Cult Psychology (amateur) Studies

[Samael_Khan]

Cults have been brought up a few times on this forum by various members in my discussions with them. So I thought I would share some links on the basics of dangerous cults to help everybody understand the topic better.

I find that many people refer to a group which has strange viewpoints or a small group that disagrees with the mainstream religions as cults in a derogatory sense. They are cults, but all religions are as they all started off as small groups with strange beliefs from the majority (such as Christianity and Islam) then grew into massive groups. So saying that a group is a just a cult isn't saying that they are bad.:

cult
/kʌlt/
noun
noun: cult; plural noun: cults

1. 1.
   a system of religious veneration and devotion directed towards a particular figure or object.
   "the cult of St Olaf"
   • a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or as imposing excessive control over members.
     "a network of Satan-worshipping cults"
     synonyms: sect, religious group, denomination, religious order, church, faith, faith community, belief, persuasion, affiliation, movement; More
     
     
   • a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular thing.
     "the cult of the pursuit of money as an end in itself"
     synonyms: obsession with, fixation on, mania for, passion for; More
     
2. 2.
   a person or thing that is popular or fashionable among a particular group or section of society.
   "the series has become a bit of a cult in the UK"
   synonyms: craze, fashion, fad, vogue;
   informalthing
   "the series has become a bit of a cult in the UK"

What I am referring to in this topic is dangerous cults, which are defined by the psychology common among those groups which are dangerous, such as the Manson family, the Way International, The Kirkland cult etc, which use undue influence to recruit members.

Below is an introductory summary of the topic:
The Cult: the Meaning of Undue Influence - Freedom of Mind Resource Center

A dangerous cult would employ the majority of the methods and techniques mentioned in the below link to influence people. Some points might be misunderstood, such as what hypnosis actually is, so it would be good to study those topics more indepth on the site.:
Steven Hassan's BITE Model - Freedom of Mind Resource Center

For an introductory summary of different cults read below:
Cult - Wikipedia

For a cool podcast exploring the history and methods of different cults as well as the psychology behind the cult leaders and why those follow them check out the below link:
Cults — Parcast

To all those interested, I hope this is useful to you. And I would be interested to know whether using the BITE model makes you think of possible groups which could qualify as cults. It would help me greatly in my hobby of studying cults as well.

 

[Left Coast]

Cults have been brought up a few times on this forum by various members in my discussions with them. So I thought I would share some links on the basics of dangerous cults to help everybody understand the topic better.

I find that many people refer to a group which has strange viewpoints or a small group that disagrees with the mainstream religions as cults in a derogatory sense. They are cults, but all religions are as they all started off as small groups with strange beliefs from the majority (such as Christianity and Islam) then grew into massive groups. So saying that a group is a just a cult isn't saying that they are bad.:

cult
/kʌlt/
noun
noun: cult; plural noun: cults

1. 1.
   a system of religious veneration and devotion directed towards a particular figure or object.
   "the cult of St Olaf"
   • a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or as imposing excessive control over members.
     "a network of Satan-worshipping cults"
     synonyms: sect, religious group, denomination, religious order, church, faith, faith community, belief, persuasion, affiliation, movement; More
     
     
   • a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular thing.
     "the cult of the pursuit of money as an end in itself"
     synonyms: obsession with, fixation on, mania for, passion for; More
2. 2.
   a person or thing that is popular or fashionable among a particular group or section of society.
   "the series has become a bit of a cult in the UK"
   synonyms: craze, fashion, fad, vogue;
   informalthing
   "the series has become a bit of a cult in the UK"

What I am referring to in this topic is dangerous cults, which are defined by the psychology common among those groups which are dangerous, such as the Manson family, the Way International, The Kirkland cult etc, which use undue influence to recruit members.

