Analysis / Cult

Uses of the word "cult" and their relation to the fictional trope

The word "cult" (from Latin "cultus", "worship") can be confusing because it has several different meanings. You can barely say what it means at all without either being incomplete or taking a long time to say it. This is why the main page has been edited several times concerning the definition of the term. So as not to clutter the main page with it, here's a closer-to-complete exposition of the different uses and their problems.

• Any system of worship. This is a neutral sense in which academics like to use the word. For example, they might refer to the "cult of Osiris" in ancient Egypt or the "cult of Mary" in Catholicism, without implying it's a weird marginal group. (Heck, the Catholic Church itself expressly talks about the cults of Mary and the saints using that word.) It's more like an acknowledged subgroup or aspect of the main religion. You believe in the whole religion, but you mainly focus on devotion to one particular god, saint or aspect. The trope isn't about this; rather, it relates to variations of the next use:
• Pejorative way of referring to marginal groups. People can just call groups "cults" without a specific definition in mind but implying it means something negative, and probably assuming certain stereotypes. This kind of use is often regarded negatively for obvious reasons. Some suggest instead speaking of:
• New religious movements. Basically Exactly What It Says on the Tin. Another way is to look at the size and influence of the religious movements, where you get:
• Church vs. sect vs. cult. This division has been made in more than one way (sometimes with "denomination" thrown in for good measure), but broadly: "Church" is a large and mainstream religious movement; "sect" is a distinct fringe offshoot within a church; and "cult" is a movement that fails to be either, being small and not part of a church. Sometimes, a group will claim it's part of an established religion while the mainstream vehemently believes otherwise and calls it a "cult" to emphasize that. However, this doesn't explain the use of the word "cult" for non-religious groups, like "therapy cults". One such use not limited to religion is:
• "Dangerous cult", "destructive cult", or "high-control group". Some experts prefer to qualify a "cult" as a "dangerous cult" or "destructive cult". Alternatively, "high-control group" has seen a rise in usage for similar reasons as well as to try and sidestep confusion over the definition of "cult". This way, they aim for a more rigorous and narrower definition but mince no words beyond that. These "cults" fit the TV definition more closely — an authoritarian group, led by a charismatic leader, often with total control of its members' thoughts and actions. Although this definition is narrower, it does include non-religious groups; indeed, even widespread political movements like the Nazi party count as a "destructive cult" — after all, there's a reason they call it a Cult of Personality, and most such groups are political rather than religious. Although this usage is controversial, anti-cult activists will often insist on it as a means of educating the public on how dangerous these groups are (indeed, such education is part of our Useful Notes article). The effectiveness of this usage is such that cults have been known to accuse other, rival groups as "dangerous cults" (which makes it hard to discern whom to believe in this case).
• Charismatic groups. A broader definition, popularized by Marc Galanter's Cults: Faith, Healing, and Coercion. His argument in identifying all charismatic groups with "cults" is that all of them have the potential to be dangerous, even if they aren't actually dangerous yet. This combines pretty well with the above definition, in the sense that a "dangerous cult" is a charismatic group that has become dangerous.
• Closed faith community. There are many kinds of closed communities (few or no outsiders allowed to join) and a closed faith community would be like the Amish or the Jewish Haredi. These groups have their own problems, of course, most famously distrust of outsiders to the point of not reporting crimes to civil authorities and dealing with things like sexual abuse within the society.

Of course, it's perfectly possible for any single group to fit more than one of these definitions, or even all of them. This makes it even harder to tell what exactly is meant by a "cult". It's almost a relief that Hollywood prefers a very trope-tastic definition of a "cult", because at least the word is used consistently on TV.

