ICSA Reviews: How to Become a Cult Leader, Reviewed by Joseph Szimhart
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International Cultic Studies Association
Mon, Dec 11 at 2:00 AM
As part of our mission to support scholars, mental health professionals, and former cultic group members and their families, ICSA Reviews publishes, via email, social media, and in print, reviews of new and recent books and other media dealing with cults and coercive control.
Narrated by Peter Dinklage, produced by Citizen Jones/Estuary Films. Netflix release July 28, 2023.
Reviewed by Joseph Szimhart
I binge-watched the new, six-part Netflix series, “How to Become a Cult Leader,” deftly narrated by actor Peter Dinklage, after someone at ICSA Reviews asked if I was interested. Until that request, I’d avoided seeing it despite many social media notices from peers and participants in the series. Yes, I scanned some reviews, a couple indicating that the approach may have been too cheeky for such a dire topic. But if you know me, you will understand why I am not inclined to digest another cult exposé: Too much of anything can make one sick of it. Well, I gulped this one down easily enough which speaks to how well it was prepared and paced—despite the liberal spicing with cartoon commentary and old media footage mocking the content.
In my opinion it is cheeky, and it is a freakishly dire documentary that ends with the ominous warning that we are all either predators or prey in the ongoing cult game. I mean, the six episodes featured mostly dead cult leaders, all males, and all notoriously bad social actors who have had their stories told too often already: Charles Manson, Jim Jones, Jaimie1 (sic) Gomez of Buddhafield who still operates in Hawaii, Marshall Applewhite, Shoko Asahara, and Sun Myung Moon. Other cult leaders were named, perhaps a dozen, to fill in salient points about manipulation techniques and characterological disorders, but I will not mention them here. With a title like that, the series had to be cheeky in the sense of signaling potential cult leaders to think again: Only your deluded followers and kindred grifters will not be laughing at your transparently self-serving and ultimately disgusting behaviors.
Cult experts and ex-members filled in the narrative with personal comments stemming from extensive research and intimate knowledge of the cult leaders after years of cult participation. The ex-member testimonies provide the best insights for viewers who should note that cult members are no different than people viewing the documentary—yes, it can happen to you too. If the viewer does not get that message, they miss the point of the entire documentary: Cults tend to see from an us/them world view. By not seeing yourself in a former cult member, you are doing the same exclusive dance as someone in a cult. That old saying, ‘There but for the grace of God go I,’ applies here, too. That is better than thinking how stupid that person was to spend 20years of their life believing in that nonsense.
The series does not mention it, but a 1991 book, Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion2 by Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson includes a chapter (35) with the same title: “How to Become a Cult Leader.” The themes discussed in Age of Propaganda can be understood as the steps to becoming a cult leader in the Netflix series. They include:
Create your own social reality.
Create a granfalloon3 technique that splits a follower from reality.
Create commitment through dissonance reduction.
Establish the leader’s credibility and attractiveness.
Send members out to proselytize the unredeemed.
Distract members from thinking “undesirable” thoughts.
Fixate member’s vision on a phantom like heaven, a promised land, enlightenment, utter success, or salvation.
Age of Propaganda reminds us that cults use common propaganda tactics but with a more thorough and complete agenda: total control over your life. Age of Propaganda also cautions about something that the Netflix series misses: To be forewarned is not to be forearmed. Watching this series will likely do little or nothing to prevent the viewer from falling prey to a cult or becoming a cult leader. And why is that?
Think about it. As with most life events, vicarious experience has some value, but it is no substitute for actual experience to thoroughly grasp the event. Nevertheless, actual experience could be harmful. It is better to learn vicariously that the cults named in the series can harm you, but there is no guarantee that you will see what is coming after encountering an interesting teacher or leader. Cult leaders are not all consciously lying. Many believe in their fantastic ideas and techniques—so much so that they sound very convincing. That utter confidence in the message, whether connived or authentic, can fool most anyone not already informed about the history of the leader.