Below is an introductory summary of the topic:
The Cult: the Meaning of Undue Influence - Freedom of Mind Resource Center

A dangerous cult would employ the majority of the methods and techniques mentioned in the below link to influence people. Some points might be misunderstood, such as what hypnosis actually is, so it would be good to study those topics more indepth on the site.:
Steven Hassan's BITE Model - Freedom of Mind Resource Center

For an introductory summary of different cults read below:
Cult - Wikipedia

For a cool podcast exploring the history and methods of different cults as well as the psychology behind the cult leaders and why those follow them check out the below link:
Cults — Parcast

To all those interested, I hope this is useful to you. And I would be interested to know whether using the BITE model makes you think of possible groups which could qualify as cults. It would help me greatly in my hobby of studying cults as well.

I have family members who came out of the JWs as well. They seem to have loosened up somewhat in recent years but in our parents' generation, quite a few of the BITE criteria applied.

 

[Samael_Khan]

I have family members who came out of the JWs as well. They seem to have loosened up somewhat in recent years but in our parents' generation, quite a few of the BITE criteria applied.

Oh yeah, the JW's were extreme in previous generations after Rutherford took over. JW's weren't known to be a dangerous cult until recently, as even though they are so public, most people still don't know much about them. Reading their publications, the BITE model certainly still applies.

 

[David T]

Cults have been brought up a few times on this forum by various members in my discussions with them. So I thought I would share some links on the basics of dangerous cults to help everybody understand the topic better.

I find that many people refer to a group which has strange viewpoints or a small group that disagrees with the mainstream religions as cults in a derogatory sense. They are cults, but all religions are as they all started off as small groups with strange beliefs from the majority (such as Christianity and Islam) then grew into massive groups. So saying that a group is a just a cult isn't saying that they are bad.:

cult
/kʌlt/
noun
noun: cult; plural noun: cults

1. 1.
   a system of religious veneration and devotion directed towards a particular figure or object.
   "the cult of St Olaf"
   • a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or as imposing excessive control over members.
     "a network of Satan-worshipping cults"
     synonyms: sect, religious group, denomination, religious order, church, faith, faith community, belief, persuasion, affiliation, movement; More
     
     
   • a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular thing.
     "the cult of the pursuit of money as an end in itself"
     synonyms: obsession with, fixation on, mania for, passion for; More
2. 2.
   a person or thing that is popular or fashionable among a particular group or section of society.
   "the series has become a bit of a cult in the UK"
   synonyms: craze, fashion, fad, vogue;
   informalthing
   "the series has become a bit of a cult in the UK"

What I am referring to in this topic is dangerous cults, which are defined by the psychology common among those groups which are dangerous, such as the Manson family, the Way International, The Kirkland cult etc, which use undue influence to recruit members.

Below is an introductory summary of the topic:
The Cult: the Meaning of Undue Influence - Freedom of Mind Resource Center

A dangerous cult would employ the majority of the methods and techniques mentioned in the below link to influence people. Some points might be misunderstood, such as what hypnosis actually is, so it would be good to study those topics more indepth on the site.:
Steven Hassan's BITE Model - Freedom of Mind Resource Center

For an introductory summary of different cults read below:
Cult - Wikipedia

For a cool podcast exploring the history and methods of different cults as well as the psychology behind the cult leaders and why those follow them check out the below link:
Cults — Parcast

To all those interested, I hope this is useful to you. And I would be interested to know whether using the BITE model makes you think of possible groups which could qualify as cults. It would help me greatly in my hobby of studying cults as well.

Cults can form over a wide variety of areas. They tend to be extremely self referential, they can develop extreme versions of communication that only they understand, they can get extremely internally orthodox to the point that it becomes reality for them. So cults can and do Morph over large swathes of society including governments. Hitler is a perfect example. Psychology is not magically immune from it either.

I am not cultic about the term cult.

 

[Neutral Name]

Cults have been brought up a few times on this forum by various members in my discussions with them. So I thought I would share some links on the basics of dangerous cults to help everybody understand the topic better.

