What is a Cult and how does Cults work?

[InCiDeR]

I think this topic is very important to discuss. Who knows, maybe it will benefit us all.

I hope we will be able to stay open for different viewpoints in this thread.

If disagreement occur, please do some effort focusing your thought on the message and not the messenger.

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What is a cult?

According to wikipedia following gives a general cultural account of "cult":

The word cult in current popular usage is a pejorative term for a new religious movement or other group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre by the larger society.

Usage of the word has been controversial. One reason is that the word "cult" (as used in the pejorative sense) is considered a subjective term, used as an ad hominem attack against groups with simply differing doctrines or practices, and without a clear or consistent definition.

The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices. The word was first used in the early 17th century denoting homage paid to a divinity and borrowed via the French culte from Latin cultus "worship", from the adjective cultus "inhabited, cultivated, worshipped", derived from the verb colere "care, cultivate."

In the 1930s cults became the object of sociological study in the context of the study of religious behavior. They have been criticized by mainstream Christians for their unorthodox beliefs. In the 1970s the anticult movement arose, partly motivated by acts of violence and other crimes committed by members of some cults. Some of the claims of the anti-cult movement have been disputed by other scholars, leading to further controversies.

Discrimination against cult members has been an ongoing issue in some nations, as well as concerns about doomsday cults and destructive cults. Governments have undertaken various policies towards cults, ranging from tolerance to hostility, and this has also been a source of controversy.(...)

Source/read more

Other sources than wikipedia have of course other definitions. But for now, I will just point to wikipedias description.


How Cults Work

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=zxJyfqeaKU8

As a complement to the video above, I also present following reading:
Cult Watch

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So....what does cult means to you?

Would it be possible to say that most things are a cult or "cult like" in one way or another?
For example governments, companies, sport teams, families, gathering of friends etc etc?

Thoughts?

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

Hello there!

I was told that my childhood family was "cult-like" by a social worker, once.

That led me to believe that maybe "cult-like" means a system that completely counters and silences your natural instincts to suit its own agendas.
The members are recruited from the fringes of society in many cases, and they eventually become the enablers of the "machine".

There are many Christian groups that fall into the category of cult. And I was raised as one, so that's saying something.

Cults also seem to put a lot of financial pressure on people in some respects. Even many churches are aggressive in their tithe panhandling.
There are lots of traveling singers and preachers who live almost solely off of income gained from performing in churches.

A really popular cult in the early 1900s was the Theosophical Society. They really bent a lot of existing religious beliefs out of shape to pave the way for people like Hitler (and Maitreya)!

And in the USA we've always had the Freemasons, another society with shaded windows and locked doors, so to speak.
Why the secrecy if nothing is amiss? I always ask myself.
One look around DC and it's kind of obvious that the structures themselves reflect a very dogmatic point of view...

[Ellisa]

The term 'cult' always has a negative meaning, and it has always seemed to me that a 'cult' is the non-mainstream religion that someone else professes. Often such cults have a charismatic leader who requires specific behaviour, of a sometimes confronting type, and they often involve cultists wearing conforming clothing (especially the female members) and contributing donations of money.

Now the question arises-- if this is a description of a cult, why are not some, if not all, of the more established religions vilified as cults?

[mosquito]

Posted by Ellisa (here)
... Often such cults have a charismatic leader who requires specific behaviour, of a sometimes confronting type, and they often involve cultists wearing conforming clothing (especially the female members) and contributing donations of money.

Now the question arises-- if this is a description of a cult, why are not some, if not all, of the more established religions vilified as cults?

Sounds like most governments/countries fit the bill too !

[Flash]

What I know on an outsider basis to make sure you do not get into one:

They have an hermetic language that only initiates can understand (computer people must be part of a cult if we rely only on this item)
You feel push to comply with the majority's ways without understanding why
You start not respecting your inner feelings, needs, intuitions
They have group thinking (call group think in sociology) pathologies
If you think differently you feel guilty or worthless
When quitting the cult, extreme guilt surface
You are often fed for only the minimal maintenance of your body (underfed)
You often lack sleep while in the cult due to cult ceremonies and rituals

The interesting thing is that, as mentioned by mariposafe above, most governments and countries fit the bill to. If you are an American, when talking against USA, guilt surface. Everything is done for all of us to have group think (publicity, Fox news, etc) We are more and more pushed, through new laws and obligations to comply, to be like the majority without having power on our own lifes. Those with intuition, inner feelings and different knowledge are now pursued if they follow up on it. WE are now fed nutrient less foods, and most people sleep only 6 hours a night in our culture, which is truly not enough for the majority (science reveals that we need on average between 7 and 8 hours).