You might be a struggling actor in Los Angeles or New York with street smarts who attends a free workshop on how to improve your audition skills. I have done workshops for former members of two acting school cults in which the teachers managed to gain control over every aspect of more than a dozen young people through instructions like having sex with the teacher to improve their “openness” to new roles and techniques. Their first free sessions were a lot of fun, they said, and they felt they learned something. The sex, of course, came much later because a clever leader will observe how committed a student is to each new step. The inner core that is already initiated to secret teachings will keep the deeper teachings secret until the leader indicates that a newer student is ready.
The series is worth a look. I learned a few things about familiar cults that I was not aware of. With so much crammed in, the series left a lot out about all the groups and leaders. So expect to be entertained more than informed, though knowing something about how cult leaders operate is still a plus. There is a slim chance it will help some viewers to stop, think, and do more research after they have had fun at a free, self-improvement workshop. It might also inspire someone to do an exposé on a new manipulative cult that has not yet had media fame.
Notes
[1] FYI: Both Netflix and IMDB have misspelled Jaime Gomez’s name as Jaimie online and in their Series notes.
[2] A granfalloon, in the fictional religion of Bokonism (created by Kurt Vonnegut in his 1963 novel Cat’s Cradle), is defined as a “false karass.” That is, it is a group of people who affect a shared identity or purpose, but whose mutual association is meaningless. This definition is attributed to a footnote referencing a review, by Alison Carpenter, of the Pratkansis & Aronson book, Age of Propaganda in the Wikipedia entry on granfalloon.
[3] Age of Propaganda, originally published in 1991, was updated and reissued in paperback by a different publisher in 2001. Please see below for detailed references.
Dinklage, P., Pasht, J. B., Bekhor, J., Ginsberg, D., & Laufer, J. (Executive Producers). (2023-present). How to become a cult leader [TV series]. Citizen Jones/Estuary Films. Streaming on Netflix. Released July 28, 2023.
Pratkanis, A. & Aronson, E., (1991). Age of propaganda: The everyday use and abuse of persuasion. W. H. Freeman & Co.
Pratkanis, A. & Aronson, E., (2001). Age of propaganda: The everyday use and abuse of persuasion. Updated paperback edition. Henry Holt & Company, Inc.
About the Reviewer:
Joseph Szimhart, ICSA Today’s Book Review Consultant, began research into cultic influence in 1980, after ending his two-year devotion to a New Age sect. He worked professionally as an intervention specialist from 1986 through 1988. He continues to assist people with cult-related problems including consultations via phone and Internet. In 2016 he received an ICSA Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual conference in Dallas, Texas. From 1998 to 2023 he worked for an emergency psychiatric hospital as a crisis caseworker, retiring in May of this year. He maintains an art studio and exhibits professionally. His novel, Mushroom Satori: The cult diary, was published in 2013, and his memoir, Santa Fe, Bill Tate, and me: How an artist became a cult interventionist, was published in 2020.
Reviews published online by ICSA Reviews may also appear in our publications ICSA Today and the International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation.
The views expressed in ICSA Reviews are solely those of the reviewers and do not necessarily reflect the views of ICSA’s directors, advisers, or staff. Groups analyzed or mentioned in this column are not necessarily cults, nor are they necessarily harmful.
Founded in 1979, ICSA’s mission is to provide information, education, and help to those adversely affected by or interested in cultic and other high-control groups and relationships. More Info.
Cult specialist Livia Bardin's helpful classic; Heralds of the Gospel, censured by Vatican but not suppressed. Saint Pope John Paul II blesses Fr. Marcial Maciel, LC, pedophile, psychopath and founder of the Legionaries of Christ now morphed into Regnum Christi Federation; Father Fernando Martínez LC abused prominent Mexican TV personality Analu Salazar and seven other girls at Cancun school when she was eight years old; Fr. Maciel embraces Paul Lennon after his priestly ordination; Fr. Urrutigoity, abuser, and founder of the Society of Saint John in the USA 1997, now suppressed.
