Created Dec. 10, 1999

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For instance, many sports fans, especially of the younger ages, are very influenced by sports stars and will run out and buy whatever sneaker the star wears. Or they may dress and act like their favorite rock stars. The kids are obviously heavily influenced by these stars. Religions and religious leaders may also have a strong influence over their followers. This in itself does not constitute a cult following in my mind. It could possibly be said to be mind control though I would call it being "influential."

In my mind, there are 2 key ingredients necessary for a cult, Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism. According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 1980, authoritarian is defined as:

"Of, relating to, or favoring blind submission to authority."

In other words, you should obey because I am an authority. No reason is given; only the dictatorial command to obey without question. They may have started with reasons in order to convince you of their appointed authority and power but once that is accepted the reasons cease to be given or are rarely given. Accountability of leadership disappears. Leaders of cults, like dictators, are not accountable to anyone. Only the followers, the subjects, are accountable. One Way Accountability is what I call it.

According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 1980, totalitarian is defined as:

"Of or relating to a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of the life and productive capacity of the nation."

Here the state controls your employment, your living options, your stores, entertainment, the press and all other information coming in and going out. They try to dictate your beliefs and values, and how you train and conduct your family. They train and teach your children through schools. They even encourage children to turn in parents who do not conform to state teachings and policy. Every possible aspect of your life is in someway controlled through the state.

If you were to be uncooperative, they could put pressure on you at work or terminate your employment. And there is always arrest and torture, or even execution. And missing in this type of system is a fair process of hearing, trial, and appeal. Laws can be twisted and distorted to fit however the authorities want it to. You have no recourse.

These are what define a cult to me. A cult must have control over your income and over your living quarters and all your activities. Maybe you would live in a cult compound and only be permitted to leave by permission and usually with another member to act as supervision while you're away from the watchful eye of the compound.

You may have volunteered to enter the cult but that willful volunteerism disappears once you accept their new terms. Free will ceases to be, by all means and force.

In contrast, even if a leader or group demanded your total obedience, if they do not constantly monitor and enforce their demands, if they don't have complete control, then you have an opportunity to resist or look in to things when out of their sight. By example, you might be employed by someone not related to your group; someone not having anything to do with your group, so you are still financially independent. And you might live in your own house that you own with your own family, unsupervised, like most anyone who typically might attend a church today.

Another aspect might be financial entrapment. If you were somehow financially indebted to your religious group or they had some control over your finances, then you are under some degree of totalitarianism. To me, there should be a fair amount of control over your life before one could accuse you of being in a cult. That does not mean that just because you are not in a cult with heavy control, that your group is not abusive or unfair or not mind-controlling. But calling it a cult might go too far.

Consider this hypothetical example. What if I joined a community who had some guidelines about living and I invested money in this community so I could live there with them. Maybe they are even quite strict. But if I could leave at any time and receive any money back that was beyond what rent might cost or have my investment share bought out, then it would not be a cult. The free will is still there. They can not stop me. I may lose their approval but I can still pursue another course without undue hardships such as financial tangles, or forcible restraint by my peers.

Now what I want to address is not so much cults but merely unhealthy or abusive groups who could inflict great emotional and psychological damage without totalitarian control. Only limited amounts of control are necessary to carry out this damage. And since it is more subtle, it can go undetected, but still be very dangerous. Here are traits to look for and avoid at all costs.

1. They start with this one. This is a tricky favorite of some of the more deceptive groups. They will pull the old bait and switch routine. First they preach one message to you and then start slowly changing things one by one as time goes on. By the time they are done, everything they initially taught or told you will be completely contradicted and changed. Watch carefully for changes. If you start to see any, run like hell.

2. They are still authoritarian. The leadership is not accountable once the authority is established.

On the other hand, Good upright leaders never need to fear having their authority questioned. Good authority should always be willing to explain and defend itself and its requests or requirements.

3. Bad authority usually operates in secrecy. Secrecy from its own people and especially secrecy from outsiders! Again, they hate accountability of any type as they are usually up to no good of one sort or another.

4. Judicial matters take place in secret with little or no recourse for the accused. Good judicial protocols such as being judged by people uninvolved in the matter and unrelated to anyone involved are often ignored. Reasonableness is not to be found at these proceedings. This, too, is in harmony with not wanting to be accountable for that would lead to exposure.

On the other hand, well-intentioned judicial meetings would be careful to avoid a conflict of interest and would always conduct such things in public for all to witness. No time restraints on such meetings, either. Reasonableness would always be apparent. Respect, civility, and politness would always be maintained.

5. Criticism of leadership is discouraged if not forbidden (often with seemingly good excuses). There is little or no candor in admitting mistakes, inadequacies, or shortcomings. They might, however, try using scapegoats, diversions, outright denial or try putting blame on the accusers. Or they may just remain completely silent. They might try to defame the accusers or questioners and attack their character and motives, rather than address an issue. Yet another symptom of not wanting accountability.