It seems that cults and dictatures have quite a lot of similarities.

[markpierre]

Girl Scouts of America fits the standard criteria. Boy Scouts for that matter. Any military, any church or religion. Any effort to police the mind from without.

Anything that disagrees with your cult, is a cult. I think the term should be burned.

[Nothingness]

Until we transcend our egos completely, aren't we all self-cults? Laughing. Until we transcend to any degree, aren't we all pretty much nutty buddies operating in an insane asylum? Our egos want to think we are perfect, and we are evolved, but isn't that an illusion? And if we are highly enlightened, what are we doing in a body anyway? And, if we do complete shadow work, don't we encompass some cult aspects?

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

Well, there seem to be two groups of people here,
people who like to define things and people who don't, lol!

I don't mind giving examples of something specific if it helps people to understand the meaning.

No offense... ?

[Lifebringer]

The way I understand a cult is: "To be a member of a group that wishes to remove themselves from others that don't believe as they do, and not think further than the lessons taught to put things together that are logical, loving, and non-violent, yet the leader has ulterior motives and beliefs, and are leading them slowly into his way of thinking, occasionally lying on others, belittling others publicly to instill fear of NOT believing as the leader says." UTAH Jeff, comes to mind. A bunch of old men forming a religion, where raping children or raising children to teen age and selecting them as wives, regardless of if they are daughters of the same father. Weird, non-sensicle? behaviors? Alter offerings of blood from animals and children. Jesus said during the Sabaath that the animals sacrificed were to be stopped. We can see that there are some who still believe in blood sacrifice. Cult like?

You betcha!
The lies to the wars which sacrifice our volunteers?

You betcha.

[Lifebringer]

Just being able to question what doesn't feel right, shows we are not cult. Most leaders don't allow for discussion just dictatorship doctrine, yes?

[earthadvocate]

Thank you for posting this movie and it is so descriptive of what a cult is, it made me laugh because it is so true! I have been a member of such a cult for 25yrs and I am lucky that I left and survived but it took me another 5yrs to make the transition to a normal human, and even now I think I still have a lot to catch up. It is hard for most people to truly understand unless you have been a member of those. I recommend Steve Hassan (freedomofmind.com) for whoever is trying to cop with leaving a cult.
Thank you again for posting this!

[RMorgan]

Hey brother,

Well, in my opinion, a cult is formed when a group of people, who can´t live in peace with the idea that no one has objective answers to the most significant existential questions, get together to follow fabricated explanations to the phenomenon of life, so they can support each other and pretend they have answers to everything, getting rid, at least temporally and superficially, of the agony that is trying to live with the unknown.

Where do we come from? What is our purpose here? Where we go when we die? This whole stuff is as old as the human race, and the fact is that no one has the answers. However, the vast majority of people simply can´t go on with their lives without answering such questions, they think it´s too painful, so they´d rather pretend they know it all than to live in peace with the mysteries of life.

That´s why people end up participating in the most weird cults and religions. This is a business, a supply/demand game. As long as people can´t find strength within themselves to admit that life is a completely mysterious phenomena, they will demand answers and there will always be people who will be extremely happy to supply them in exchange for money, sex, servitude, loyalty, energy, etc...

Of course, this leads to the most dramatic internal and external conflicts...You know, you can lie to your consciousness, but not to your sub-consciousness; Deep inside, every cult follower and religious person knows that they are just lying to themselves. There are consequences.

I, for one, am perfectly comfortable with the agnostic perspective. I don´t need to make up fake answers to pretend I know things I don´t actually know.

Knowledge is absolute; Either you know something or you don´t...Fake knowledge is called belief, which is simply fabricated and unfounded pseudo-knowledge that people create to make life "easier".

I´d rather examine life humbly, through the neutral perspective of the unknown, than doing it through the distorted and biased lens of fabricated dogmas and belief systems.

Well, to sum up, cults and religions are drug dealers; Dogmas and beliefs are the drugs they sell; The vast majority of people are dogmatic junkies; To be cured from such addiction, the first step is to admit you have a problem, but I don´t see many people willing to admit that, though.

Raf.