<Beware of cultic leaders and groups
Often the line between a cult and conventional religion is blurred; and some cults even claim to be Christian while bear no resemblance to authentic Christianity.
By John Alonso Dick | Belgium
LA CROIX, France’s leading Catholic Newpaper
November 7, 2023
According to Hebrew tradition, when Moses went up into Mount Sinai in the 13th century BCE to receive the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:12-18), he left the Israelites for forty days and forty nights. The Israelites became restless and fearful in his absence. Turning away from God, and led by Moses’ brother Aaron, they directed their devotion to worshiping the Golden Calf. It was immediate, provided simple answers, and required no thinking. An early cult.
There are of course more contemporary examples, where people become fearful, want immediate and simple answers to life’s big issues and problems. They stop thinking. Their critical faculties decline and they surrender to the simple but phony propaganda of cultic leaders. And they are usually supported by far-right movements with strong racial supremacy.
Turning fantasy and fiction into accepted truths
Quite often the line between conventional religion and a cult is not so clearly defined. Cults are exclusive, highly secretive, and authoritarian. Some cults even proclaim Christianity but bear no resemblance to anything truly and authentically Christian. There are also political cults, which attract and control because they act like captivating religions, whose only demands are obedience and unquestioned loyalty.
A typical cult has a somewhat theatrical and unaccountable leader, who persuades by coercion and exploits the cult’s members economically, sexually, or in some other way. Cult leaders shun and ostracize people who don’t accept the cult’s exclusive claims to truth. When it comes to truth, cult leaders gradually turn fantasy and fiction into accepted truths by continually repeating false statements in rhetoric, propaganda, and the media. Cult leaders are false prophets.
The features and signs cultic development
The American psychiatrist, Robert Jay Lifton (b. 1926), known for his studies of the psychological causes and effects of political violence, delineates these three common features of destructive cults:
(1) A living leader, who has no meaningful accountability and who becomes the single most defining element of the group and its source of power and authority.
(2) A process of indoctrination, persuasion or thought reform, commonly called “brainwashing.” In this process, members of the group often do things that are not in their own best interest, but in the best interest of the group and its leader.
(3) Economic, sexual, social, and political exploitation of group members by the leader and the ruling coterie.
The warning signs of cultic development are clear:
It advocates authoritarianism without meaningful accountability. Leaders, if not downright evil are self-centered, mediocre, crass, and juvenile.
No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry. Dissent and criticism are not permitted. Those who dissent are marginalized, excluded from decision-making, and labeled “troublemakers” or “dangerous,” or even demonic.
The leader promotes exaggerated and misguided fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophes, evil conspiracies, and persecutions.
Members of the cult believe their leader was sent by God to change the world; and all must therefore be obedient and loyal to the leader.
We all need to be alert to cultic leaders and groups. They are unhealthy and pernicious. We need to have the courage to speak out. They thrive on fear and fear of social change; and they take advantage of people by controlling information and promoting fear. In the process, they support a very unhealthy kind of religion.
John Alonso Dick is an historical theologian and former academic dean at the American College, KU Leuven (Belgium) and professor at the KU Leuven and the University of Ghent. His latest book is Jean Jadot: Paul’s Man in Washington (Another Voice Publications, 2021).
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of La Croix International)
Catholic Orders and Movements accused of being Cult-like
J.Paul Lennon
I begin with two examples of problematic Catholic groups:
The first one re a group in the USA circa 1940s:
A short excerpt from the article: I grew up in a Catholic Cult I had to tell my story before I could accept that.[i]
By Patricia Chadwick
“Mom,” my daughter said in a take-charge tone of voice that reminded me of myself. “There are two things I have to tell you.” It was our first time seeing each other since I shared the manuscript of my memoir with her a couple of months earlier.
