuramand making little or no money.

Psychological well-being and mental health

Along with some demographicinquiry,the second survey includeda numberof
psychological inventories and questions directed at assessing mental well-being.
Inventories on perceived stress, social support, self-esteem, and depression were
included. The scales were selected using severalcriteria, includingreportedvalidity
and reliability,ease with which they were completed, and the considerationof what
we believed to be key dimensions of psychological well-being. Severalquestions on
life satisfaction were asked. Information on past and present life satisfaction is
presented in Table Five. Before becoming a "sannyasin," life satisfaction varied
widely; few, however, were extremely satisfied. At the time of the survey, 93%
reportedbeing in the top two categories of life satisfaction.

RESEARCHNOTE

79

TABLE 5
LIFE SATISFACTION

Scale

Now

Previously

0
1
2
Extremely dissatisfied;
never worse

2%

10%

07

07.

2%

10%

4
5
Neither satisfied
nor dissatisfied

0%

13%

R
6
7
Extrenely satisfied;
best evec

17.

0%

37

11%

82X

23%

11%

227

3%

5X

Perceivedstress: The PerceivedStress Scale, developedby Cohen, Kamart,and

Mermelstein(in press) is a 14 item global measureof stress level experiencedduring
the last month. Items were designed to tap dimensionsof unpredictability,uncontrollability,and overloadexperiencedin participants'lives. The Rajneesheemean on the
Perceived Stress Scale was 15.22 (N = 79, S.D. 7.64; low score indicates low
perceived stress). Cohen et al. reporta normativemean of 23.34 (N = 543, S.D.
7.62).
Social support: Social support was measured with the InterpersonalSupport
EvaluationList (ISEL) (Cohen and Hoberman, 1983). This scale is comprised of a
list of 40 statements to which the respondent answers true or false based upon
perceived availabilityof social resources (e.g., "There are severaldifferentpeople
with whom I enjoy spendingtime."). The Rajneesheesample had a mean score of
37.91 (N = 78, S.D. 1.51; high score indicates a high perceived social support).
Cohen and Hobermanreporta normativemean of 36.5 (S.D. 7.4), a figure lower
than that of the Rajneeshees. (One problem with this scale is a ceiling effect. The
maximum score is 40.)
Depression: The measureof depressionwe selected was the Centerfor Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D scale). It was developedfor epidemiological assessment in the general population. The CES-D is a 20 item, 4 point scale
which asks aboutdepressivesymptomologyduringthe past week (e.g., I had crying
spells). The Rajneesheemean was 5.86 (N = 86, S.D. 5.55; low score indicateslow
levels of depression). A study by Radloff (1977) reports means for three all white
samples rangingfrom 7.94 to 9.25 and standarddeviations from 7.53 to 8.58, N=
4996.
Self-esteem: Self-esteem was measuredwith the RosenbergSelf-Esteem Scale
(Rosenberg, 1965). Consistingof 10 items, fourpoints each, the scale was developed
as a measureof global feelings towardsself. The subjectis asked to respondto such
statementsas "I am as good as most people." The Rajneesheemean was 35.71 (N=
87, S.D. 5.53). For comparison, Yancey, Rigsby, and McCarthy (1972) report
means of 29.82 (N = 1179, S.D. 4.23; high score indicates high self-esteem).

80

SOCIOLOGICALANALYSIS

DISCUSSION

There are definite similarities between individualswho resided at Rajneeshpuramand membersof other new religions:affluent,well-educated,and
aroundthirtyyears old (Bird& Reimer,1983; Volinn,1985; Melton& Moore,
1982). As Kilbourneand Richardson(1984) pointout, these types of individuals
have the economic means to try out new religions. With Rajneeshees, finances may

