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Chapter 11
Cultivating the Cargo Culters
(1) What is a Cult?
by
Ric
Carter,
ric@sonic.net,
www.sonic.net/~ric,
(2)
Identifying Cults by Jay Rodney
Combat Diaries comment:
A cult, as
distinct from a philosophy, is some belief-system which has got to
the stage where it propagates some “solution” to just about
everything. To a member of a serious cult the predicament of homo
sapiens is suddenly “explained” in some formulaic manner. The
“solution” to the deepest problems in consciousness and destiny,
personality, identity and thought processes is “revealed.”
However, this
“solution” becomes very quickly a hard task-master. The
“explanation” once inside the mental cells and accepted, becomes a
huge metaphysical cuckoo. It demands constant repetition of certain
sets of rules. These various self-replicating memes act like green
blooming pond algae in the mind, crushing all individual character,
enterprise, shutting down all imagination and freewill. The human
being becomes merely a thing which serves to carry sets of formulaic
incantations.
Colin Bennett
Combat Diaries advice:
Be warned: the
first thing a cult does is destroy your anarchic sense of humour.
Remember:
Once you lose the
ability to laugh at yourself you are on the way to getting well and
truly lost.
Cults
are everywhere, in everything, the warp and woof of all human
societies.. Without cults you wouldn't have anything to believe, at
least not in any form that you'd recognize. Herewith is a brief
introduction to cults.
Of
course, a cult is a religion without sufficient political power. In
a culture where various power bases share control of society, a cult
is any group OTHER than the
Dominant Heresy. Of course, there are other, more formal
definitions:
cult
n [F & L; F culte, fr. L cultus care,
adoration, fr. cultus, pp. of colere to cultivate
...] 1
: formal religious veneration : WORSHIP
2
: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body
of adherents
3
: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its
body of adherents
4
: a system for the cure of a disease based on dogma set forth by its
promulgator
5 a
: great devotion to a person, idea, or thing; esp : such
devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad
b
: a usu. small circle of persons united by devotion or allegiance to
an artistic or intellectual movement or figure ...
—Merriam-Webster New Collegiate Dictionary, 1972
Inferred
here are some other points. A cult is a system of ritual — the
cult of Judaism or
cult of Santeria merely refers to the rites, liturgy etc
of those belief-systems. A cult is devotion to a figure, such as a
personality cult, as those of
Stalin,
Mao,
Madonna,
BillGates, etc. A cult is a fad, unless it lasts long enough to
go mainstream. And a cult is a clique.
Starting your own cult can be a
lot of fun. For general guidelines, see
Start Your Own Religion For Phun And Prophet. Joining a cult can
be nearly as much fun, especially if you can take it over and bend
it to your will. Otherwise, you'll just be a pawn in someone else's
hand. But maybe that's what you want.
But
not all cults are created equal. Cults come in may sizes, shapes,
colors, flavors, intents, purposes, and destinies. Some possible
cults include:
·PERSONALITY
CULT You've done something notable, like aroused and screwed a
demon, and now you want the recognition and worship you deserve.
Fine.
·LITERARY
CULT A subset of the above — you want your followers to focus
on a teensy eensy bit of what literature is being generated.
Whatever.
·POLITICAL
CULT A subset of the above — you want your followers to imbue
you with vast temporal power, so that you may control others. Nice
try.
·MAINSTREAM
CULT You want to expand the domain of your recognition to
include a major portion of the populace, especially if they make
contributions.
·SCIENTIFIC
CULT You want to promulgate some specific reality-notions,
such as
Zetetic Astronomy (Earth is flat) or
Cretinism (Gods of creation are morons).
·DOOMSDAY
CULT You envision the total destruction of the world as we
know it, all your critics and followers, and maybe yourself too.
Sounds good to me!
·SACRIFICIAL
CULT Instead of destroying you and yours, you'd prefer just to
take the lives of others, more worthy of meeting oblivion soon. Yeah
sure.
