It's fashionable to think of all religions as pretty much the same and the label 'cult' as just one of the religious pots calling another one of the religious kettles black.
People who actually make cults a serious object of research--such as the psychologists who help people deal with the wreckage--recognize characteristic features that define cult behaviour. These characteristics are
not typical of all groups--even all religious groups.
One important and measurable feature of cult groups is
personality change. The people who join most groups--the Tri-Delta sorority, the Democratic Party, the Marine Corps, the Order of Saint Benedict, the EvC internet forum--retain their essential personalities after joining. Introverts remain introverts and extraverts remain extraverts. Athletic types remain athletic types, artistic types remain artistic types, gearheads remain gearheads.
Not so in cults. In cults, newcomers display the same mix of personalities at the time they join as any other population--but show, a year or two later, a decided skew. The skew is toward a single personality type: the personality of the group's leader. The people will tell you they are the 'happiest they have ever been'--yet, when asked about details, show more anxiety all across the board. They express less self-acceptance of the way they are and express more anxiety about 'doing better.'
These skews are measurable. This skew is accompanied by daily top-down control of the individual's environment, circle of friends, contacts with outsiders, etc. Cults routinely fleece members of money, deprive them of the companionship of lifelong friends, and re-arrange their life goals by constantly threatening to withdraw from members the only support network they have been permitted to have.
It is this control of member's lives and thought that distinguishes cults. You can build a cult around any idea. Cults are often built around religious ideas, but not always. They can be built around political causes (left or right), business ideas, science fiction scenarios (Heaven's Gate), anything.
Those looking for a better understanding of cults, and a working definition of them, would do well, as a first stop, to explore the web sites mounted by people who have left them. RightCyberUp, for example, is a web site managed by former members of the International Church of Christ (ICOC or ICC--also 'Boston Movement" and 'Crossroads Movement'). You can find some discussion of the characteristics of cults and the research models that exist for exploring them at this page:
Page not found - Right Cyberup
You might feel you've wandered into the middle of a conversation at such sites, though, because you have. The focus of such sites is practical. Former members of abusive groups are talking to each other, coming to terms with the treatment they have endured and hoping to make contacts with former friends who remain inside. As you will see, there is a great deal to get over.
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Edited by Archer Opterix, : typo repair.
Edited by Archer Opterix, : html.
Edited by Archer Opterix, : html.
Archer
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