I won’t apologize. Facts will not allow me to do so. Facts do not care what we think of them, they just are, they just exist, apart from any belief.

This is why faith, in the presence of contrary fact, is stupidity.

I am not talking about “truth”. I speak of fact. They are not the same.

In spite of having written recently about this topic, I am revisiting it now.

Cults.

The really weird thing about cults is that members DO NOT THINK OR BELIEVE THEY ARE IN A CULT! They cannot fathom being so duped. The more one suggests a person is actually in a cult, the more firm that person becomes fixed in denial. It’s near impossible to get them to admit cult membership.

For example, I watched the HBO movie “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief” and the concept I am describing is voiced in the movie, that Scientologists do not realize they are in a cult. The person watching with me commented that it is unbelievable they could not recognize their cult membership, that it should be obvious to them! This person is a member of another cult!

Cultists are blind to their own cult membership. Period.

Have you asked yourself yet if you are a cult member? Could you be in more than one? (The answer to the second question is, “Yes.” We will explore the first one. With some honest critical thought, we will find the answer.)

Information/Background

“Destructive cults, groups, movements and/or leaders ‘maintain intense allegiance through the arguments of their ideology, and through social and psychological pressures and practices that, intentionally or not, amount to conditioning techniques that constrict attention, limit personal relationships, and devalue reasoning.'” — Margaret Singer, Ph.D.

“Many people think of mind control as an ambiguous, mystical process that cannot be defined in concrete terms. In reality, mind control refers to a specific set of methods and techniques, such as hypnosis or thought-stopping, that influence how a person thinks, feels, and acts.

Based on research and theory by Robert Jay Lifton, Margaret Singer, Louis Jolyon West, and others who studied brainwashing in Maoist China as well as cognitive dissonance theory by Leon Festinger, Steven Hassan developed the BITE Model to describe the specific methods that cults use to recruit and maintain control over people. “BITE” stands for Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional control.” (Steven Hassan’s Freedom of Mind website)

BITE Model:

Behavior Control

Promote dependence and obedience

Modify behavior with rewards and punishments

Dictate where and with whom you live

Restrict or control sexuality

Control clothing and hairstyle

Regulate what and how much you eat and drink

Deprive you of seven to nine hours of sleep

Exploit you financially

Restrict leisure time and activities

Require you to seek permission for major decisions

Information Control

Deliberately withhold and distort information

Forbid you from speaking with ex-members and critics

Discourage access to non-cult sources of information

Divide information into Insider vs. Outsider doctrine

Generate and use propaganda extensively

Use information gained in confession sessions against you

Gaslight to make you doubt your own memory

Require you to report thoughts, feelings, & activities to superiors

Encourage you to spy and report on others’ “misconduct”

Thought Control

Instill Black vs. White, Us vs. Them, & Good vs. Evil thinking

Change your identity, possibly even your name

Use loaded language and cliches to stop complex thought

Induce hypnotic or trance states to indoctrinate

Teach thought-stopping techniques to prevent critical thoughts

Allow only positive thoughts

Use excessive meditation, singing, prayer, & chanting to block thoughts

Reject rational analysis, critical thinking, & doubt

Emotional Control

Instill irrational fears (phobias) of questioning or leaving the group

Label some emotions as evil, worldly, sinful, or wrong

Teach emotion-stopping techniques to prevent anger, homesickness

Promote feelings of guilt, shame, & unworthiness

Shower you with praise and attention (“love bombing”)

Threaten your friends and family

Shun you if you disobey or disbelieve

Teach that there is no happiness or peace outside the group

Keep these points in mind as you watch the following YouTube video.

And this one.

This has been way too much for a single blog post so this topic will be continued in the next post.

Thank you for sticking with me so far on this post! As always, I invite your comments, please.