·SEX
CULT You and your members want lots of (sacred) sex. OK.
Your cult may have very limited
purposes, like garnering numerous members, letting the leader fock
and/or fock over those as are wanted, and evading taxes. Or your
cult may wish to extend its control over greater portions of the
temporal & spiritual landscape, engulfing the bodies & minds & souls
& banks of all who come near. Or you may wish to conquer and/or
destroy the world, solar system, universe, reality. Or you may just
want someone to take notice of your pathetic poetry, ignoring your
physical and moral imperfections. Whatever.
If
you aren't the center of attention, your cult may focus on any
number of points. You may wish to venerate some religious and/or
spiritual and/or fantasy figure of the past, present or future. You
may wish to attribute all manner of weird abilities and
characteristics to this figure, the more the merrier. Or you may
venerate some idea, no matter how psychotic. The concept of eating
holy hot peppers may fit the bill here. Or you may venerate a place,
especially the first place where you got laid. Maybe you want to
worship the bug that is eating into your brain, the alien implant
that resides within your brain, the mind-control rays that are
cooking your brain, or just the aesthetic excellence of your brain.
Hey,
GO for it!
This document is
under development. Stay tuned for more...
And see
Mormonism For Morons and
Doomsday Cults For Dummies and
If SCIENTOLOGY Is A Game Then Here Are The Rules and
Australia's Greatest Doomsday Cult (local mirror) and the
Yahoo CULTS page
Here is some useful material for us
all that ended up on the Stargate Forum board.
(2) Identifying
Cults
How To
Determine If You Are Involved In One
From time to time people
tell me, “Someone I know thinks Burisch (see Chapter 10 of the
current Combat Diary 28) is a cult. How do I respond?” I ask,
“What is their definition of a cult?” No one has had an answer. It
seems the word cult creates a great deal of reactivity. Images of
mass suicide spring to mind. Yet few stop to define, “What is a
cult?”
M. T. Singer, PhD clinical psychologist and adjunct professor at the
University of California at Berkeley, published Cults in Our Midst
(Jossey-Bass, 1995) with J. Lalich, writer and consultant. The book
differentiates cults from groups that support more healthy human
growth. Dr. Singer has been doing research, counseling and teaching
for over 50 years. She has been a court-appointed witness and
examiner in cases involving cults and has counseled thousands of
people who were either former cult members or family to a cult
member. To paraphrase Singer and Lalich:
A humanitarian group is a vehicle for healthy human development and
assists individuals to become open and flexible. Members are more
able to manage the uncertainties of life. The group’s training
supports being consistently open to transformation and change,
continually seeking a deep core of ethics, and the ability to laugh
at oneself. Democratic process and open forums for working out
differences are preferred over authoritarian organizational
structures. There is freedom of speech and expression. The group’s
boundaries are permeable membranes through which people come and go
relatively unimpeded.
A cult, on the other hand, is more fundamentalist in nature. There
is a dogma, a set of beliefs, or absolutes, which must be rigidly
followed. The organization is authoritarian. A cult leader, regarded
as a supreme authority, induces others to become totally dependent
to the point of surrendering their money, possessions and life
choices to the cult leader. Members are obliged to recruit new
members. Manipulation and brainwashing are commonplace. Cults attack
those who leave the membership as defectors. Cults exhibit
increasing hostility to the “outside” world and transmit that point
of view to their members.
Rarely would one group fulfil the definition above completely
because groups, like people, are always growing and changing. Thus,
it is wise to see the definitions as opposite ends of a spectrum in
motion. On one end there is a group that is a vehicle for healthy
human growth and on the other there is a highly authoritarian cult.
