Cults 101: Checklist of Cult Characteristics - might be useful to know in many situations (esp activism related ones)

Hadashi_blacksky · 2018-12-12T16:26:15+00:00

There is some good understanding here, and I'm glad to see nuance. What they only touch upon are circles of initiation. If you want a good example of how a cult operates, there are three go-to ones I use to demonstrate them:

Scientology (Alien spirituality) - Cults tend to have many layers of initiation where the members 'assend' towards the inner circle, thereby becoming closer to The Leader. Scientology is a classic example of this kind of model, with literally dozens and dozens of coded layers. Progress up the ranks is largely about giving them money and absolute loyalty. Cults are driven by their innermost circles. Watch Going Clear if you'd like to know more.

The People's Temple (Communist/athiest) - cults are extremely introverted and focus on isolation and fear as tactics for control. Bear in mind that the leader is in the cult and may believe their own idology. At their hearts, cults are toxic tribalistic groups centered around a Leader. The People's Temple is a dramatic example of how a cult hits critical mass and implodes. Not all cults do this.

Political Cults of The Great Leader (tyrannical jingoism) - a political cult forms the same way around a Leader. Stalin and Hitler engineered their own idology based around these principles and that is why they still have followers. The layers of the cult are the government itself and the levels of power they hold. To gain levels you must rejoice in the leader and express absolute loyalty.

In all cases, access to the inner circle is largely for true friends of the leader. You might notice there are a lot of parallels between cults and every other organisation on the planet - that's intentional. Cults usually set out to mimic a particular tribal structure or idology that the leader wants to subvert and control. Stalin did it with government and leadership. Scientology steals the image of the cross, even though it is actually anti-Christian. And militant Feminism steals the concept of gender equality.

However, I'm still not entirely sure militant Feminism fits the criteria for a cult - as much as a lot of people want it to. Yes, it's a pretty toxic idology that is heading that way, but it doesn't have the same structure. I'd say it's a lot more akin to hyper-nationalism, but with genders. I'm sure someone will make the case that it does, however.

Standard_Rules_Apply · 2018-12-12T20:56:37+00:00

Religion fits many of these cult checklists.

Title	Cults 101: Checklist of Cult Characteristics - might be useful to know in many situations (esp activism related ones)
Author	shit-zen-giggles
Upvotes	4
Comments	8
Date	December 12, 2018 3:46 PM UTC (7 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/a5ja0d/cults_101_checklist_of_cult_characteristics_might/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/cults-101-checklist-of-cult-characteristics-might.1183298 https://theredarchive.com/post/1183298

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