Identifying and Coping with Cults
Most people seem to believe cults are about religion, robes, and/or UFOs, but cults aren't about theology or cosmology - they're about mental, social, emotional control. A cult doesn't need a compound, robes, or cosmology - just a belief so total and consuming that it swallows the rest of your identity.
We tend to think that cults draw other people.
Dumb people.
Weak-minded people.
People who aren't as smart or educated or skeptical as we are.
The truth is that cults don't rely on stupidity, they rely on conviction and the need to belong.
Conviction makes people feel important, righteous, elite, and part of something bigger than themselves.
That kind of thinking isn't rare. It's everywhere.
Features of All Cults
The Leader/Doctrine Is Infallible
It doesn't have to be a person. It can be an ideology, a set of principles, or a revolutionary narrative. What matters is that it's never wrong. Any mistake, contradiction, or moral failing is either denied, excused, or reframed as proof of how right the group is.
Outsiders Are Enemies
There are no legitimate opponents, only evil ones. If you're not with us, you're corrupt. The world is divided into us (good, awakened) and them (bad, brainwashed, oppressive). The possibility of good-faith disagreement is off the table.
Doubt = Betrayal
Skepticism isn't healthy, it's treason. Asking questions means you've already failed a loyalty test. You either accept the whole package or you're a danger to the group.
The Cause Justifies Everything
Because the group is always right, its behavior is always justified. Harassment, threats, violence, lying, and dehumanization are all fair game if they serve the mission.
Truth Is Monopolized
They have The Truth. Everyone else is misled or malicious. Any source that contradicts the group is propaganda. Any evidence that complicates the narrative is ignored or dismissed.
Purity Is Mandatory
You don't get to agree with parts and question others. There is no cafeteria plan. You believe it all, or you're compromised.
There Is No Exit Without Punishment
Try leaving. Try expressing doubt. You will be humiliated, discredited, and demonized. The group will claim you were never a real believer anyway.
These Features in Famous Cults
Jonestown (People's Temple - Jim Jones)
A political-religious movement that ended in the mass murder-suicide of over 900 people in Guyana in 1978.
Infallible Leader - Jim Jones was treated as a prophet and god-like figure.
Outsiders = Enemies - The US government and defectors were seen as existential threats.
Doubt = Betrayal - Defectors were labeled traitors, dissent was suppressed.
Cause Justifies Everything - Abuse, mind control, and ultimately mass death were rationalized.
Truth Is Monopolized - Only Jones' interpretation of the world was accepted.
Purity Is Mandatory - Members were forced to adopt strict ideological conformity.
No Exit Without Punishment - Defectors were hunted, threatened, or killed.
Heaven's Gate (Marshall Applewhite & Bonnie Nettles)
A UFO-doomsday cult whose members believed they would ascend to a spaceship by shedding their bodies. Ended in 39 suicides in 1997.
Infallible Leader - Applewhite was seen as the only conduit to salvation.
Outsiders = Enemies - Non-believers were seen as "Luciferians" and corrupt.
Doubt = Betrayal - Questioning the teachings endangered the "exit plan."
Cause Justifies Everything - Suicide was framed as liberation from Earth.
Truth Is Monopolized - All external sources were rejected and only the leaders had access to "The Next Level."
Purity Is Mandatory - Strict celibacy, dress codes, and detachment from the world were enforced.
No Exit Without Punishment - Psychological control and isolation made leaving nearly impossible.
Scientology (L. Ron Hubbard / David Miscavige)
A pseudo-religious organization founded by a science fiction writer, known for aggressive legal tactics, secrecy, and abuse allegations.
Infallible Leader - Hubbard's writings are treated as scripture and Miscavige is treated as his anointed executor.
Outsiders = Enemies - "Suppressive persons" are vilified, critics are targets.
Doubt = Betrayal - Internal questioning is punished with auditing, isolation, or expulsion.
Cause Justifies Everything - Surveillance, harassment, and lawsuits justified to protect the church.
Truth Is Monopolized - Members are discouraged from consuming outside media or criticism.
Purity Is Mandatory - Advancement requires complete adherence to doctrine and lifestyle.
No Exit Without Punishment - Defectors face smear campaigns, disconnection from family, and threats.
NXIVM (Keith Raniere)
A self-help organization that devolved into a coercive sex cult with branding, blackmail, and criminal convictions.
Infallible Leader - Raniere was marketed as a genius and moral authority.
Outsiders = Enemies - Critics were dismissed or targeted with lawsuits.
Doubt = Betrayal - Members were pressured to ignore red flags or risk expulsion.
Cause Justifies Everything - Abuse and manipulation were reframed as empowerment.
Truth Is Monopolized - Raniere's teachings overrode conventional ethics or science.
Purity Is Mandatory - Members were ranked and groomed for obedience.
No Exit Without Punishment - Those who left were harassed, blackmailed, and/or publicly discredited.
The same seven features are always there in every cult.
These, of course, are all in the past.
Here in 2025, we have two popular cults which are doing all of us extraordinary amounts of harm.
MAGA
Infallible Leader
Donald Trump isn't just a politician to his followers, he's a symbol. When he lies, it's not a flaw. It's strategy. When he fails, it's sabotage by the deep state. He is the center of the movement's gravity, and his word overrides observable reality. The courts, the media, even physics, meteorology, and basic math are all wrong if they contradict him.
