[Copyright the Fellowship for Intentional Community 1996]

A Word About Cults

At the same time that the hippie communes were attracting major attention in the '60s and early '70s, the so-called "cults" -- manipulative, authoritarian mass movements -- began growing in popularity and attracting many young people who were generally confused and lost, or burned out on drugs. Today, the cults are still recruiting large numbers of people, and are still sensationalized in the media.

Many people are desperate to change themselves and to change the world. Some are so lonely and alienated from family, religion, or friendships that any group that looks loving and supportive is very magnetic, even if the price is one's personal freedom. The very legitimate search for truth, personal and spiritual values, and transcendence is easily exploited by power-driven "cult" leaders.

There is a problem, though, in defining exactly what a cult is. The point at which a group actually crosses the line between what is acceptable and what is not depends a great deal on a person's values. As Ken Keyes, author of The Handbook to Higher Consciousness, expressed it:

A "cult" is a term you would use to apply to that which you don't like...so I don't really have much use for that term. I could tell you [about] the groups that I feel are sincerely trying to do something good for the world and that I like...I don't consider them "cults."

It may be hard to define exactly what a cult is since it is such a subjective, emotionally laden label. However, we would warn people about a group that manifests many of the following traits.

encourages the violation of personal ethics or encourages deception to prove loyalty to the group

encourages relinquishment of personal responsibility for actions

restricts access to outside people or information

inhibits critical thinking so that "group think" predominates, and many subjects are taboo for discussion

restricts the ability to leave the group

restricts privacy

uses intense indoctrination

demands absolute obedience

applies intense pressure toward groupconformity

demands stereotyped behavior

physically or psychologically encourages overdependency

manipulates feelings in a conscious way

appeals to fear of not being saved or enlightened

appeals to greed

appeals to power

appeals to the glamour of being one of the elect

appeals to vanity and flattery

uses guilt or humiliation to control behavior

employs intimidation or threats

plays on low self-esteem or feelings of inadequacy

encourages sexual relationships with group leaders

uses high-pressure sales pitches and plays on loyalty of friends to attract members

evidences extreme paranoia, as in stockpiling of firearms for "protection"

Bibliography

Deikman, Arthur J., "The Evaluation of Spiritual and Utopian Groups," Journal of Humanistic Psychology (Summer 1983), and The Wrong Way Home: Uncovering the Patterns of Cult Behavior in American Society (Boston: Beacon Press, 1990), $19.95.

McLaughlin, Corinne, and Gordon Davidson, Builders of the Dawn: Community Lifestyles in a Changing World (Shutesbury, MA: Sirius Publishing, 1985), $17.95 plus $1.50 postage.

Vaughn, Frances, "A Question of Balance: Health and Pathology in New Religious Movements," Journal of Humanistic Psychology (Summer 1983).

[Editor's note: Inclusiveness was a guiding value in creating the Directory; so information on a wide array of choices is offered. As editors we have relied primarily on information provided by local community sources, and are not in a position to judge the quality of some of this information. Still, there are "cult" communities -- so the above guidelines may be helpful in distinguishing them for the vast majority of benevolent and self-affirming intentional communities.]