“First,” she said, “you need to stop everything until you finish your book. And second, you have to accept the fact that you grew up in a cult.”
I had been working on the book, Little Sister[ii] for eight years, and my daughter, then a junior in college, knew the story of my upbringing within the Saint Benedict Center. [Saint Benedict Center was founded by Catherine Clarke in 1940 as a meeting place for Catholic college students in the Boston area.] I had been taking her to visit my childhood home her entire life.
Her words struck me full-on, and I could answer only one of her demands. “I’m working day and night on it, darling, and I’m almost there,” I replied. But her description of my childhood caught me completely off guard. A cult? My home was a cult?
After the publication of my book, I began to share my story at libraries and clubs and on radio shows around the country. I came to realize that my listening audience agreed with my daughter: I had been brought up in a cult. The signs that I had overlooked were now staring me in the face: blind obedience to an absolute authority, centralized financial control, paranoia about the outside world, separation of families, scorn for those who left the cult. Why had I missed what now seemed so evident?
The Second example is from a present day powerful Latin American Catholic group.
Victims’ lawyer says scandal-plagued lay group could soon be dissolved[iii]
ROME – One of the lawyers defending victims of a scandal-ridden Peruvian (CATHOLIC) lay group has voiced confidence that the civil case he is leading against several of its members will move forward, and he believes the organization could soon be dissolved.
Speaking to Crux, José Ugaz, a named partner with the Benites, Vargas & Ugaz law firm in Peru, said they are “very interested in the dissolution of this institution, which has had a criminal vocation among the highest ranks of its leadership.”
“We also know that at the level of the church, this is being evaluated and it’s possible that the church will make a decision in the coming months,” he said.
The group in question is the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), one of the largest and most prominent Catholic lay groups in Latin America. It was founded by Peruvian layman Luis Fernando Figari in the 1970s.
Figari, who is accused of physical, psychological, and sexual abuses, including of minors, was sanctioned by the Vatican in 2017 and prohibited from having further contact with members of the group or making public statements on the matter. He is now living in exile.
The Criteria:
The criteria I have used to identify “cult-like”, coercive, high demand, high control, harmful groups are the classic ICSA, Langone et al. Other interesting approachs would be to apply Steven Hassan’s BITE model, Janja Lalich’s, or other reputable criteria to identify groups of concern.
The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader (alive or dead) and regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.
Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s)
The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).
The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s), and its members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).
The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.
The leader is not accountableto any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).
The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members’ participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before they joined the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).
The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.
Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and to radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before they joined the group.
The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.
The group is preoccupied with making money.
Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.
Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.
The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.
Note: # 7
Based on the behavior of some Catholic priest founders, I suggested the parenthesis be ommitted. Dr. Michael Langone agreed.
The Method:
The method is simple, even simplistic: apply criteria commonly accepted in the psychological and cultic fields to the modus operandi, functioning -rather than the modus credendi– of certain Catholic institutes and associations. The results are tentative and open to further discussion. Hopefully, they will be, at least, thought- provoking.
What may be unique about this study is that the groups in question are mostly mainstream Catholic, many are numerous and international, and possessing official Church approval. They are not, per se, maverick or rebellious associations. In fact, many have sprung up as a reaction against progressive movements and are fiercely loyal to the pope, Tradition, orthodox doctrine and Catholic authorities. What do you think?
List of Groups
Here is a list of groups I have studied to some extent:
Legionaries of Christ and its Regnum Christi Lay Movement
Questionable aspects of the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi Movement immediately spring to mind:
(cult-like charasteristic #)
Multiple abusing founder to whom old-guard members still profess veneration and presently attempt to reinstate.
Leadership cadre appear to have assimilated his modus operandi, including the end justifies the meansand manipulative procedures.
Main focus on recruiting
Obsession with fundraising.