I find that many people refer to a group which has strange viewpoints or a small group that disagrees with the mainstream religions as cults in a derogatory sense. They are cults, but all religions are as they all started off as small groups with strange beliefs from the majority (such as Christianity and Islam) then grew into massive groups. So saying that a group is a just a cult isn't saying that they are bad.:

cult
/kʌlt/
noun
noun: cult; plural noun: cults

1. 1.
   a system of religious veneration and devotion directed towards a particular figure or object.
   "the cult of St Olaf"
   • a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or as imposing excessive control over members.
     "a network of Satan-worshipping cults"
     synonyms: sect, religious group, denomination, religious order, church, faith, faith community, belief, persuasion, affiliation, movement; More
     
     
   • a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular thing.
     "the cult of the pursuit of money as an end in itself"
     synonyms: obsession with, fixation on, mania for, passion for; More
     
2. 2.
   a person or thing that is popular or fashionable among a particular group or section of society.
   "the series has become a bit of a cult in the UK"
   synonyms: craze, fashion, fad, vogue;
   informalthing
   "the series has become a bit of a cult in the UK"

What I am referring to in this topic is dangerous cults, which are defined by the psychology common among those groups which are dangerous, such as the Manson family, the Way International, The Kirkland cult etc, which use undue influence to recruit members.

Below is an introductory summary of the topic:
The Cult: the Meaning of Undue Influence - Freedom of Mind Resource Center

A dangerous cult would employ the majority of the methods and techniques mentioned in the below link to influence people. Some points might be misunderstood, such as what hypnosis actually is, so it would be good to study those topics more indepth on the site.:
Steven Hassan's BITE Model - Freedom of Mind Resource Center

For an introductory summary of different cults read below:
Cult - Wikipedia

For a cool podcast exploring the history and methods of different cults as well as the psychology behind the cult leaders and why those follow them check out the below link:
Cults — Parcast

To all those interested, I hope this is useful to you. And I would be interested to know whether using the BITE model makes you think of possible groups which could qualify as cults. It would help me greatly in my hobby of studying cults as well.

I would say that many Evangelical Christians have been brainwashed and so are in a cult. They do not seem to understand to read the Bible to see what it says. They simply follow what they are told by other Evangelicals without any thought of what is truly Biblical. They do not know what Jesus said but will say that they are Bible believing Christians without any actual understanding of Jesus.

 

[Samael_Khan]

Cults can form over a wide variety of areas. They tend to ne extremely self referential, they can decelop extreme versions of communication that only they umderstand, they can get extremely internally orthodox to the point that it becomes reality for them. So cults can and do Morph over large swathes of society including governments. Hitler is a perfect example. Psychology is not magically immune either.

I am not cultic about the term cult.

Agree with you fully here. The model applies to not just religious cults, but also political, commercial and psychotherapy cults.

Nazi Gemany definitely was a cult which explains how Germany became so radical. The Soviet Union was a cult and North Korea are an extreme cult. In fact North Korea is so extreme it changes its history to glorify the founder.

Scientology is a form of a psychotherapy cult.

The categories of cults are below:

www.apologeticsindex.org/267-categories-of-cults

My greatest takeaway from studying cults is that it expands across societies and cultures. We are all influenced to some extent. Black and white thinking, racism, eliminating or ostracizing the public who doesn't agree with the common view, those are all influenced by undue influence.

 

[David T]

Agree with you fully here. The model applies to not just religious cults, but also political, commercial and psychotherapy cults.

Nazi Gemany definitely was a cult which explains how Germany became so radical. The Soviet Union was a cult and North Korea are an extreme cult. In fact North Korea is so extreme it changes its history to glorify the founder.

Scientology is a form of a psychotherapy cult.

The categories of cults are below:

www.apologeticsindex.org/267-categories-of-cults

My greatest takeaway from studying cults is that it expands across societies and cultures. We are all influenced to some extent. Black and white thinking, racism, eliminating or ostracizing the public who doesn't agree with the common view, those are all influenced by undue influence.

Its even in science As well. Hell i challenged the concept of birth defects as being a proper scienetific term as being bogus, oh my, the science fiction fans got their panties in a bunch on that one. While at the same rime darwins usage lead directly to the "defective" jews getting executed all referencing darwin. So wowzer dangerous wierd stuff. A Little word like defect applied to us can grow just like that from a hidden imto a massive destructive. Darwin certainly would have been appalled.

 

[Ellen Brown]

I would say that many Evangelical Christians have been brainwashed and so are in a cult. They do not seem to understand to read the Bible to see what it says. They simply follow what they are told by other Evangelicals without any thought of what is truly Biblical. They do not know what Jesus said but will say that they are Bible believing Christians without any actual understanding of Jesus.

