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Why do people join cults?
- Thread starter Terese
- Start date
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Humans are programmable.
For good, or for worse.
Kilgore Trout
Misanthropic Humanist
- People, in general, like to belong.
- People, in general, like to feel special.
- People, in general, are susceptible to the manipulations of charismatic figures.
- People, in general, are looking for answers and to fix their damage.
Add it up.
- People, in general, like to feel special.
- People, in general, are susceptible to the manipulations of charismatic figures.
- People, in general, are looking for answers and to fix their damage.
Add it up.
I don't see it as programmable but vulnerable people are taken advantaged of and before they realize they become trapped. We need to emphasize freedom of thought and speech with people. Anyone that tries to take those freedom's away should be considered bad.
Yerda
Veteran Member
This guy has the answers! Quick, follow him!
The video to me is spot on in documenting how cults work and, by discussing who they target, why people join.
I once had a brush with brainwashing during the 60's. I attended a "16 hour seminar" out of searching and curiosity. I came out talking in slogans which wore off in a couple of weeks. Cults take that brainwashing idea much much further.
I once had a brush with brainwashing during the 60's. I attended a "16 hour seminar" out of searching and curiosity. I came out talking in slogans which wore off in a couple of weeks. Cults take that brainwashing idea much much further.
Kilgore Trout
Misanthropic Humanist
Bring plenty of pretty girls with you.
I think that there are additional ways that laws could discourage cults without trampling upon freedom of religion. For example, it should be illegal to practice known hypnotic methods and probably is. We could make it illegal to use things like aromatherapy and make it illegal to set audio mixers to heighten hypnotic effects for any use other than entertainment. The principles of hypnosis are well understood, so there is no reason that expert hypnotists could not be employed to check on suspected cults to see if hypnotic methods are being used especially in public forums.
Mostly looking for direction.
My parents were at the point that they were just going through the motions of living. Work, pay bills, try to stay out of trouble. All routine, day after day, year after year. They offered no direction, no goals, no encouragement.
You assume when your young that the answers to life, the truth must exist and if you commit yourself to finding it, you will be rewarded.
Cult leaders claim to possess the truth and show a lot of confidence in this claim. They extrude compassion and care for the initiate and there is an expectation to return the care and compassion fully.
It is the perfect love, the perfect relationship. To betray it becomes unthinkable.
You have to commit to the veneration of the leader so the leader will find you worthy of being enlightened with the truth.
Once the truth has been revealed to you, your are respected by all of the other initiates. You have been found worthy. You don't want to lose that respect by questioning the truth which was reveal to you.
The Kilted Heathen
Crow FreyjasmaðR
What I find most depressing is that we know these things are harmful, and yet we continue to protect them.
What would you change?
As someone with some experience with friends leaving a cult, if it had been driven underground through legislation (such as what they're doing in Russia), it would have made it 10 times harder for victims to leave. Their biggest tool in their toolbox is isolation. And making a belief system 'unprotected' (depending on what that meant) can make it easier to culture that isolationist view.
Just telling someone 'Hey, you're in a cult, it's dangerous and you should leave' doesn't work very well. Especially since most people still in this cult (Jehovah's Witnesses) do not actually believe it is one. Ditto Scientology and less well known variants.
The Kilted Heathen
Crow FreyjasmaðR
Honestly, I have no clue how it would be handled myself. I fear it would opening up to whatever religions the "big ones" don't like being proclaimed as "dangerous" and subsequently shut down. Which isn't necessarily right or fair.
But if it's handled secularly, without bias, and a group is found to be harmful through isolationism, psychological abuse, and other clearly negative things, then the law should not wait around for things to get physically abusive. If parents aren't allowed to psychologically harm their children, why are religious leaders able to do the same to their congregation?
I don't think a 'without bias' is possible. You can minimize it, but this is an incredibly charged topic that will cause huge divisions both within and without the scientific community (heck it already does.) What is 'abuse'? Is creating an atmosphere hostile to gays, lesbians and trans abuse? How do we quantify isolation?
There are things within cults we absolutely should prosecute. Such as when JWs attempt to not give blood transfusions to children, or when Scientologists refuse to give critically necessary SSRI or mental stabilizing drugs, or when prayer healing is done for children over critical health care. Noticing a trend? Outside of children or those with severe mental instabilities, adults are fully able to consent to these abuses. You can't force them to not do it. And you couldn't legally shut down churches saying they should, as it would infringe on free speech. Even if it's dangerous speech. Might be something interesting to discuss over When Should Speech be Censored? with @Sunstone