[Cult Watch] What is a Cult?

As a species, we’re constantly searching for answers to life's big questions and that can sometimes lead us down dangerous paths. For too many people, this path can lead them into becoming a member of a cult. Of course one man’s cult is another man’s religion, and the word itself can have many negative connotations. Some prefer the term “new religious movements”, and the use of the word “cult” can cause some people to instantly shut down and refuse to listen. However, I’m coming at this from a secular perspective and so I will be using cult to describe the many groups I aim to discuss with this series. To me, there is a clear distinction between a religious movement and a cult and that is my goal with this post; to define what it is we’re going to be talking about over the next few months.

According to the Oxford English dictionary, cult (n) can be defined as: “A system of religious veneration and devotion directed towards a particular figure or object.” This simple definition would certainly include Christianity as a cult, and I think that’s where a lot of the heat comes from with this word. There are two main anti-cult movements, the christian countercult movement and the secular anti-cult movement. The former largely started in the USA during the 40s, with those belonging to the movement declaring that all religious groups who claimed to be christian, but were considered not to be orthodox are to be considered cults. Meanwhile, the latter had begun to organise by the early 1970s, and often acted on behalf of relatives who felt that their loved ones had been brainwashed by cults.

Even though I’ll be coming at this from a secular perspective, I also want to draw from the christian countercult movements definition of the word “cult”. According to the editor of Leadership Journal, a magazine for pastors, there are three main definitions for cult. We have a group of fans (ie a cult following), a religion whose beliefs differ from the majority around them and then finally there is a religious group that is:

1. Exclusive. They may say, "We're the only ones with the truth; everyone else is wrong; and if you leave our group your salvation is in danger."

2. Secretive. Certain teachings are not available to outsiders or they're presented only to certain members, sometimes after taking vows of confidentiality.

3. Authoritarian. A human leader expects total loyalty and unquestioned obedience.

To varying degrees this certainly applies to your most well known cults, such as the Manson Family, the Peoples Temple (Jim Jones and Jonestown), Scientology and Heaven’s Gate, while also excluding mainstream christianity. There are also many subcategories of cults but we’ll be going into more details about each one as they come up. Some of the subcategories we’ll be covering include destructive, doomsday, political, polygamist, racist and terrorist cults.

Finally, I just want to go over a checklist that was published in the book “Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships” by Janja Lalich and Madeleine Tobias (Berkeley: Bay Tree Publishing, 2006) and was adapted from a checklist originally developed by Michael Langone. This list isn’t a “cult scale” or even a definitive checklist, but it’s more of an analytical tool we’ll be using when viewing each case.

• The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.
• Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
• Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).
• The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry, or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).
• The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar/or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).
• The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.
• The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).
• The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).
• The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.
• Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.
• The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.
• The group is preoccupied with making money.
• Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.
• Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.
• The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.

I’ll be referring back to this checklist in my future Cult Watch posts. I’ve been working around to this for a few months now, and I’ve put together a long list of groups that I’d like to discuss with you. This list will no doubt grow as I do my research, but the first few cults we’ll be going over will be big names and I’m sure most of you will recognise them. As time goes on, we’ll look at some more fringe groups that haven’t had the same media attention, and hopefully we’ll learn a little something to.

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What do you make of these definitions and lists? Is there anything you disagree with or maybe something you think should be added? Let me know your thoughts and feelings down in the comment section, and as always make sure to follow me for the latest Cryptocurrency, Technology, Internet and Pop Culture Updates. If you're a fan of bizarre or interesting YouTube videos, you might want to follow me on Twitter too. Until next time, take it easy!

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Sources:
Cults 101: Checklist of Cult Characteristics (http://www.csj.org/infoserv_cult101/checklis.htm)
What's a Cult? on Ignite Your Faith (https://www.christianitytoday.com/iyf/advice/faithqa/what-is-cult.html)
Cult on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult)
Image of Virgin Mary St Church from pixabay (https://pixabay.com/en/virgin-mary-st-church-crown-mass-1907194/)
Photo Courtesy of "The Jonestown report" (http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/AboutJonestown/Gallery/G3/pages/JT-1979-08.htm)

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