How to Understand That You Are in a Cult
From the point of view of an outside observer, what a cult is and what is not may seem obvious. Not a cult: your new book group. Cult: to the same group that your second cousin has joined, where all the women are renamed Meadow and betrothed to Jeremy, their leader without a soul. Simple!
In fact, cults are not always so obvious; sometimes the cult aspects of an organization will slowly open up to you when you are already fully invested in it.
In our latest episode of the podcast, Rick Alan Ross outlined three criteria for determining whether a group is a cult, as defined by psychiatrist Robert J. Lifton.
1. The group is led by an authoritarian leader who is revered as a god. Each and every solution revolves around the specified number.
2. People in the group act against their own interests, but in the interests of the group (and the charismatic leader). It does this through a process called thought reform.
3. The group exploits its members. The degree of harm done to each member varies greatly from group to group – some may take your money, others may cause physical or sexual abuse.
Here is Robert Jay Lifton ‘s article in general – fun and worth reading, especially if there are any organizations in your life that you doubt. (Your book group leader is oddly charismatic, and everyone always loves her book proposal …)