The extreme behavior of a Jim Jones would exemplify the highly
authoritarian cult. But, that does not mean that every group that
joins to support human development is a cult. It only indicates that
there are extremes that can lay waste to potential good. An active
alcoholic on a binge can make alcohol look like poison, so we forget
that wine is used in sacred communion. One Jones can make group
activity look like Hell, so we forget there are other groups that
are benign or truly helpful.
In order to clarify a more detailed and current profile of a group,
to measure the negative and positive aspects, we might use
additional scales. For example:
1. A scale that starts with encouraging personal freedoms: diverse
social contacts, freedom of speech and freedom of _expression and
ends in discouraging these freedoms and giving totalitarian
authority to the leader.
2. Another scale that starts with a democratic organization built on
honesty and clear agendas and ends with totalitarian organization
built on a double standard that fosters hidden agendas and
manipulation.
3. Another scale that measures integration with and appreciation of
the outside world versus increased hostility with those outside the
group.
From time to time, a
psychotherapist receives a request for help from someone who has
recently left a cult. These patients may present symptoms of
anxiety and depression, as do many others, but they constitute a
group with special problems that require special knowledge on the
part of the therapist.
The story these patients recount is remarkably similar from one to
the next, regardless of differing educational, social, or financial
backgrounds. They usually tell of joining the cult when they were at
a transition point in their lives. Dissatisfied with their ordinary
pursuits and relationships and hungry for a meaningful life that
would satisfy their spiritual longings, they encountered an
attractive, smiling young man or woman who enthusiastically
described the happiness to be found in his or her dedicated, loving
group and its wonderful, enlightened leader. They were invited to
visit the group and did so. At that first meeting, they were
impressed, if not overwhelmed, by the warm attention they received.
In addition, they may have been emotionally stirred by singing;
meditation, or other activities and may even have entered an altered
state of consciousness under the influence of the group’s leader.
Such impressive experiences were interpreted as proof of both the
leader’s advanced spiritual state and the newcomer´s readiness to
receive initiation. After one or two more meetings, they decided to
join.
Having joined, the new convert´s life was immediately filled with
work meetings, and exercises that left little time or energy for the
life he or she left behind. Even if the convert was married and had
a family, the partner and the children were regarded as less
important than the avowed mission of the group to benefit all of
humanity to save the world. The conflict between group demands amid
outside commitments grew steadily sharper until the convert
relinquished all relationships with those outside the group or the
family broke up as the spouse reached the limit of tolerance. The
ally was now totally dependent on the group and the leader for
emotional and financial support.
The group that initially was warm and loving revealed its cold,
punitive side whenever a convert questioned the group’s beliefs or
criticized the behavior of the leader. Such dissent was labeled
“selfish” or “evil,” and group approval was withdrawn and the
dissenter isolated. Members were taught, therefore, that what the
group had given, the group could take away. Out of fear of such
punishment by the group and of humiliation and censure by the
leader, converts found themselves engaging in the intimidation and
coercion of fellow converts, the deception and seduction of new
recruits, and other behaviors that violated ethical standards held
before joining the cult. Such actions were rationalized by reference
to the overriding importance of the group’s purpose and to the
leader’s superior wisdom.
Eventually, the strain of conforming to the demands of the group
became too much, especially it children were involved. The convert
protester refused to comply with the latest demands and was dealt
with severely. Finally, in desperation, he (or she) left the cult.
Immediately, the leader branded him as damned, possessed by Satan,
and having lost his soul. At the very least, he had failed the best
arid lost his chance at enlightenment. Just as painful, people with
whom he had shared his most intimate secrets and felt the greatest
acceptance and love now turned their backs and refused to
communicate. Feeling totally alone, the ex-cult member experienced a
turmoil of feelings: rage at the betrayal, fear of retaliation,
horror at the possibility of perpetual damnation, grief at the loss
of group support and affection, and. shame at having been duped. At
this point, he may turn to a therapist for help.
The anxiety and depression such patients feel usually is secondary
to a bigger problem: a loss of trust in others and, especially loss
of trust in their own judgment and spiritual perceptions.
