Broadband Politics

Posted by Richard Bennett

Paramount Studios has declined to extend Tom Cruise’s production contract, citing his increasingly erratic public behavior. A big part of this is his constant recruiting for Scientology, of course. So a controversy has erupted over cults in general, and not surprisingly Arianna Huffington’s Post has taken the side of the cults. Arianna, you see, is a long-time member of a cult, John-Roger’s MSIA, and her membership probably cost her gay ex-husband a seat in the US Senate. She’s got Russell Shaw standing up for the cults, which he does about as well as he does anything, which is to say, not very.

Shaw argues that cults are cults because they have wacky beliefs, but all religions have wacky beliefs so there’s no difference between Scientology and the Catholic Church. We know how unsympathetic the Huffers are to religion, so these crocodile tears aren’t exactly persuasive.

If you want to know what a cult is, and how to distinguish cults from legitimate religions, start with Michael Langone’s Checklist of Cult Characteristics, as revised by Janja Lalich:

Concerted efforts at influence and control lie at the core of cultic groups, programs, and relationships. Many members, former members, and supporters of cults are not fully aware of the extent to which members may have been manipulated, exploited, even abused. The following list of social-structural, social-psychological, and interpersonal behavioral patterns commonly found in cultic environments may be helpful in assessing a particular group or relationship.

Compare these patterns to the situation you were in (or in which you, a family member, or friend is currently involved). This list may help you determine if there is cause for concern. Bear in mind that this list is not meant to be a “cult scale” or a definitive checklist to determine if a specific group is a cult. This is not so much a diagnostic instrument as it is an analytical tool.

*? The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) 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 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 accountable to 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 joining 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 radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining 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.

This checklist will be published in the new book, Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships by Janja Lalich and Madeleine Tobias (Berkeley: Bay Tree Publishing, 2006). It was adapted from a checklist originally developed by Michael Langone.

One thing I would add to this list is the existence of secret teachings and goals that are only provided to members in proportion to their degree of commitment to the cult. Scieno has lots of these.

In essence, it’s not the beliefs that make it a cult, it’s the system of control. So if you insist that no line can be drawn between cults and religions, as Shaw does, you’re actually bashing religion, not defending it. And that’s what you’d expect to see on Huffington’s Post, isn’t it?