I agree with you wholeheartedly, and would add some Catholics and Mormons. Oh, and certain sects of Muslims too.

 

[Samael_Khan]

I would say that many Evangelical Christians have been brainwashed and so are in a cult. They do not seem to understand to read the Bible to see what it says. They simply follow what they are told by other Evangelicals without any thought of what is truly Biblical. They do not know what Jesus said but will say that they are Bible believing Christians without any actual understanding of Jesus.

Yes, they are the cult of Christ, but they aren't necessarily a dangerous cult, as that type of reasoning you mentioned aren't actually encouraged by the scholars or leaders. It is more of a grey area. Thing is, they operate differently to dangerous cults. They can leave whenever they want and church members aren't told or encouraged to avoid them. They would especially disagree with how fundamentalists interpret certain scriptures which fundamentalists use to enforce a cult mentality. They are encouraged to study indepth different viewpoints and in fact study and engage with opposing views all the time in depth, which cults avoid at all costs as it endangers their hold on the group. They definitely do not enforce information control or thought control. Cults actually use them as an example of how Christianity has degenerated, because they are so open to different things. Evangelicals actually want to educate their members more on philosophy and belief because they see the ignorance as a problem.

Those you are mentioning are not thinking because some sort of self induced group mentality I think (I can't explain it clearly) which is common in society and fear of the lack of foundation of their own faith. Plus many evangelicals are nominal Christians, which is why they do not know so much. Nominal cult members get ostracized or worse by the group.

So it isn't what the individual members actually do, it is whether what they do is caused and encouraged by the leaders of the group and the leaders level of control over the members.

There are individual groups within Evangelical Christianity which have a cult mentality, such as certain Charismatic churches and Mega Churches. Fundamentalists have strong cult personas.

 

[Samael_Khan]

Its even in science As well. Hell i challenged the concept of birth defects as being a proper scienetific term as being bogus, oh my, the science fiction fans got their panties in a bunch on that one. While at the same rime darwins usage lead directly to the "defective" jews getting executed all referencing darwin. So wowzer dangerous wierd stuff. A Little word like defect applied to us can grow just like that from a hidden imto a massive destructive. Darwin certainly would have been appalled.

Cult mentality is definitely present among the scientific community, especially those identifying with New Atheism. I find the scientific community to be resistent to certain questions and say stupid things like religion is incompatible with science whereas history shows that the two blended well together. They are actually referring to current Christians as influenced by fundamentalist Christianity, which isn't reflective of history.

That is an interesting viewpoint about birth defects and its consequences. It well illustrates the possible destructive repercussions of ideas. I don't think Darwin had the that application of "defect" in mind either.

 

[The Reverend Bob]

Its even in science As well. Hell i challenged the concept of birth defects as being a proper scienetific term as being bogus, oh my, the science fiction fans got their panties in a bunch on that one. While at the same rime darwins usage lead directly to the "defective" jews getting executed all referencing darwin. So wowzer dangerous wierd stuff. A Little word like defect applied to us can grow just like that from a hidden imto a massive destructive. Darwin certainly would have been appalled.

Darwin would have been appalled at the Holocaust but I doubt he would have batted an eye at the forced sterilization impose on "undesirables" and "defectives" by the Nazis and the Americans

 

[David T]

Cult mentality is definitely present among the scientific community, especially those identifying with New Atheism. I find the scientific community to be resistent to certain questions and say stupid things like religion is incompatible with science whereas history shows that the two blended well together. They are actually referring to current Christians as influenced by fundamentalist Christianity, which isn't reflective of history.

That is an interesting viewpoint about birth defects and its consequences. It well illustrates the possible destructive repercussions of ideas. I don't think Darwin had the that application of "defect" in mind either.

Well he certainly didnt think i write it and it leads to genocide! Incariably the big anti religious always group in the religions nut house. I hace yet to hear on athiest say "thomas merton that idiot based on simple science he is a crackpot thetefore his idea of god and god itself is stupid," no they are attracted like flies to stupid to be with what they are stupid. Stupid loves stupid makes feel smart. Its the spec ed section of the church wadda ya do kick em to the curb? Poor little disavled folks. They are people too! Barely!!! Lol i am kidding. Mostly ha.