Additionally, they may feel guilt over unethical actions they
engaged in to please the group and despair at the loss of time,
money, and relationships. To recover from the trauma of their cult
experience, these patients need to understand what happened and why,
and so does the psychotherapist who treats them.
MOTIVATIONS FOR JOINING
People who join cults do so for two principal reasons: (1) They want
to lead a meaningful, spiritual life and (2) they want to feel
protected, cared for, and guided by someone who knows what to do in.
a confusing world. The first motive is conscious and laudable; the
second is unconscious or not recognized for what it is. Therein lies
the problem: The wish to have a perfect parent and a loving;
supportive group lies concealed in the psyche of even the most
outwardly independent person. When the opportunity arises to gratify
that wish, it powerfully influences judgment and perception and
paves the way for exploitation by a cult.
There is good reason for cults to be associated primarily with
religious-spiritual organizations. Religions are based on the belief
in a transcendent; supreme power usually characterized along
parental lines: God is all-powerful and all-knowing, meting out
rewards and punishments according to how well a person has carried
out the commandments He has issued. The doctrines vary, but even in
nonmonotheistic Eastern traditions; Heaven and Hell in some form are
designated as the consequences of good and bad behavior.
Although mystics are unanimous in defining God as incomprehensible
and not of this world, human dependency needs require something more
approachable and personal: Even in Buddhism, therefore, whose
founder declared that concepts of gods and heaven were an illusion,
many followers bow to a Buddha idol to invoke Buddha´s protection
and blessing. But even more satisfying to the wish for a superparent
is an actual human with divine, enlightened, or messianic status.
The powerful wish to be guided and protected by a superior being can
propel a seeker into the arms of a leader who is given that status
by his or her followers. Such a surrender to the fantasy of the
perfect parent may be accompanied by a feeling of great joy at
"coming home."
This analysis does not imply that the intimations of a larger
reality and a larger purpose, sensed by human beings for thousands
of are only a fantasy: The problem is that the spiritual dimension
and dependency wishes can get badly confused. The patient needs to
disentangle the perception of a spiritual dimension from needs
less-than-divine longings that have infiltrated, taken over, and
distorted what is valid. It is important that the psychiatrist
treating an ex-cult member keep this distinction in mind.
One way to clarify the confusion is to help the patient see clearly
the problems that she had hoped "enlightenment", and membership in
the group would solve: These problems may include loneliness, low
self-esteem, the wish for the admiration of others, fear of
intimacy, fear of death, and the wish for invulnerability. Indeed,
membership in the group may assuage loneliness and provide the
support and closeness that the patient had not experienced
previously Memories of such good experiences may occasion acute
feelings of loss in the ex-cult member and give rise to doubts
concerning whether or not leaving was the best thing to do.
To look objectively and critically at the cult, experience, the
ex-member needs to gain freedom from the "superior leader trap." As
indicated earlier, this trap is sprung if there is criticism or
questioning of the leader´s actions and directives. Basically, it
takes the following form: The Leader operates on a higher plane than
you or I. Because of that, we are not able to judge the rightness or
wrongness of his or her actions. Ordinary, conventional standards do
not apply here.
Although this conclusion may sound reasonable, the leader in fact
can be judged by criteria established in the mystical literature.
There is a striking consensus in these writings concerning the
nature of the spiritual path and the duties of a genuine teacher.
The consensus permits one to make judgments of whether the teacher´s
actions advance spiritual development or hinder it.
