Origins of Synanon
In 1974, Synanon was unofficially recognized as a religion. Although Synanon was never officially deemed a religion, the founder, Chuck Dederich was the savior of the people. He had many followers whom he had saved from addiction.
Synanon operated from 1958 until 1991. The way of life touched tens of thousands of individuals. Charles E. Dederich was the founder. Originally, Synanon was created to treat drug addiction. Although Narcotics Anonymous was founded in Los Angeles in 1953, by the late 50's the group was still very disorganized and rarely met. Dederich formed Synanon to embrace all kinds of addicts.
"I am proposing a counter-philosophy, a rather old-fashioned, commonsense approach to things: 'Good boys and good girls get good things -- bad boys and bad girls get bad things.' This idea is the very basis of Synanon. We are a father principle phenomenon which rewards good behavior and punishes bad behavior." -Charles E. Dederich
Treating addiction was merely a side part of creating Synanon. Dederich wanted to create a utopia by creating an experimental society that would change the world. Synanon was considered to be a new way of living, much like a new religion.
"This is the kind of revolution that moved the world from Judaism to Catholicism to Protestantism to Synanism," Dederich would insist. "This is a total revolution game."
For more quotes from Charles Dederich, please visit the Synanon Museum here.