 

[David T]

Darwin would have been appalled at the Holocaust but I doubt he would have batted an eye at the forced sterilization impose on "undesirables" and "defectives" by the Nazis and the Americans

That's interesting question possibly. It depends on how ling he would have been around his son. Now forced sterization was also forced onto gays Allen Turing is a prime example in england. But thats anglicans so ya know not the sharpest bunch.... Ha!!!

 

[Samael_Khan]

I agree with you wholeheartedly, and would add some Catholics and Mormons. Oh, and certain sects of Muslims too.

The FLDS and the Kirkland Cult are dangerous cults branching from Mormonism. The leader of the Kirkland cult was a disgusting narcissist.

I have encountered strong cult influences with Sunni Muslims here in Cape Town. Also if one checks out Speakers corner debates between Sunni's and other people then strong cult qualities show as well. There is also a case that the Sunni hadiths point Muhammed out to show traits of a Narcissistic cult leader from the quotes I have heard. But the Hadiths come from so many different sources that I don't know which side of the argument are cherry picking texts. And the problem is that the Sunni muslims here are not knowledgeable about their religion from a textual criticism point of view, relying on Imams to give them their knowledge. Also the seeming Arabisation of members through embracing Arab names, Arab clothing and using the Arab language can fall under behaviour control, but isn't necessary so. They also white wash the history of Islam believing that all facts contradicting their view is lies. But I also know that Islam has a loooong history of great scholars and discussion, which is the opposite to cults, so I suspect that there is something I am missing here. I suspect that modern Islam has become like modern Christianity, in that many modern and influential believers are not reflective of the history of the group.

Apparently Wahhabi and the Salafist movement has infiltrated the Sunni mindset and perverted it according to some Sunni's and Shia. Wahhabism definitely is a dangerous cult.

Having chatted to Shia muslims, I do not encounter a cult mentality with them besides knowing about certain practices which are strange but do not reflect undue influence. And they have different Hadiths, thus a different view of Muhammed.

I would be interested if somebody could flesh this out for me as I am struggling to examine this suspicion.

 

[Samael_Khan]

Well he certainly didnt think i write it and it leads to genocide! Incariably the big anti religious always group in the religions nut house. I hace yet to hear on athiest say "thomas merton that idiot based on simple science he is a crackpot thetefore his idea of god and god itself is stupid," no they are attracted like flies to stupid to be with what they are stupid. Stupid loves stupid makes feel smart. Its the spec ed section of the church wadda ya do kick em to the curb? Poor little disavled folks. They are people too! Barely!!! Lol i am kidding. Mostly ha.

Yep. Lotsa irony with those guys.

 

[David T]

Yep. Lotsa irony with those guys.

The spec ed classromm filled with phds. Its sad.

 

[Samael_Khan]

That's interesting question possibly. It depends on how ling he would have been around his son. Now forced sterization was also forced onto gays Allen Turing is a prime example in england. But thats anglicans so ya know not the sharpest bunch.... Ha!!!

What?! Sterilization was forced on someone?

 

[Samael_Khan]

The spec ed classromm filled with phds. Its sad.

Very sad. Sometimes I wonder whether the parrot knowledge as opposed to being taught how to critically think. Having a PHD doesn't necessarily mean that one is trained to think critically.

 

[David T]

What?! Sterilization was enforced on someone?

Allen turing was forced to go chemical castration after he was arrested for getting beat up by a boyfriend. Ironically he should have just said got mugged or a friend came over and we fought. But being as smart as he was he just said what he was not suppose to say. Commited suicide 2 yeaes later. The creator of the enigma machime that decimated germans code. Saved millions of lives and then That happened to him.

 

[David T]

Very sad. Sometimes I wonder whether the parrot knowledge as opposed to being taught how to critically think. Having a PHD doesn't necessarily mean that one is trained to think critically.

I am not sure you can teach it literally or if you do it has to be way different than how we teach. We have serious issues there.