Outsiders = Enemies
The MAGA worldview is binary. You're either a patriot or a traitor. Democrats, immigrants, journalists, academics, scientists, and election officials are all suspect. Ther are no disagreements, there's only war. Opponents aren't wrong, they're evil.
Doubt = Betrayal
MAGA has no tolerance for internal dissent. Most of the Republicans who acknowledged Biden's win were branded as RINOs and purged. The rest got in line and kissed the ring. Asking for evidence about election fraud is seen as disloyal. Even silence can be suspect.
The Cause Justifies Everything
Storming the Capitol? Justified. Threatening election workers? Patriotic. Spreading conspiracy theories? Necessary. There are no rules if the mission is to save America from the leftist cabal.
Truth Is Monopolized
Only certain sources are trusted and even Fox News has often been smacked down for insufficient loyalty. So the cult faithful turn to right-wing echo chambers, YouTube prophets, and meme accounts. Anything mainstream is automatically suspect, but in a world of liars, only the Dear Leader is always telling you the truth.
Purity Is Mandatory
You can't just support tighter borders or lower taxes. You have to accept the whole package: the stolen election, the culture war, the personality worship, the persecution narrative, the attacks on immigrants, the assault on higher education...Moderation or nuance are weakness.
No Exit Without Punishment
Look at Liz Cheney or Mike Pence. Look at anyone who tried to steer the movement or the GOP back toward reality. They didn't just lose support, they were cast out. Once you're disloyal, you're dead to the group.
And on the other end of the horseshoe:
The Western "Pro-Palestinian" Movement
Infallible Doctrine
This movement isn't about support for Palestinian rights (a legitimate cause we should all support). This is a movement which treats anti-Zionism, the belief that Israel must cease to exist, as sacred law.
No amount of evidence, history, or context can challenge the idea that Israel is uniquely evil, that Palestinians are uniquely innocent, and that the only moral position is total condemnation and elimination of the Jewish state.
American progressive ideologues have formed a new ideology based on the negation of an all-powerful phantasm they call āZionism.ā To fight
Outsiders = Enemies
Anyone who supports Israel's right to exist is an enemy. Jewish students are enemies. Palestinian peace advocates who reject Hamas are enemies. You don't need to hold extreme views to be treated as an enemy, you just have to diverge from the orthodoxy.
Doubt = Betrayal
Say you're uncomfortable with chants like "from the river to the sea" or that you believe in both Israeli and Palestinian national self-determination...or say you oppose Hamas' methods and violent suppression of the people of Gaza...?
That's enough to get you labeled a Zionist apologist, a traitor, a colonizer. There's no space for complexity. No room for nuance.
The Cause Justifies Everything
Celebrating the October 7 massacre? "Context."
Ripping down posters of kidnapped civilians? "Resistance."
Harassing Jewish students? "Solidarity."
The cruelty is framed as necessary, desirable, even virtuous.
Truth Is Monopolized
Official sources are dismissed as biased. Only certain accounts (often anonymous, hyper-partisan, and unchecked) are treated as legitimate.
If a Palestinian criticizes Hamas, they're ignored or attacked as a Zionist (ask Hamza Howidy or Ahmed Fouad Alkahatib).
If a Jew defends Israel's right to exist, they're a propagandist. HASBARA!
Purity Is Mandatory
You can't be selectively critical. You can't say "I support human rights but also think Hamas is a terrorist group." That's impure. You must affirm the full narrative or you're compromised. You must chant the slogans, share the posts, and avoid any hint of nuance. If you don't strictly follow the purity guidelines, anything you say on any topic is deemed false.
No Exit Without Punishment
Try saying you no longer support the movement because of extremism and antisemitism. You'll be attacked, disowned, doxxed, called a Zio or other slurs. There's no graceful exit.
Once you're out, you're not just wrong. You're the enemy.
Coping
So what do we do when people we care about fall into cults draped in flags and slogans?
First, understand that logic won't pry them out. Cults aren't built on facts, they're built on identity, emotion, and a deep need to belong.Ā
If it's someone close to you, your best move is to stay connected without indulging the dogma. Ask questions, not to debate, but to remind them there's a world beyond the script. Don't play their game of moral purity, just show them what it looks like to think freely and still care deeply.
With strangers, it's different.
You owe them less, and it's okay to disengage when the cost is too high. Not every argument is winnable, and not every person wants to come back.
But when you do engage, go for clarity, not conversion. Speak plainly, factually, and with spine. Cults thrive in echo chambers. Every time you speak outside the script, you widen the crack that might let someone else out.Ā
Not today, maybe. But eventually. That's the long game.Ā
That's how you fight a cult without joining one.
(This post inspired by tags of @tapdancingmutantboy - thanks!)
Further Information:
Two-hour playlist of excellent videos on cults
Singer, M. T., & Lalich, J. (1995). Cults in our midst: The hidden menace in our everyday lives. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Hassan, S. (2015). Combating cult mind control: The #1 bestselling guide to protection, rescue, and recovery from destructive cults. Freedom of Mind Press.
Is a friend or family member under the influence of a destructive cult and you want to help them? Read on to learn some proven, helpful tech