factorinjoining;manyfollowerstraveledto India,
havebeenanespeciallyimportant
sawBhagwan,andthenbecamesannyasins.AlthoughtheRajneesheedemographics
differences.The most
resemblethose of othernew religions,thereare substantial
notableis education.
of the Rajneesheesis extremelyhigh. As
The graduateeducationalattainment
in general.It
mentionedearlier,we do notknowif ourresultsrepresentRajneeshees
maybe the case thathighlyeducatedRajneesheesweremoreinclinedto quittheir
jobs andgo to theranch,believingthatif theyso desiredtheycouldalwaysleaveand
obtaina decentjob elsewhere.It is possiblethe communesystematicallyselected
sannyasinswith advancededucation.One otherexplanationfor the high level of
education,and one thatseveralsannyasinsespouse,is thatthese were individuals
whohadalreadyreapedsociety'smaterialrewards,becamebored,andsubsequently
soughtspiritualfulfillment.
Theresultsfrommeasuresof self-reported
psychologicalwell-beingdifferfrom
datacompiledon othernewreligions.Galanter,Rabkin,Rabkin,& Deutsch(1979)
foundthatalthoughjoiningthe "Moonies"didincreaselevelsof psychologicalwellbeing,themeanscoreof convertswasstillbelowthenorm.Thisis notthecase with
Rajneeshees.Theyscorewell aboveaverage.Galanter'sdataindicatethata higher
sense of well-beingis not simply the result of the methodologicalproblemof
mortality.Lowscorersdo notdropout. Indeed,Galanterfoundthattheyweremore
likely to remain.
the Rajneesheeresponsesby comparing
Oneshouldbe cautiousin interpreting
truewiththementalhealthdata,
themwiththoseof othergroups.Thisis particularly
whereseveralmethodological/practical
ambiguitiesexist. First, these inventories
are only one formof data,i.e., self-report.Second,one cannotassumeitemswill
havethe samemeaningin differentcultures.Third,the resultsareconfoundedwith
the Rajneesheephilosophyof emphasizingthe positiveelementsof life. The scales
couldbe tappingphilosophyinsteadof mentalstatus;however,fromourobservations
individualsat the ranchappearedin generalto be happyandwell adjusted.
disClosingnote: In the winterof 1985 the communityof Rajneeshpuram
one of the adultsand
undertaken:
banded.Twofollow-upstudiesweresubsequently
one of the children.Botharedesignedto examinethe adjustment
processandhow
lives of former
the
touch
to
continues
at
the experienceof living Rajneeshpuram
in
are
residents.Additionalreportsof the project currently preparation.3

3. Address correspondenceto Carl Latkin, Departmentof Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene,

OR 97403.

RESEARCHNOTE

81

REFERENCES
Bird, F and Reimer,B. 1983. "ParticipationRatesin New Religions and ParareligiousMovements." Pp.
215-238 in E. Barker,ed., Of Gods and Men, New Religious Movementsin the West.Macon, GA:
Mercer University Press.
Clarke, R. 1983. Rajneeshismand Its Principles. Reportto the Oregon Committeefor the Humanities.
Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University.
Cohen, S., and Hoberman,H. M. 1983. "Positive Events and Social Supportsas Buffersof Life Change
Stress." Journal of Applied Social Psychology 13:99-125.
Cohen, S., Kamart, T., and Mermelstein, R. (in press). "A Global Measure of Perceived Stress."
Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
Galanter,M., Rabkin,R., Rabkin,J., and Deutsch, A. 1979. "The 'Moonies': A Psychological Study of
Conversion and Membership in a ContemporaryReligious Sect." AmericanJournal of Psychiatry
136:165-170.
Harter,S. 1983. ThePerceived Competenceand Social AcceptanceScale for Children.Denver, CO: The
University of Denver.
Kilbourne, B. and Richardson,J. T. 1984. "Psychotherapyand New Religions in a PluralisticSociety."
American Psychologist 39:237-251.
Melton, G. J. and Moore, R. L. 1982. The Cult Experience. New York:Pilgrim Press.
Radloff, L. S. 1977. "The CES-D Scale: A Self-Report Depression Scale of Research in the General
Population." Applied Psychological Measurement1:385-401.
Rosenberg, M. 1965. Social and Adolescent Self-Image. Princeton, NJ: PrincetonUniversity Press.
Volinn, E. 1985. "EasternMeditationGroups: Why Join?" Sociological Analysis 46:147-156.
Yancey,W. L., Rigsby,L., and McCarthy,J. D. 1972. "Self-Esteemand Social Class." AmericanJournal
of Sociology 789:338-359.