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*I believe that the leaders are cons just like most criminals. They are not really smart but have alot of street smarts which is really cunning. Just as a deer seems smart when you are hunting him in his environment;but its instinctive cunning really. The people that follow cults are people that really have no clear roots in life. They are like so many that followed Hitler under the situation at the time.I think in many ways it Starts with hate and the cons channels that hate to their own ends. The cons believe that they are intelligent and born to lead after awhile conning them self as power tends to make people do.AS to now to distinguish cults from religion ;how do you distinguish a young person from a gang member now days; they often dress and seem the same. If you haven't a clue then no one can help you; because you have at the hate stage and well on to conning yourself already.
Wouldnt our the big "C" religion (I wont write the word or my post will be deleted :0) be considered a cult? I know I was brainwashed when I was a part of it.
Yes and No,---- according to the dictionary all religions and most groups could be considered cults. When people think of Cults today they think of groups that cause their members to live outside the norms of society and outside the traditional beliefs of Christianity. If a church member can leave their church and join another without losing their family and friends, then they are probably not in a cult. However if a church member were to leave their church and then be shunned by their family and friends, then that is most likely a cult.
Yes and No,---- according to the dictionary all religions and most groups could be considered cults. When people think of Cults today they think of groups that cause their members to live outside the norms of society and outside the traditional beliefs of Christianity. If a church member can leave their church and join another without losing their family and friends, then they are probably not in a cult. However if a church member were to leave their church and then be shunned by their family and friends, then that is most likely a cult.
High pressure tactics are another sign of cults.
Well, then I would say Christianity would be a cult because I have witnessed and been a part of the last descriptions that you gave after leaving Christianity.
If that was the official teaching of your previous group, then yes you were probably a cult member. If it was just the people's personalities coming into play, then probably just a regular church, albeit somewhat atypical.
Unfortunately much of our society encourages faith over rationality, and when a person is being heavily influenced and can't think for herself.. this is one reason I think.
I don't think that people set out to start a cult (with the cognition of it being a cult idea) and I don't think that those who follow said cult realize what they are getting themselves into. I think what often happens is people start with an idea that is somewhat different. They can be as wacky as the followings of the Heaven's Gate cult or Charles Manson's following or they can be more encompassing such as Hitler's writings in Mein Kampf.
Any way you cut it, it's always made me wonder if the founders of these cults do what they do cognitively and willfully to mislead people. My personal thoughts are that while some may be deranged in what they teach (because they often are), they often feel that what they teach is the truth.
I think usually what happens as a result is people very close to the "founder" become wrapped up in the movements themselves and begin to push this sphere of influence out to other people.
Now, as far as what happens to the followers of the cult I think that many of them are often "lost" in the sense of their direction and bearing on life. For various reasons, whether it be drug usage, severe depression, or any other conflict in a person's life that leaves them feeling like they need to overcome something, they probably develop a certain emotional attachment to these cult ideas. This probably has to do with the paradigm shift in thinking that the cult offers - it is so radically different that it offers a sign of plausible hope regardless of the strange circumstances.
To take Hitler's rise to power and the interesting sort of cult formation that spawned an entire country (almost) to follow him, I think it's necessary to realize that Germany was in the midst of overwhelming and terrible financial troubles after World War I. Yet, many of the Jewish people in the German communities still had some holdings of wealth and they were often the ones who ran banks, businesses, and other ways of income. In essence, the German people were all looking at the Jews with a sense of jealousy and greed although to simply put it in that fashion would be undercutting the severity of the situation.
Yet, with Hitler's rise to power, he was able to influence the German people - through time and candid, eloquent speeches that the Jewish people were less than human and this satiated the need in people's minds and gave them the excuse they were looking for to rise above.
While this might be considered "cultism" on an absolutely massive scale, I personally don't think the sociological approach is much different than how a person becomes involved in a cult of utter strangeness. That is, of course, not to take anything away from the oddities of Hitler.
Ultimately, what I think happens is that there is a sort of feedback loop involved with the cult itself. With positive reinforcement, of a sort, and with people looking for something in their lives, they can be capable of wish-thinking themselves into following this cult ideology. Very often, one of the most prominent signs of "cultism" is that no criticism to the leader can be made as well as no criticism towards the ideology either - because that is the tie that binds everything together. Therefore, the people are able to satiate themselves into feeling that their wish-thinking is thereby protected and they can further dwelve into the cult. The feedback loop tends to be nothing but positive for the individuals involved.
I think this same sort of effect is highly noticeable in any sort of environment when economies are down, jobs are lost, etc... It is very noticeable that when things such as the Great Depression occur, or perhaps even in the likeness of today's economic decline, as well as strictly dire circumstances in general, people tend to turn more towards God and religion in general - it's the same process but religion tends to have more of a cultural backdrop than a cult does.
I think usually what happens as a result is people very close to the "founder" become wrapped up in the movements themselves and begin to push this sphere of influence out to other people.
Now, as far as what happens to the followers of the cult I think that many of them are often "lost" in the sense of their direction and bearing on life. For various reasons, whether it be drug usage, severe depression, or any other conflict in a person's life that leaves them feeling like they need to overcome something, they probably develop a certain emotional attachment to these cult ideas. This probably has to do with the paradigm shift in thinking that the cult offers - it is so radically different that it offers a sign of plausible hope regardless of the strange circumstances.
Cult leaders tend to be charismatic leaders who seek absolute power over their followers. I've heard them described as authoritarian social dominator personalities. Such people have little actual moral limitations while spouting off moral certitudes to their followers. The classic hypocrite - do what I say not what I do. The sense of entitlement the leader gets from the successful exercise of power emboldens ever more extreme power and ultimately abuse. Thus they almost always incorporate sexual abuse and harem collections of women who are convinced that this behavior is ok because the leader says so.
I think Troop has a point about the followers. They need something and are not able to act on their own. They need someone to tell them what they need to do. They get sucked into the cult and the abuse little by little. Maybe they have some qualms over the actions the cult requires of them but the constant isolation and reinforcing litany telling them that horrible things will happen if they don't acquiesce and vague wonderful things will happen if they do what they are told. The stick is threatened but the carrot is just out of reach. The next life or something they almost qualify for but one excuse after another is given for why they don't quite get the carrot.
The human animal (or any other animal, for that matter) can be gradually adjusted to adapt to almost any conditions and any actions on the authoritative say so of a leader. This has been shown in experiment after experiment. The herd or pack animal's need to be a part of a group is a strong instinct that can be maniulated by a charismatic leader. Part of the cult's strength is gained by the isolation of the members from outside influences.
These are the classic methods used by spouse abusers too. In the end, it is the exploitation of the beta personality's need to belong to a group, instincts for survival that require sorting out who is alpha and who is beta, and an unscrupulous leader who seeks power over others. When personal power is the driving force of one's life, there are no bounds set on one's behavior.
There are a lot of religions that use some of these methods - or try to. Especially the carrot/stick and the isolation techniques to control the flock. When they are institutionalized into the society, we say that is ok, but when they are too successful and the leaders are too unscrupulous, then we call that a cult.
One thing I have wondered is whether atheists as a group tend to be neither an alpha or beta personality type but rather a more self contained personality that wants a middle road in the power structure of societies.
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excellent responses.......
