Is it a Cult? How to Know if You or Someone Else is in a Cult
Content Updated on August 17, 2007
What is a Cult?
There are many definitions for the term cult, but the primary one to be concerned about is religious fanaticism. There is nothing wrong with having a religion, especially if that religion gives you a sense of peace and joy. But the line is crossed when religious beliefs become an obsession and negatively affect other aspects of your life.
It is important to note that A CULT NEVER DECLARES THAT IT'S A CULT! In fact, they may speak out against cults and declare that all other groups are cults, but not theirs.
Cult Members
It is important to remember that CULT MEMBERS NEVER THINK THAT THEY ARE IN A CULT! It is only when they leave and look back that they can fully recognize the mind control they've been subjected to.
Cult members truly believe that they are doing the right thing and are following the true way. They are normal people, both educated and uneducated, from a variety of countries, in a variety of professions (including doctors, lawyers, physicists, gas station attendants, receptionists, teachers, etc.), in a variety of income levels, both mentally stable and unstable. Some members were born and/or raised in the cult by their parents. Others find the cult during an emotionally difficult time in their lives. Some members use the teachings of the cult to answer difficult questions about life, death, and the nature of the cosmos.
Close friends and family of a cult member often remark that their loved one changed after he/she joined the cult. Sometimes the personality change can be dramatic and the cult member seems like a completely different person. A normally opinionated person may become easily influenced by the group's opinions. A normally friendly person may become always on the defense and ready for a fight. A normally strong-willed person may become highly submissive. A cult member may suddenly abandon all of the goals and dreams they had before joining the cult. All of the changes seem to happen as a result of trying to conform to the teachings of the cult.
Cult Leadership
A cult can have a single leader or a council of leaders. The leaders may be living, dead, representatives of the true leader, or completely fictional. Cult members may also regard a book, an oracle, or some other object as the source of authority, even though these objects don't actually have any consciousness.
Many cult leaders claim to have special knowledge (such as information gained through visions, dreams, voices, or paranormal encounters) or have a direct relationship with supernatural beings (e.g. God(s), angels, etc.) Because of this, the leader is often considered infallible, and anything that he/she does which may seem immoral or accidental is seen as done for a greater, wiser purposes.
It is important to note that, cult leaders rarely believe they are leading a cult. Many of them are psychologically disturbed and truly believe that they are doing the right thing and preaching the truth.
Cult Methods of Control
- A cult teaches that they are right and everyone else is wrong (the false prophets defense), even if current science, basic reason, and practical logic clearly disprove their beliefs.
- A cult often teaches to not ask too many questions; just accept their teachings as truth, "Have faith," even if there is no evidence to support their teachings.
- A cult teaches that something bad will happen to you if you do not have faith in their teachings. (e.g. negative consequences may include supernatural punishments, punishments by their God(s) or other supernatural creatures, curses, lack of protection from harm or evil, etc.) Members may continue to follow the cult teachings, even if they don't agree with some of them, just to avoid such painful consequences.
- A cult might shun, avoid, or ban a member who disagrees with the group teachings and/or doesn't properly follow the teachings. Members may continue to follow the cult teachings, even if they don't agree with some of them, to avoid being rejected by the group of people they love and care about and to feel a sense of social acceptance.
- A cult may avoid any person (e.g. ex-member, non-member, loved one, family member, member of another groups, etc.), who disagrees with them and/or doesn't properly follow their teachings. In this way, members are less influenced by outsiders who may have different beliefs or may point out flaws in the teachings of the group.
- A cult tries to control its members with rules (may include what clothing is/isn't acceptable, what hairstyles to wear, what jobs to have, whom to marry, how to raise children, whom to talk to, whom to be friends with, what roles men and women should have, etc.). In this way, the teachings of the cult spreads into all aspects of the members' lives, and a member who wishes to leave the group will have the anxiety of also changing his/her lifestyle. Members also start to believe that they must consult the group to help them make every decision of their lives, making them feel dependent on the group.