It is important to realize that the basic activity of the spiritual
traditions is to assist spiritual students to "forget the self." The
self referred to is what is usually termed the, ego but is better
understood as being the psychological processes dedicated to
biological survival. That primitive aim is expressed in greed, fear,
lust, hatred, and jealousy: the traditional vices. These vices are
functional for the intention of survival. The, mode of consciousness
one expertness is functional also, and it is adapted to one´s
intentions. For example, building a bookcase calls forth a
particular form of consciousness — the instrumental — featuring an
emphasis on the object characteristics of the world, a reliance on
abstract concepts, and a focus on past and future and on differences
and boundaries. This mode of consciousness is needed to fulfill the
intention of making a useful object. When one wants to receive
something from one´s surroundings; however, as in relaxing in a tub
of steaming hot water or having a massage, one needs a different
mode of consciousness — the receptive — featuring an emphasis on
sensual experience, a blurring of boundaries, a focus on now; and a
sense of connectedness with the environment.
Ordinary survival aims, therefore, call forth instrumental
consciousness: But if it is desired to experience the world in its
wholeness, unity, and interconnection — the essence of spiritual
consciousness — a different intention must be operative, along with
a lessening of control by the survival self . 2
Keeping in mind this functional relationship of motivation and self
to consciousness, one can see that the spiritual traditions use a
variety of means to transform the seeker´s initial motivations,
which are heavily weighted toward greed, dependency, and power; into
motivations of service and contemplation. Meditation, teaching
stories, service, and the example set by the teacher can be
understood as tools for accomplishing a deep shift in basic
intention, permitting access to spiritual consciousness.
This framework provides a means for making a preliminary judgment
about people who declare themselves to be spiritual teachers. All
one needs to do is observe their behavior and notice the intentions
and type of self that is being reinforced. If there is considerable
emphasis on what the convert will gain from following the teacher,
such as “bliss,” psychic abilities, or the joy of enlightenment,
these promises will arouse greed and acquisitive strategies. After
all, the desire for bliss is not fundamentally different from the
desire for money. If the teacher warns that rejecting the teaching
will result in damnation, loss of one´s soul, and loss of all hopes
of spiritual advancement, fear is aroused and the survival self is
activated. Likewise, if the leader makes use of flattery by
bestowing attention or praise, this can arouse vanity in the convert
and competition in the group members. In all these instances, the
teacher is intensifying the operation of the survival self and the
form of consciousness it generates. These activities are
antispiritual, and leaders that employ, them are not genuine
spiritual teachers; they are not entitled to any special deference
or trust. 3
Of course, exploitation of followers for sexual pleasure or
financial gain cannot be justified in any manner and testifies to
the unenlightened, self-centered state of the teacher. Such
exploitation is not to be found in the lives of the great mystics.
They operated by even more rigorous standards than those that are
imposed by conventional society. This is not to say that mystics are
examples of perfect human beings. Perfection is not part of earthly
existence for anyone or anything. But financial or sexual
exploitation represents a drastic failure of responsibility that
disqualifies a teacher from any special consideration.
Psychotherapists are well aware of how harmful such violations of
trust can be.
The behavior of most cult leaders departs widely from the path paid
down in the mystical literature and can be seen to be harmful to
spiritual development. By employing this functional framework, cult
members can judge for themselves the presumed sanctity the leader
and, the appropriateness of the leader´s behavior.
CULT BEHAVIOR IN NORMAL SOCIETY
Just as it is important to have a means of judging a spiritual
teacher, it also is important for the ex-cult member and the
therapist to be able to answer the more general question: "Is this
group a cult?" Patients need to be able to answer that question to
avoid making the same mistake again, and therapists are likely to be
asked that question by a worried parent or spouse. Usually, the
group in question has obvious cult trappings, but society abounds
with groups and organizations that appear normal but have the
potential for cultlike behavior: large corporations, political
groups, professional organizations, government bodies, and
established religions. These sectors of normal society seldom are
thought to share characteristics with The People´s Temple or the
less dramatic groups such as the Moonies and the Krishna devotees
collecting money in airports, however, careful study of cults
reveals four basic cult behaviors that occur to varying degrees in
almost all groups, including those that do not have a strange
appearance or engage in bizarre behavior. 4 Identifying these basic
behaviors permits one to replace the question, "Is this group a
cult?" with the more practical one, "To what extent is cult behavior
present?" The latter question is more useful because in the field of
the transpersonal, as elsewhere, there is a continuum of groups
ranging from the most benign and least cultlike to the most
malignant and destructive.