[InCiDeR]

Thank you all for your inputs. I will come back to you later regarding your well thought replies on this matter.

But first I have to watch a "cult-like" event taking place:

Final in the World Championship of icehockey between Sweden and Switzerland

The only reason I will watch this is of course to find clues if this should be considered a cult...

(This one's on me. Maybe I am beyond saving, feeling the needs to watch this game?)

[Ellisa]

There is a difference between a cult and a dictatorship. The cultists are usually in the cult because of a voluntary decision to join-- the same is not true of a lot of the people living under a dictatorship, and they usually cannot leave.

Similarly cultists find some sort of answer to questions which they have about their life and their relationship with others and the way forward within the cult- at least to start with. Dictatorships do not encourage such introspection!

InCiDeR- You have nicely illustrated one feature of cult membership. There has to be a reason for joining-- and the motivation is part of the cult behaviour.

How did your team go? My Aussie Rules Football team (I agree that is a cult, if not a religion for a whole town!) have just lost for the first time this season!

[Sidney]

Posted by Flash (here)
What I know on an outsider basis to make sure you do not get into one:

They have an hermetic language that only initiates can understand (computer people must be part of a cult if we rely only on this item)
You feel push to comply with the majority's ways without understanding why
You start not respecting your inner feelings, needs, intuitions
They have group thinking (call group think in sociology) pathologies
If you think differently you feel guilty or worthless
When quitting the cult, extreme guilt surface
You are often fed for only the minimal maintenance of your body (underfed)
You often lack sleep while in the cult due to cult ceremonies and rituals

The interesting thing is that, as mentioned by mariposafe above, most governments and countries fit the bill to. If you are an American, when talking against USA, guilt surface. Everything is done for all of us to have group think (publicity, Fox news, etc) We are more and more pushed, through new laws and obligations to comply, to be like the majority without having power on our own lifes. Those with intuition, inner feelings and different knowledge are now pursued if they follow up on it. WE are now fed nutrient less foods, and most people sleep only 6 hours a night in our culture, which is truly not enough for the majority (science reveals that we need on average between 7 and 8 hours).

It seems that cults and dictatures have quite a lot of similarities.

Very similar to dealing with a sociopath. They make sure you feel plenty of guilt when you disagree with them.

[wobbegong]

Posted by InCiDeR (here)
Thank you all for your inputs. I will come back to you later regarding your well thought replies on this matter.

But first I have to watch a "cult-like" event taking place:

Final in the World Championship of icehockey between Sweden and Switzerland

The only reason I will watch this is of course to find clues if this should be considered a cult...

(This one's on me. Maybe I am beyond saving, feeling the needs to watch this game?)

LOL!
Great thread mate, thanks. The film is brilliant! I think it pretty much sums it up, I couldn't add much to it. Just a thought on what you said:

Would it be possible to say that most things are a cult or "cult like" in one way or another?
For example governments, companies, sport teams, families, gathering of friends etc etc?

Maybe not many situations have ALL the features pointed out in the film, but you mention companies, that's a good example, I worked for a major computer company in the eighties and some of the antics it used to come up with were very, very, close to that.

...at 5'17"...doesn't the guy remind of someone we know?

[InCiDeR]

Before I go into some deeper thoughts, one thing stroke me:

Could this thread be considered "cult-like" or a cult in miniatyr.

I mean, IF we find some common grounds what a cult represent and how it works, should we be considered a "cult" as well?

How many members in a group have to agree before a "cult"-status can be declared?

How "big" must a group of like-minded be before it turns into a "cult" in other peoples eyes?


EDIT: Sweden won. But I am sure they just did it to keep me in line and not leave the group. I think most swedish players are paid by CIA.

[Prodigal Son]

Having been raised in the Jehovah's Witness religion, I can tell you that it is a perfect example of a cult. They are usually pyramids where only those at the top know the real agenda. Eash subsequent tier is privy to less and less. The entire ideology is concocted from and built upon a false premise or foundation. It discourages higher education for fear of its members learning critical thinking skills or thinking independently. It substitutes "heresy" with "apostasy". It disowns and shuns those who leave it or attempt to question its edicts or interpretations, even sometimes not being content with that, attempting to destroy their lives altogether.

This is a good Huffington Post article on the subject:

What Is A Cult? Recognizing And Avoiding Unhealthy Groups

P.S. .... my first post on my new MacBook .... this thing is driving me nuts

[InCiDeR]

Working for IKEA is the most sought after job in Sweden, they recieve thousands of applications everyday. Why is that?

