Editing The Finders (movement) (section)

== Beliefs ==
The belief systems of the group were kept secret from outsiders.<ref name="Culp960209">{{Cite news |last=Nolan |first=Eric |date=1996-02-09 |title=The man behind the Finders |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/culpeper-star-exponent-the-man-behind-th/180106748/ |access-date=2025-08-31 |newspaper=Culpeper Star-Exponent |page=1–[https://www.newspapers.com/article/culpeper-star-exponent-finders/180106979/ 2] |language=en-US |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref name="Miller2002">{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Timothy |author-link=Timothy Miller |title=The 60s Communes: Hippies and Beyond |publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]] |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-8156-2811-8 |pages=xxi, 162, 263 |language=en}}</ref> The group's beliefs were eclectic and sourced from a variety of traditions; they combined eastern religion, especially [[Taoism]], with [[New Age]] and [[Human Potential Movement]] concepts.<ref name="Melton2009" /><ref name="PrometheusBooks2002" /> Pettie developed his initial views on the works of [[Carlos Castaneda]], who researched mystic self-exploration in the 1960s and had "a consuming interest in the future," leading cult experts to identify [[futurism]] as a major component of the Finders' philosophy.<ref name=":0" /> In 1996, Pettie described himself as a [[skepticism|skeptic]], saying that he did not "believe or disbelieve things."<ref name="Culp960209" />

By the 1980s, members tended to be young adults, well-educated, professional, and secretive.<ref name=":0" /> According to George Pettie, they tended to be professionals who had dropped out of careers and secured [[temporary work]] in Washington D.C.<ref name=":0" /> They were opposed to permanent employment as an obstacle to "spontaneity."<ref name="Miller2002" /> According to neighbors of the Pettie farm, visitors to the farm began wearing business suits and professional clothing around 1982, replacing the hippie culture which had previously predominated.<ref name=":0" />

Some time before 1987, the group was segregated by sex, with women living at the Glover Park house, while the men moved into the Fourth Street warehouse.<ref name=":0" />

=== Child rearing ===
In 1980, the group radically changed their child rearing practices to raise a generation of "toughened" children. To replicate what they believed was the original method of living of Native Americans, the children were raised communally instead of by their parents.<ref name=":0" />

According to George Pettie, the group operated as "an extended family" of people who were "under his father's sway."<ref name=":0" /> Members shared parental responsibility for children, in order to allow Pettie to send them on "adventures" to teach them about themselves.<ref name="Melton2009" /><ref name="PrometheusBooks2002" /><ref name=":0" /> Pettie would identify a character flaw in a member and send them away. On their return, they would describe the "lesson" they learned to other members.<ref name=":0" /> During this time, they would not see their biological children for months, and the children would be collectively cared for by other members.<ref name=":0" /> The children were not enrolled in school.<ref name=":0" />

Neighbors reported seeing children at both the [[Madison County, Virginia|Madison County]] farm and the [[Glover Park]] home. During the summers, as many as a dozen children lived on the farm, and neighbors reported "hollering and screaming ... about Momma and Daddy."<ref name=":0" />  Neighbors to the Glover Park home reported that "the children often went without clothes in the summer" and at least one report was made to police regarding a child who was screaming for more than an hour."<ref name=":0" />

According to Pettie, members of the group pooled their money.<ref name="Culp960209" />