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Types of cults

• Religious cults: Believe in some sort of higher power, often (but not always) a deity of some kind. It's popular with a dangerously charismatic leader, because they can usually paint themselves as a high-ranking prophet with special powers, if not a god themselves seeking direct worship. There are a few subcategories here:
  • Heretical cults: These are derived from "mainstream" religions like Christianity, Islam, Judaism, or Buddhism. They have a very esoteric interpretation of said religions' holy texts, and those religions do not recognize them as genuinely following their doctrine. Since those religions often describe a Messianic Archetype, this gives the leader an easy way to step into the role. Sometimes, the cult is based on a religion that's relatively uncommon in a certain region, like Buddhism or Hinduism in America, allowing the "guru" to get away with teaching The Theme Park Version and easier fit themselves into the mythology without anyone calling them on it. The ease with which a charismatic leader of a religious cult can get followers to do pretty much anything accounts for its high popularity on television.
  • Occult or Black Magic cults: These are the stereotypical Satan worshipers, but it's a bit more complicated than that. These groups define themselves in opposition to an established religion and use their Big Bads as a way of criticizing them. Satan worship, in particular, has less to do with admiration of Satan as it does with disgust with God. (And given the nature of religious warfare throughout history, they have a point.) But Hollywood Satanism is not about that — it's about going the extra mile and doing all the evil Black Magic things associated with Satan worship. This is common with leaders who love violence and control; rituals tend to be violent and invasive, ranging from tattoos to branding to blood rituals to outright Human Sacrifice. Media often props up Hollywood Satanism as a Straw Man to take down all of Satanism.
  • New Age cults: Has a ton of definitions of its own, but broadly speaking, instead of just the cult leader being God, you are God, too. It's a confidence game using New Age vocabulary and trappings. The leader presents themself as a mystic who has discovered a way to attain godhood but is generously willing to share knowledge — as long as you join their group and do exactly what you're told. The beliefs they use tend to be quite outlandish, along the lines of UFOs, channeling, faith healing, and a host of other supernatural powers. They'll use the trappings of other religions if they can get away with it (like the use of "chakras"). Among the best known examples are The I AM Religious Activity (founded in the 1930s), Elizabeth Clare Prophet's Church Universal & Triumphant and Carlos Castaneda.
• Political cults: A broader definition of a "cult", here seeking political goals. The charismatic leader will paint themselves as a political hero, the only one who can overthrow the forces of evil in charge and bring about positive political change. Most such groups are pretty radical, promoting revolutionary imagery and very prone to violence and terrorism. Many of them also dabble in racism and extremism — they utterly embrace being on the political fringe. These groups are heavily militarized; they have both the mindset and the tools to cause some serious harm. But at the same time, they're extremely paranoid, which often leads to their undoing — their total mistrust of the outside world converts to internal mistrust, and many such groups tear themselves apart. Unless they have a really charismatic leader, who demands absolute loyalty and essentially uses the cult as their personal army.
• Human potential cults: A broad term for a movement that claims to have discovered a breakthrough that will make people better in some way. They emphasize personal transformation and improvement. The charismatic leader is essentially the world's most effective life coach. Because of this, their followers will become obsessed with being as close to the leader as possible, seeing them as the epitome of what a human could be and trying to emulate them in every way. Cults of this kind run a spectrum: On one end, they try to sound as scientific as possible and tie in with psychotherapy, often working with the subconscious and filling in the gaps in human knowledge of the brain and body. On the other end, they go deep into "new age" practices with emphasis on things like attaining superpowers and reincarnation. These cults often have a very sinister undercurrent that takes advantage of the therapist-patient relationship: since members are encouraged to reveal very personal information about themselves, the cult can then use it to blackmail them and keep them in line. These groups appeal to educated and business people trying to maximize their personal and earning potential. Landmark Education is well known for this, and NXIVM has been much in the news in the 2020s.
• Commercial cults: A bizarre type that's essentially a Get-Rich-Quick Scheme. The leader presents themself as having found a way to get real rich, real fast, and employs Conspicuous Consumption to prove the point. Unlike many TV cults, this type does not retreat from society; instead, it often mobilizes its members to go out and sell products to the public at large. There is often no source of funds from outside the cult; if the cult leader is genuinely rich, they probably got their money from their members. They're often structured like a Ponzi scheme or a pyramid scheme; indeed, they usually cannot work without a charismatic investor at the top of the pyramid. This type of cult usually draws more disdain for the rank-and-file than others, as outsiders see them as greedy suckers who got what was coming to them. (There's a lot of overlap with human potential and New Age cults; all varieties of the long con.)
• One-on-one or family cults: The cult doesn't go beyond you and your partner, your family, or your teacher; at most, a small family owned business. The leader is aiming for a small group of members, or even a single person, and leveraging an intimate relationship to manipulate and control them. They do this by convincing the victim that they have special knowledge or powers. It overlaps heavily with abusive behavior in general — the leader will exploit the victim's insecurities, make them totally dependent on them, and harm them physically, sexually, and emotionally. When it's not an actual family (where devotion and loyalty are the main things keeping you), what makes this a "cult" is some fantastical element that separates the group from the outside world or convincing members that they are special or set apart in some way. It may be a matter of secret-keeping; someone is gay, or an alcoholic, or something else they don't want the whole world finding out about, but the leader knows and is "understanding", perhaps sharing the affliction or characteristic themselves. Or there's a certain goal to be reached (especially with small business cults). Sometimes the victim has an illness, drug addiction, etc., and the perpetrator will convince them that they have a secret way of treating it (and anything bad that happens to them is their own fault for not listening to them). Illness can also be used to leverage the leader's power over the group; they may have, or claim, a physical illness (say, migraine headaches) as an excuse for restrictive rules and severe punishments. A leader may even exploit their own mental illness (anxiety, panic attacks, nervous breakdowns, OCD, etc) this way. While it's rarely seen in the media, one exception is its portrayal in Bigger Than Life.
• The Cult of Personality: Any group with a really charismatic leader. While it often overlaps with one of the other categories, it doesn't have to — the leader doesn't have to pretend to special powers, godhood, or insight, but just has to be really awesome at what they do. They naturally have a fan club, and they turn it into something that feeds their massive ego. It's most common in politics (more than one real-life political leader, even a non-dictator, has been accused of having a personality cult); outside of that, you'll most likely see it in a very goal-oriented setting where the leader can teach the cult members how to do something really well, like martial arts, healing, or any form of art.

