Surviving La Luz del Mundo’ HBO Doc Reveals ‘Cult’ Abuse


HBO boasts some of the most tantalizing documentaries about alleged cults, from NXIVM in The Vow—which just released a second season—to Scientology in 2015’s Going Clear. Luckily for true-crime lovers, a docuseries about another purported religious cult premieres on HBO Tuesday: Unveiled: Surviving La Luz del Mundo.

The three-part series is directed by Jennifer Tiexiera, who also helmed P.S. Burn This Letter Please. Viewers will learn of the rampant allegations of child sexual abuse—and the convictions—underpinning the Mexican megachurch La Luz del Mundo.

Since its founding in 1926, La Luz del Mundo has branched out across the globe to take root in dozens of countries, including the United States. Still, some may be hearing about the church for the first time.

Here’s what you should know about the church:

La Luz del Mundo HQ
Headquarters of the evangelical church La Luz del Mundo (Light of the World), in Guadalajara, Jalisco State, Mexico, is shown on August 7, 2020. Naason Joaquin Garcia, inset, right, the former leader of the fundamentalist church, listens to victim statements at his sentencing in Los Angeles County Superior Court on June 8, 2022.
Ulises Ruiz/AFP/Getty; Carolyn Cole/AFP/Getty

La Luz del Mundo

In June, the leader of La Luz del Mundo, Naasón Joaquín García, was sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison by a Los Angeles court. The 53-year-old, whose grandfather founded the church, had pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual abuse of underage girls.

One count pertained to “a lewd act upon a child who was 15 years old,” per the BBC, and two counts centered on “forcible oral copulation involving minors.” García had actually faced 19 charges before submitting a guilty plea to those three, each of which pertained to children from his own congregation.

The church is standing by García, who is heralded as “the Apostle” by his followers.

La Luz del Mundo translates to “The Light of the World” in English, and the organization claims to count some 5 million followers worldwide. In the trailer for the docuseries, it’s described by one woman as “one of the largest religious cults of our time.”

The docuseries details multiple accounts of alleged victims of abuse, and the filmmakers say the church didn’t participate despite being contacted for comment.

“There was mind control at work here,” director Tiexiera told Variety last month. “These people were brought up to believe that eternal salvation comes from the Apostles. There is a power structure here that silenced people.”

She also said it’s unclear whether the sexual abuse convictions and further allegations have dinged the church’s membership roster.

Tiexiera added: “There are a lot of good people in this organization who do good work. Hopefully this is a wakeup call about what needs to change.”

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