Ex-members accuse Ridgewood church of being cult, reports say

Experts and former members say a Ridgewood church is a cult that frightens people into joining and donating money, The Record reported.

The World Mission Society Church of God in Ridgewood. (Google Maps) 

RIDGEWOOD -- Experts and former members say a Ridgewood church is a cult that frightens people into joining and donating money, The Record reported.

The church, the World Mission Society Church of God, said in statements to The Record and in court filings that the label "cult" is a form of religious intolerance.

One former member, Michelle Rodriguez, said in a pending federal lawsuit that the church coerced her to abort her 2010 pregnancy. Other ex-members said the church discouraged them from having children because of a belief that the world would end in 2012.

Ex-members also said donated 10 percent or more of their incomes to the church.

The church denied allegations of any doomsday predictions and said many members had children.

Michelle Colon, another former member, told People Magazine that the church expected her to spend all her time there and forbade her from using the Internet. She said church leaders wait until members are committed before revealing that they believe a South Korean woman in her 70s is God the Mother.