As early as 2002, this writer formulated his critique of his former religious order and presented it at an I.C.S.A. conference in Enfield, CT, USA. The presentation was overshadowed by the testimony of Legion early member and Marcial Maciel’s sexual abuse victim, Juan Jose Vaca. However, Lennon’s analysis was accepted by I.C.S.A [iv] for inclusion in its archives, and also appeared on the www.regainnetwork.org page. When the Legion sued Lennon and ReGAIN in August 2007, it demanded this essay be taken down as part of the settlement. The areas pin-pointed by Lennon were:
Besides all the written rules, the Legion operates in the context of several unwritten, undergirding principles, such as
(cc # )
Do not question the Legion Way and what you are told by your superiors. Never publicly or privately express Dissent.
One Clearly Defined Meditation Method was imposed on all members, which led to mind-numbing. Members’ time was constant non-stop and strictly regulated, allowing no down time for personal reflection. Lennon stated: “The Legionary’s daily regimen is a constant stream of activities, prayer exercises, and formulas designed to keep him constantly enthused about his calling to the Legion.”
The essay also illustrated the myriad of rules, norms, and recommendations that dictated in great detail how members should think, act and feel, etc.
Scientific Note: Carmen Almendros[v] from the University of Madrid and International Cultic Studies Association, in her initial studies of the harmful effects of high-demand groups included former members of Opus Dei, Legion of Christ, Regnum Christi and other groups. Several of the Big Seven have come to the attention of ‘cult-watchers’ such as Steven Hassan and Rick Ross, I.C.S.A. and can be searched on their web pages.
The Heralds of the Gospel, case study
The writer was contacted by a former member of this organization in 2014 who expressed his concern after a female friend had just taken her perpetual vows there. He was surprised that this controversial group was approved by the Vatican. A cultish association, TFP, after the death of its founder, transformed itself into the Church-approved Heralds of the Gospel
Wikipedia: “The Heralds of the Gospel (Portuguese: Arautos do Evangelho; Latin: Evangelii Praecones, abbreviated to EP) [1] is a Roman Catholic International Association of Pontifical Right based in Brazil.[2] Founded by Msgr. João Scognamiglio Clá Dias, the organization is active in 78 countries.[3]
The Heralds of the Gospel are a successor organization to the original Brazilian Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, and claim heritage to the beliefs of its founder, Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. They were created on 21 September 1999 but were only recognized as an “International Association of Pontifical Right”, the first established by the Holy See in the third millennium, on the liturgical feast of the Chair of St. Peter, 22 February 2001.”[vi]
Known for their outfit: a short tunic, with a big red and white cross on the chest, and boots like those of jockeys (see photo), the Heralds have spread to 78 countries, have many vocations, involve thousands of young people, and were supported by Slovenian Cardinal Franc Rodè, at the time Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Religious.
The group is under Vatican investigation.
Among other reports which started the Vatican investigation, are the letters and videos sent to Rome by Alfonso Beccar Varela regarding strange exorcisms. For at least thirty years there were rumors of the existence within TFP and then the Heralds, of a sort of secret society, “Semper viva”, involving the cult of Donna Lucilia Corrêa, Plinio Corrêa’s mother, and João Scognamiglio Clá Dias. A cult that the Church does not allow.
The videos uploaded by Alfonso Beccar Varela are frequently moved to other addresses as the Heralds are undertaking legal actions in Brazil to delete them for violating copyright laws. The images show exorcisms performed with formulas not approved by ecclesiastical authority, but above all the footage show (Lennon: improper) encounters between the founder and some priests.
