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| Roy Masters | |
|---|---|
| Name | Roy Masters |
| Birth date | 1928 |
| Death date | 2021 |
| Birth place | England |
| Occupation | Radio broadcaster, author, meditation teacher |
| Known for | Mind control techniques, "Spiritual Healing" programs, The Mind Foundation |
Roy Masters Roy Masters (1928–2021) was a British-born radio broadcaster, author, and meditation teacher who founded a religious and self-help movement emphasizing disciple training and psychological reinterpretation of scripture. He became prominent in the United States through syndicated radio programs, printed newsletters, and recorded lectures blending Christianity and techniques drawn from Indian religion and psychology. Masters' work produced both devoted followers and vocal critics, prompting legal disputes and media scrutiny during the late 20th century.
Masters was born in England in 1928 and emigrated to the United States as a young adult. He reportedly studied meditation practices influenced by teachers associated with Indian religion and later engaged with figures in the American radio and publishing spheres. During his early years he lived in several places including California and Arizona, where he began organizing study groups and small public talks that laid the groundwork for his later ministries and media activities.
Masters launched a long-running syndicated radio program that mixed commentary on current events with spiritual instruction, attracting listeners across North America. His broadcasts were distributed via AM radio and later through shortwave outlets and recorded tapes, and he used newsletters and direct mail campaigns to expand reach. Masters established organizations and publishing arms to produce books, audio recordings, and periodicals, often appearing at conferences and on local stations in cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, and New York City. He engaged contemporaries from diverse backgrounds including religious broadcasters, self-help authors, and conservative commentators, situating his program within broader networks of alternative religious media.
Masters taught a system he sometimes described as "meditation" or "spiritual healing," drawing terminology from Christianity, Buddhism, and psychotherapy traditions. His instruction emphasized mastering emotional responses, overcoming inner compulsion, and developing self-discipline through repetitive techniques and teacher-student relationships. He framed many lessons using biblical narratives and the lives of saints, while also employing secular psychological concepts popularized by figures in clinical psychology and psychotherapy. Followers were organized into study groups and retreat programs; Masters promoted recorded lessons, printed manuals, and group meetings to reinforce practice and doctrinal cohesion.
Masters and his organizations were subject to criticism and legal scrutiny over alleged authoritarian control, fundraising practices, and organizational structure. Former adherents and investigative journalists compared aspects of his leadership to controversies around other high-control groups such as Scientology, Unification Church, and therapeutic communities associated with prominent self-help movements. Legal challenges included lawsuits and complaints related to alleged coercive recruitment and financial improprieties; some matters were litigated in state courts in jurisdictions including California and Arizona. Media coverage in outlets covering religious movements and alternative therapies examined allegations of psychological manipulation, while defenders framed such disputes as misunderstandings or doctrinal disagreements.
Masters authored and produced dozens of audio and print works focusing on spiritual practice, discipline, and interpretation of scripture. His catalog included lecture tapes, cassette series, compact discs, and newsletters sold through mail order and ministry bookshops, often promoted on his radio broadcasts. Works were sometimes framed as practical manuals for discipleship and emotional mastery, and titles referenced figures from Christian history, biblical narratives, and classical literature. He collaborated with staff and volunteers in producing recordings for distribution at conferences and through mail distribution networks that paralleled those used by other religious broadcasters and conservative publishers.
Masters lived most of his later life in the southwestern United States and continued teaching, recording, and corresponding with students until his death in 2021. His movement left a contested legacy: supporters credit him with providing structure, moral teaching, and spiritual support, while critics emphasize allegations of control and litigious behavior reminiscent of disputes surrounding other 20th-century religious movements. Scholars of new religious movements, journalists covering alternative spirituality, and analysts of media ministries have referenced Masters when tracing the intersections of radio broadcasting, mail-order ministries, and self-help spirituality in postwar America. His audio archives, printed newsletters, and legal records remain resources for researchers examining religious innovation, media influence, and the cultural history of spiritual movements in the 20th and early 21st centuries.
Category:1928 births Category:2021 deaths Category:Religious leaders Category:Radio personalities