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Literature

Some of the listed books are also recommended on the Useful Notes page. This page covers other definitions too, and lists books pertaining to those as well.

• Cults In Our Midst; Margaret Thaler Singer
• Bounded Choice; Janja Lalich
• Arthur Deikman:
  • The Wrong Way Home
  • Them And Us: Cult Thinking And The Terrorist Threat
• Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion; Marc Galanter
• The Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults In America; J. Gordon Melton
• Cults Inside Out: How People Get In and Can Get Out; Rick Alan Ross
• Combatting Cult Mind Control; Steven Hassan
• Misunderstanding Cults: Searching For Objectivity In A Controversial Field; ed. Benjamin Zablocki and Thomas Robbins
• George Chryssides
  • Exploring New Religions
  • A Reader In New Religious Movements
• Spiritual Choices; Richard Anthony, Bruce Ecker and Ken Wilber
• Cults, Converts and Charisma; Thomas Robbins
• Frank MacHovec
  • Cults and Personality
  • Cults and Terrorism
• Cults, Religion and Violence; ed. David Bromley and J. Gordon Melton
• Violence and New Religious Movements; ed. James R. Lewis
• Revisionism and Diversification In New Religious Movements; ed. Eileen Barker
• Irving Hexham:
  • Understanding Cults and New Age Religions
  • New Religions As Global Cultures
• Minority Religions and Fraud: In Good Faith; ed. Amanda van Eck Duymaer van Twist
• Rodney Stark and William Sims Bainbridge:
  • The Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival and Cult Formation
  • Religion, Deviance and Social Control
• The Cambridge Companion to New Religious Movements; eds. Olav Hammer and Mikael Rothstein
• The Cult Experience; Andrew J. Pavlos
• Religion In Context: Cults and Charisma; I. M. Lewis
• Teaching New Religious Movements; ed. David G. Bromley
• Cults Wars In Historical Perspective; ed. Eugene Gallagher

Links

• International Cultic Studies Association; The challenge of defining the term "cult"
• Benjamin Zablocki takes apart Dick Anthony's critique of the brainwashing concept
• Secular and Religious Critiques of Cults: Complementary Visions, Not Irresolvable Conflicts
• Onimproveddialoguebetweentwo camps of cultic research
• Clubs, Neotribal Enclaves, and Cults: Variations on the Theme of Organizing Members
• INFORM; The Information Network On Religious Movements
• CESNUR; Center for Studies on New Religions; Including case studies of new religious movements
  • Includes texts in Italian and English
• Online texts about cults and new religions; Some of these links are unfortunately defunct, but others still work.
• Spiritual harm in new religions
• Wellspring Retreat Support services for recovery from psychological, spiritual, mental and emotional abuse. Specializes in religious cults and cult deprogramming. This is the center featured in the Ondi Timoner film Join Us.
• Cultic information search engines:
  • CounterCult Search, unlike the actual countercult movement focused on perceived theological heresies, returns results from a sociological perspective.
  • Apologetics Search is the one offering the perspective of Christian apologetics.
  • Tennessee State University - "Cults In America".

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