- A cult may try to reduce outside influences, declaring such influences as misleading, evil temptations. To do this, they may set up private schools; not allow the study of certain academic subjects like certain scientific theories, psychology, history, etc.; not allow members to associate with non-members or anyone who disagrees with them; ban television, radio, Internet, newspapers, etc.
- Cult members may be required to spend lots of time tending to the needs of the group or group teachings (e.g. rituals, praying, preaching, witnessing, etc.).
- A cult often tries to control members using fear, guilt and shame. (e.g. suggesting that a parent is hurting his/her children by leaving the cult, suggesting that a loved-one's dying wish was for a straying member to become more dedicated to the cult's teachings, suggesting that outsiders will reject them for being a part of the group, etc.)
- A cult may require members to change their name or other identifying characteristics to symbolically reject their former selves.
- A cult may require members to permanently mark their bodies (e.g. tattooing, scarring, etc.) to identify themselves as members of the group.
- A cult may require members to abuse themselves or somebody else to prove their devotion. This abuse may take the form of physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse, psychological abuse, neglecting to give medical or psychological care, neglecting to give lifestyle support care to a person (or even a pet) who can't take care of themselves, suicide, murder, sacrificial killing, etc.
- A cult may teach that others are trying to stop them from spreading the truth, creating an us-vs.-them mentality.
- Cult leaders may interpret readings from an oracle, ancient scriptures, or psychic phenomena. Such readings may be vague or can apply to a variety of situations, making the interpretation of those readings seem prophetic and believable. Members identify with the leader's reading interpretations and assume that all of the leader's other interpretations must also be true.
- A cult may regard fictional stories as historical fact. One way cults often try to prove that the stories are historical is by pointing to other fictional stories that tell about how the original story was true and provide fictional evidence. Some cults will point to factual events, such as those in the news, and suggest that they have ties, especially prophetic ties, to the fictional stories.
Cult Methods of Recruitment
- A cult usually wants to recruit new members, and often stresses that increasing the membership will strengthen the influence of the group in society and benefit current members as well as new members.
- Cult recruiters may emphasize how large their group is and suggest that if it wasn't the true path, so many people could not have been convinced to follow it.
- A cult may emphasize recruiting those who are easily influenced / "in need" (e.g. children, teenagers, anyone going through an emotionally difficult time, the poor, the uneducated, etc.). To reach these individuals, cult recruiters will volunteer services and aid to those in need, but their real intention isn't to help; the real intention is to preach.
- Cult recruiters may play on the potential member's ego, telling him/her that they sense that he/she is special or gifted.
- Cult recruiters may treat potential members like instant best friends and try to make deep emotional connections with them.
- A cult may have a training program (e.g. classes, special diets, etc.) to teach new members about the complexities of the teachings, which makes it seem legitimate and makes current members and leaders seem highly intelligent and educated, but really it's a brainwashing program.
- Cult recruiters may stress urgency when trying to get potential members to join. They may ask you to visit their temple/church as soon as possible, read their scriptures today, pray with them right now, etc. or give you a deadline.
- Cult recruiters may act arrogant and stress that they only allow members who seem truly worthy of the honor of being in the group. They may also say that their teachings are so important and contain such deep truths that they must be kept secret, known only to members of the group.
- Members of a cult may also be encouraged to have lots of children to increase the size of the group.
Cult Goals
- A cult may emphasize raising money (e.g. donations, pledges, tithes, etc.) to benefit the group or earn spiritual benefits. This may require fundraising activities (e.g. selling products or services). This may also require members to give a significant amount of money to the group or group leaders. Members may even be expected to give personal property, real estate, or free professional services.
- A cult may emphasize spreading their teachings.
- A cult that teaches an us-vs.-them philosophy may insist on taking extreme defensive measures to fight the opposition.
- A cult may teach that they are doing the will of their God(s), who needs them to carry out some event that will change history or change the direction of the future.
- A cult may teach that they must prepare for an event in the future and that everyone who doesn't prepare, via their group, is doomed.
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