If you examine how people feel and think about the company they work for, often you find IKEA at top in such a survey in Sweden. How come?

I believe it is because they use many strategies described in this thread, because if you ask former employees a whole different picture appear:

• The use mentors (called ambassadors) to teach you the "IKEA-way".
• All personell have to use certain clothes.
• They are trained to use certain phrases and language.
• You should not think that you did something good, instead ask yourself how you could do it better.
• They use big staged events to promote and praise certain employees.
• They take care of all your "social problems", like child care, so you don't have to bother friends, family or others.
• IKEA personell gives the owner, Ingvar Kamprad, a christmas gift from their salary every year that goes to a special charity fund. [like Kamprad needs that, the worlds 5th richest]
• Kamprad are always correct and anything that he does can be justified.
• Questions, suggestions, or critical inquiry are not welcome
• Required dependency upon the ambassadors for even the most basic problem-solving.
• Reporting an employee for disobedient actions or thoughts is mandated and rewarded.
• Former employees are shunned and perceived as hostile.
• etc etc

Inside the cult of Ikea

In the drawer of my hotel room in Almhult, there is a copy of the Gideon New Testament and the 2013 Ikea catalogue. That is because I am staying in the Ikea Hotel, in a small town in Smaland, southern Sweden - "the beating heart" of the world's largest furniture company. The twin publications are the first sign that this is no ordinary town, but the centre of a cult: Northern Europe's very own Pyongyang, where the Allen key has replaced the nuclear bomb, and Ingvar Kam-prad, Ikea's founder, is the locals' Kim Il-sung.(...)

Source

IKEA, Cult Branding Done Right

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZgUwkxitCts

People are camping outside. Traffic jams are so severe that highway exits must be shut down. Traffic lights are rendered useless requiring police to direct traffic. Is it a new Star Wars film? No, it’s the opening of a new Ikea store.(...)

Cult Branding


The Cult of IKEA

In the relatively modest canon of IKEA commentary/criticism it's impossible to find a piece in which, in one way or another, the description of the Swedish furniture giant is not couched in religious terms.

Just a few examples: a headline in the April 29, 2000 edition of the Toronto Star announcing the opening of the new IKEA showroom in Emeryville, CA proclaims, "Ikea spreads its cult to San Francisco area"; Matthew DeBord, In a recent article in Feed magazine, writes, "In a world of frantically fluctuating lifestyle trends. . .

IKEA functions as a rock-solid cathedral, a place to go for the sacred wisdom of good design." IKEA's new magazine, Space, writes DeBord, is "a glossy Bible that delivers, pre-packaged, the Gospel according to Ingvar Kamprad [IKEA's founder]."

While many would regard these metaphors as so much hyperbole, a little playfully figurative language at the expense of IKEA and its fans, the idea of IKEA as a sort of emerging world religion is not as far-fetched as it sounds. Simply put (in the Nike-ad sense of the word)

IKEA knows religion; more than that, it is not at all shy about borrowing rather liberally from the various rhetorical and symbolic apparati of religion or using what we might call a linguistic, visual and architectural grammar of religion to sell its myriad products.

Take, for example the current (2001) IKEA catalogue, everywhere in which there is evidence of a shift toward a visual and linguistic vocabulary through which the notion of "better living" (as in the IKEA motto "affordable solutions for better living") is defined as living in a world in which one's physical environment facilitates or increases the likelihood of spiritual awakening or fulfillment.

IKEA, in short, has begun to hawk its products with the promise that through our purchase and use of them (if we were to totally IKEA-ize our domestic world) we might achieve something close to the Zen idea of kensho (satori). Accordingly, the cover of the new catalogue invites us to "Uncover [our] inner home." Inside on p. 12, superimposed on a photograph of an IKEA-ized bedroom (white walls and bed linens, blond wood, just a few objects arranged carefully on shelves in front of tall windows, the only color supplied by two orange pillows and a blue bowl), we are greeted with the invitation to "Enjoy peace of mind," along with a caption that declares, "When everything clicks in a room, you create your own personal center for well-being."

The appropriation of Zen imagery and Zen-infused axioms continues elsewhere.(...)

Source/read more

[Warlock]

I believe most, if not all people, belong to some type of cult, whether they know it, or not.

Warlock