The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, the Heralds of the Gospel’s church in Embu das Artes, São Paulo (Wikimedia Commons/Webysther Nunes)
Vatican Intervention of Heralds of the Gospel[vii]
Vatican orders Apostolic Visitation (euphemism for “investigation”) of Heralds in 2017
On 23 June 2017, the Holy See Press Office published a press release expressing how the Congregation, in agreement with the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, had called for “an Apostolic Visitation of the Association known as Heralds of the Gospel, of which the International Public Association of the Faithful of Pontifical Right, Heralds of the Gospel, the Society of Priestly Apostolic Life, Virgo Flos Carmeli, and the Society of Female Apostolic Life, Regina Virginum, are members”.[viii]
· Pope approves Commissioner for “Heralds of the Gospel”[ix]
The Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life announces the Pope’s decision following an investigation of the Association begun in 2017. The Pontifical Commissioner appointed for the Association founded by Msgr Scognamiglio Clá Dias, is Brazilian Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis.
The Vatican stated in this regard: “The reasons for the Apostolic Visitation, and the decision to appoint an Pontifical Commissioner for the Heralds, are linked to shortcomings concerning the style of government, the life of the members of the Council, the pastoral care of vocations, the formation of new vocations, administration, the management of works and fundraising.”
Heralds dispute the validity of the appointment of the Commissioner on technical/canonical reasons:
“The Commissioner is invalid,” says President
On October 17, the President of the Heralds of the Gospel, Felipe Eugenio Lecaros Concha (Chilean, 60 years old), along with his General Council, received the visit of Don Raymundo Damasceno Assis and Dom José Aparecido Gonçalves de Almeida, appointed commissioner and assist for the “Heralds International Public Association of the Gospel”. The report had access to the minutes of the meeting. In it, the President addresses the following initial words to the prelates:
“We revere you as bishops of the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, and as such both are the object of our consideration, but we must declare that we do not recognize Your Eminence as ‘Commissioner’ of the Private Association of Herald stalwarts of the Gospel, which I am the legitimately elected President.”
The President of the Heralds of the Gospel states that the decree notifying the Association Commissioner is simply invalid, and gives the reasons…[x]
Vatican orders all students at Heralds schools to be sent home at end of academic year [xi]
Vatican City — in a decree dated June 22, 2021, The Holy See instructed the ultra-conservative religious order, the Heralds of the Gospel, to close their boarding schools and send the students home …
Denouncing the “rigid discipline” and the isolation of families, who were gradually cut off from the young boarders, the Vatican decided that, to prevent “abuse of conscience and control”, minors “admitted in any capacity” to the Heralds or living in their houses, colleges and convents, should return “to live with their families and in the care of their parents” before next June.[xii]
Heralds appeal Vatican order to close schools[xiii]
The Heralds of the Gospel filed an appeal to the decree of Aug. 15 (2021), expressing their disagreement to Cardinal Braz de Aviz and noting that “none of those responsible” for the association “was called to address the complaints” nor were they “granted the possibility of defense.”
The Heralds also noted that the parents who made the decision to send their children to these homes weren’t heard from, and that the people who complained to the Holy See for the most part were not parents of minors.
Those same people, the Heralds’ press office stated, also filed a complaint with the Brazilian civil authorities and the case investigating the physical and psychological abuse of minors “was already adjudicated and dismissed” by the Sao Paulo Court of Justice Aug. 24.
These accusations, “already examined in civil court, were inadmissible,” the Heralds’ press office stated.
Common Characteristics of Harmful Catholic Groups
Help for Concerned Parents, Family, Friends and Prospective Members of Questionable Groups:
As a help to concerned parents and prospective members, instead of a summary, the author will present his list of cult-like characteristics. Besides Tydings’ consideration, the writer has sifted through classical cult characteristics in the psychological and sociological fields (Langone-Tobias, et.al), Catholic attempts such as Peter Vere’s Sifting the Wheat from the Tares[xiv]. The criteria described in the French language book, From Bondage to Freedom, reviewed here have also been most helpful. Based on over thirty years study and experience interviewing and counseling former members and their families of mostly Catholic harmful groups and on the research of the Catholic groups here, the author presents some specific applications of those common “scientific” criteria helpful in examining potentially harmful groups:
Abusive founder and/or leaders-leadership, including but not limited to abuse of power, exploitation and sexual abuse of members and followers.