6. They will discourage or forbid exposure to outside thoughts, ideas, or messages. They try very hard to control all information and propaganda. They are the thought police, for sure.

7. High levels of conformity and uniformity will usually be prescribed for everyone. Even the slightest and most trivial of matters or beliefs will be regulated and you must adhere or else. If everyone were not regulated, then thinking for one's self could cause questions to surface. That is what they want to avoid. So regulate and dictate they will!

8. In some of the worst abusers there is deep paranoia and suspicion. Perhaps spying on members and trying to get others to subtly question them about their feelings and ideas in search of betrayal or deviation from what is handed down from the leadership. They are terrified that someone may be thinking or questioning their rules and ideas, which usually have little or no defense, only authority, and they know it. It is not something they are unaware of, ever!

9. Members are highly discouraged from having much contact with "outsiders" who may have been friends or relatives before you joined the group. You must be completely dependent upon the group for your emotional needs and supplies. After having lost contact with outsiders for a long time, you are distanced from them and maybe they from you as well. You are at the mercy of the group and could lose almost all social support if cut off from the group. You may even be in danger of losing the affection and support of your family if they are in the group, too. This is as far as a group can go in maintaining some sort of psychological control over you without having financial or other physical or legal controls over you.

10. What is described above in regards to social contact and support is where the amount of control needs to be further extended in order to gain a reasonable degree of totalitarianism. Holding loved ones hostage is a favorite technique in this regard. Never underestimate how strong emotional and psychological control and blackmail can be. They are often all that is needed. Any group employing any significant pressure or force to maintain control and influence is bad. That is a relationship that should be dissolved.

Let us make a distinction here, too. There are many types of relationships. Any married couple is always vulnerable and in danger that one party or the other could become an abuser of that relationship. Even friends can take a relationship for granted or abuse that relationship. The loss of a mate or friend can be devastating. We are always vulnerable to being abused in life. That can't be avoided. But if a relationship starts to become abusive then we need to see if we can stop the abuse or otherwise, maybe it will be in our best interest if we end the relationship. In other words, it is not just something that we encounter with religions.

Allow me to point out that no greater cult exists than perhaps that of the various branches of the military where you give up nearly all freedom and rights, and are under constant monitoring and control, except when off base while off duty. And a lot of force and pressure is applied to conform and obey, without question. I consider this very dangerous and would never willingly enter into such an arrangement.

And before we ever involve ourselves in a relationship, we should try to get rid of the blinders, filters, and rose colored glasses, and see if maybe there are tell-tale signs of abuse that should be headed off and help keep us from getting into a bad situation to begin with, if possible. Religion, like love, can be potent and intoxicating, and we don't always think and behave rationally. But we should.

And we must recognize that a group could justifiably need to expel a member from their group. What is important is what one is being punished for and whether fair and proper procedure and protocol were followed in doing it. It would also be hoped that the standard for which they were accused of violating was a reasonable and fair one that was fully known and understood or at least should have been. That is to say, was it right to expect them to know better. There are good reasonable excuses if it were some little technicality not widely known. But too often in law, petty ridiculous excuses are made that are not reasonable and shouldn't be given the time of day. That is why the trial should be public and well attended by witnesses so that justice can be attested to or challenged by the observers.

Always present should be good sound reasoning given in a fair manner without any nastiness. What is typically absent in abusive groups is that good sound reasoning with politeness, civility, and respect. Instead you have the authoritarian excuse and an avoiding of the real issues with no accountability and no public recourse. Only nastiness and insults will be found.

Make no mistake about it; bad authority is not hard to recognize at all. Bad authority is rarely accompanied by just one or two symptoms of abusive authority. They usually have nearly all the symptoms. They are not hard to spot or recognize. By their fruits you will know them and the fruit don't fall far from the tree. And if the fruit is bad so are the roots of the tree. The problems are always in the roots, which means it is always the very top, the highest point of leadership, where you will find the problem's ultimate cause and solution.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself or of a religion you are looking into:

Does this religion insist on a lot of conformity or do they allow a fair amount of personal opinion in regards to beliefs?

Are they always willing to explain themselves about beliefs or requirements of their members? And be watchful of double sets of requirements or beliefs. One for the loyal regulars and another different set for the "new potential" members.

Are the authorities in this group always accountable to the members?

Is everything always done out in the open for all to see and hear and discuss?

And take some time to really get to know them and probe a little. You have every right to probe and they shouldn't be ashamed to answer if they have nothing to hide. They should be understanding. If they start to recoil a little, then one might want to seriously question what they are getting into.

I hope my observations might be of some help. Any thoughts or comments? Feel free to e-mail.

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