THE FOUR BASIC CULT BEHAVIORS
Compliance With the Group
Everybody is concerned with how he or she is viewed by the people
whose opinions matter to, us:, our "reference group." No matter how,
outwardly independent and nonconformist we may be, there is, usually
a, group of people who share our, values and whose approval we want.
Membership, in this group is signaled by conformity in dress,
behavior, and speech. People outside of cults may suppress deviant
thoughts also, although less obviously, if they believe that their
_expression could result in loss of status with the people important
to them.
The power of groups has been noted by psychologists beginning with
Gustav Le Bon and Sigmund Freud, and analyzed in detail by Wilfred
Bion, who proposed that members of groups tend to adopt one of three
primitive emotional states: dependency, pairing, or fight-flight.
His description of the dependency state is an apt description of
cults, but he saw, the process taking place in varying degrees in
all groups:
The essential aim … is to attain security is to attain security
through and have its members protected by one individual. It assumes
that this is why the group has met. The members act as if they know
nothing, as if they are inadequate and immature creatures. Their
behavior implies that the leader, by contrast, is omnipotent and
omniscient. 5
It is plausible that natural selection favored individuals who were
good at discerning what the group wanted because preservation of
their membership in the group gave them the best chance of survival.
As a consequence, it is likely that human beings have evolved to be
exquisitely sensitive to what the group wants. "Political
correctness" probably has a long history.”
Dependence on a Leader
Leaders draw a power from their followers’ wish for an ideal parent,
a wish that is latent in all adults no matter what kind of parent
they had. Although cult leaders may be charismatic, they need not be
as long as they are believed by the group members to possess
superior powers and secrets. Cult leaders are authoritarian,
encouraging dependence and discouraging autonomy. Obedience and
loyalty are rewarded, and critical thinking is punished.
Furthermore, to enhance dependency on the leader, pair bonding is
discouraged. The leader must come first; family and lovers come
last. The disruption of intimate relationships is accomplished by a
variety of means: enforced chastity, separation of parents from
children, arranged marriages, long separations, promiscuity, or
sexual relations with the leader. All these aspects are counter to
healthy leadership, which fosters growth, independence, and mature
relationships and has as its aim that the followers will eventually
achieve an eye-level relationship with the leader.
Dissent
Dissent threatens the group fantasy that the members are being
protected and rewarded by a perfect, enlightened leader who can do
no wrong. The security provided by that fantasy is the basic
attraction that keeps members in the cult despite highly
questionable actions by the leader. Questioning the fantasy
threatens that security, and for this reason, active dissent is
seldom encouraged. To the contrary, dissenters are often declared to
be in the grip of Satan. Sometimes they are scapegoated, and hidden,
unconscious anger toward the leader is released against the
dissenter. Almost all groups derive security from their shared
beliefs and readily regard dissenters as irritations, to be gotten
rid of. Nevertheless, the mark of a healthy group is a tolerance for
dissent and a recognition of its vital role in keeping the group
sane. Paranoia develops and grandiosity flourishes when dissent is
eliminated and a group isolates itself from outside influence. As
recent cult disasters have shown us, grandiose and paranoid cult
leaders often self-destruct, taking their group with them.
Devaluing the Outsider
What good is being in a group if membership does not convey some
special advantage? In spiritual groups, the members are likely to
believe that they have the inside track to enlightenment, to being
"saved," or to finding God because of the special sanctity and,
spiritual power of the leader. It follows that they must be superior
to people outside the group: It is they, the converts, who have the
leader´s blessing and approval. Devaluation can be detected in the
pity or “compassion” they may feel for those outside. This
devaluation becomes most marked in the case of someone who elects to
leave the group and is thereby considered “lost,” if not damned. The
more such devaluation takes place, and the more the group separates
itself from the outside world, the greater the danger of cult
pathology.