Manipulative/deceptive/ aggressive recruiting of members (young, idealistic, inexperienced, in life transition…),
Unscrupulous fundraising and fraudulent money-management, “financial irregularities.”
Insufficient or faulty Discernment of calling and life path.
Foreclosure (Premature major commitments made suddenly or too early, without due deliberation): for example, giving up all earthly belongings, inheritance, going on a faraway mission, rashly embracing celibacy and the priesthood.
Isolation from family, friends, and previous support system; exclusion of “outsiders” and former members.
Systematic Control of Behavior, Information, Thoughts and Emotions (see Steven Hassan’s B.I.T.E. model.
Leaders’ excessive authority and influence, demanding blind obedience: they directly represent God and speak in his name. Members put them on a pedestal and want to please.
Superiors and or “spiritual directors” tell members whether or not they “have a vocation,” a special call from God from all eternity binding them to this concrete lifestyle in this specific group.
Directors’/superiors’/spiritual directors do not explore or respect candidates’ and members’ sexual orientation.
May tell them to remain single or marry, and whom to marry…
Want to control when, where and the how a member can leave.
Black and White thinking prevails; “no half measures”; with selective scripture quotes to bolster: “He who is not with me is against me.” No room for questioning or doubting.
Emphasis on Discipline, with Unreachable Goals of Holiness or Perfection -often fleshed out in a multiplicity of rules- which lead to obsessive-compulsivity, guilt feelings and low self-esteem. (Naturally, you are going to fall short).
Community Confession and Shaming (“Chapter of Faults”) may be used; public humiliation; leaders harshly criticize members in public, “make an example” of them. Members are expected to snitch on each other.
Elitist and Us Vs Them, siege mentality. “We are special, chosen by God”, “others would not understand,” Critics “hate and are out to destroy us, the Catholic priesthood, the Church, His Holiness the pope” …
Heavy-handed retention: Loss of vocation, sure damnation. Straight to hell! You won’t make it on your own out there. You will fall into serious sin and vices. You are betraying Jesus. Turning your back on God!
Ostracism/shunning, emotional cut-off and despising exiting and former members: “failures,” “unfaithful,” “traitors,” “disgruntled old men,” “envious,” “vengeful”
Opponents are harassed, threatened, pursued, and even sued in the name of God, Jesus, Truth, Charity…
Lennon remarks how most definitions of harmful groups contain the mention of a charismatic leader. It is his contention that even when harmful groups are often founded by “malignant narcissists”, such groups are harmful essentially because of their damaging structure and, specifically, by their Modus Operandi, i.e., methods used in recruiting, retaining members and treating dissidents, “throw-aways” and “walk-aways” which often survive the founder. Though at the beginning there is usually the charismatic abusive founder, such abusive behaviors of the founders or leaders are the sirens that alert outsiders to gather more information and examine more carefully the harmful structures and the functioning or Modus Operandi, that perpetuates the various forms of abuse.
A Work in Progress:
This is a work in progress. In my booklet I have studied a smorgasbord of Catholic orders and movements loosely based on their importance, size, notoriety and relevance. There are many other groups in the Catholic Church of which I am unaware or only partially aware and knowledgeable about.
Naturally, I would also like to know whether I have overlooked any other works that have covered the same material!
If you are concerned about a group that is not mentioned, I would suggest you apply the above criteria; if the group fits a good number of the criteria, then it requires further study: information gathering, articles, questioning by “cult-watch” associations, visiting their centers, testimonies of former members… For Catholics, this could entail discussing the group and your interest with a mature priest or religious…
Is there a group that is not covered and that you believe should be?
I would also be obliged if you would let me know so I can give it my attention.
Are you particularly interested in one of the groups covered?
Do you know more about one of these groups than I do?
If so, would you share your info with me, or prefer to write your own study, or co-write with me?
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