Devaluing of the outsider is part and parcel of everyday life.
Depending on which group we designate as the outsider, our scorn may
be directed at “liberals,” “Republicans,” “blacks,” “Jews,”
“yuppies,” or “welfare bums”: however the outsider is designated.
Such disidentification can authorize unethical, mean, and
destructive behavior against the outsider, behavior that otherwise
would cause guilt for violating ethical norms. Devaluation of the
outsider is tribal behavior and so universal as to suggest a “basic
law of groups”: Be one of us and we will love you; leave us and we
will kill you.
Devaluing the outsider reassures the insider that he or she is good,
special, and deserving, unlike the outsider. Such a belief is a
distortion of reality; if one considers the different circumstances
of each person’s development and life context, one is hard put to
judge another person to be intrinsically inferior to oneself.
Certainly, actions can be judged, but human beings are one species,
at eye level with each other.
CULT BEHAVIOR IN THE PSYCHOTHERAPIST
The psychotherapist treating an ex-cult member may be tempted to
devalue the patient for being duped and exploited and for believing
weird doctrines. Especially in the role of expert in human
psychology, we therapists wish to be reassured that nothing like
that would happen to us because we are too discerning, mature, and
sophisticated. As a matter of fact, we are not immune by virtue of
our profession; psychotherapists with the best credentials have
participated directly in cults. There have even been
psychotherapeutic cults led by fully trained and accredited
psychoanalysts, 6 and noted psychoanalysts have commented on the
cult aspects of psychoanalytic training institutes. 7, 8
Furthermore, cult behavior is evident within the psychiatric
profession as a whole. Perusal of the psychiatric literature
indicates a remarkable absence of dissent from the current
enthusiasm for biological psychiatry, an enthusiasm not different
from the overcommitment to environmental influences that
characterized the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Indeed, research that
challenges the biological perspective is ignored. 4 The
biological-medical consensus is reinforced by economic factors;
those working in academic environments experience pressure to shape
their research focus and strategy so that they will be funded. Being
awarded a research grant usually depends on the approval of the
"leading experts" in the field, the very persons who have
established, and are committed to, the prevailing theoretical
perspective. Furthermore, the same authorities are asked to judge
articles submitted for publication to psychiatric journals.
Avoidance of dissent and devaluation of the outsider can take the
place unnoticed, therefore, through rejection of submitted papers
and denial of research funds. To this may be added informal
devaluation through unsupported derogatory comments made: at
professional gatherings.
THE VALUE OF AWARENESS
It is important that both the therapist and the ex-cult member be
able to see that cult behaviors are endemic in our society. Such
awareness can protect the therapist from the influence of such
behaviors and allow ex-cult members to realize that they are not
freaks, weak and dependent persons, or fools. Rather, they were s
led astray by unconscious wishes that they share with all human
beings. These wishes were stimulated at a time when they were N
especially vulnerable and under circumstances that any person might
have found difficult to combat.
CONCLUSION
Cult behavior reflects the wish for a loving, accepting sibling
group that is protected and cherished by a powerful, omnipotent
parent. The problem with such a wish and its accompanying fantasy is
that no human being can fill the role of the superparent, and adults
can never again be children. To preserve the fantasy, reality must
be distorted, because of .this distortion, cult behavior results in
a loss of realism. In the more extreme cases, the consequences can
be drastic. Diminished realism is a problem in any situation,
however, and for this reason, cult behavior is costly no matter
where it takes place: affecting business decisions, governmental
deliberations, day-to-day relationships in the community, or the
practice of psychotherapy. Fortunately, awareness of these cult
behaviors offers protection from their influence. Psychotherapists
can foster that awareness, benefiting patients, themselves, and
society.
JayRodney
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