What Is A Cult?

this video was sponsored by curiositystream get access to my video streaming service nebula when news line up for curiosity stream using the link in the description when people hear the word cult a certain image tends to burst into their brain brainwashed devotees worshipping a crazed narcissist and willing to sacrifice anything for them while jonestown heaven's gate and the solar temple have given cults a violent reputation most cults tend to keep a much lower profile cults are everywhere there's probably a cult in your town and the tricks they use to lure people in aren't complicated but rather tried and tested social manipulation tactics that anyone can fall for so what is a cult how do they trap people and how do people end up believing that volcano alien ghosts are living on their bodies well let's find out a cult can form around anything politics religion business self-improvement therapy hate aliens meditation youtube channels and eco-friendly lifestyles cults are not solely religious and not all new religious movements or unorthodox groups are cults cult does not mean religion or group i don't like but refers to a very specific structure and characteristics the symbionese liberation army famous for kidnapping paddyhurst was a political cult amway is a corporate cult and the children of god the cult that joaquin phoenix was raised in that's a religious cult rastafarianism baha'i wicca those are new religious movements but not cults they don't deceive people into joining and they don't demand their followers cut off ties with non-rastafarian friends and family it isn't their beliefs that make a cult it's their authoritarian structure their deceptive recruitment and how controlling they are that's why cults are also called totalist groups and why they share their structure with totalitarian regimes cults aren't about belief they're about control and to spot a cult you just have to look out for these three characteristics one a charismatic and authoritarian leader cult leaders always have two qualities charisma and authoritarianism a cult leader needs to have enough confidence charm and drive to pull people in and they're always narcissists cult leaders like jim jones soko ashahara and marshall applewhite all fit at least eight of the nine criteria for people with narcissistic personality disorder their charisma and the grandiose sense of self-importance attract people but after that initial charm their authoritarian nature and lack of empathy creates a culture of fear and terror which keeps people in the cult the energy that i felt from him put me into a state of almost fear and awe because when somebody says and starts owning that he may be or kinda is a representative of the kingdom of heaven there's kind of a energy that's exchanged between the two people it's like there's a charge that goes on two thought reform coercive persuasion brainwashing mind control whatever you want to call it it's a process through which people can change the minds and thoughts of other people without them realizing it's happening cults along with other cult-like groups such as terrorist organizations hate groups and totalitarian movements all use thought reform it even happens in cases of domestic abuse thought reform or brainwashing doesn't turn people into zombies or manchurian candidates there's no secret drugs or hypnosis going on it's simply words and group pressures we look at how cults use thought reform to manipulate people in a bit three exploitation once a charismatic leader has indoctrinated a follower through thought reform they can begin exploiting them economically psychologically politically or sexually he was doing so much in the community and so why not rather than just tithe your 20 why not sell your home give the money to the church and that is what people began to do so how do people end up in cults well people end up in cults or totalist groups in a number of different ways many are kidnapped or forcibly enlisted like the estimated 20 000 children forced into joseph kony's lord's resistance army once forced into these groups their charismatic and authoritarian leaders can begin indoctrination or you can be born into a cult or totalitarian regime the children raised in the children of god cult or north korean citizens didn't choose to be in the cult they're in but both of them are exposed to the same thought reform processes and authoritarianism or you can be recruited into a cult there is a common stereotype of a typical cult recruit a seeker a slightly wacky hippie type very into hummus and crystals who went looking for enlightenment found the cult and can now assemble a kalashnikov while doing yoga but study after study has discovered that there is no personality profile for your typical terrorist or culture crew any of us could become vulnerable given the right conditions the right group and the right time major life changes such as a recent move a breakup a death in the family career shift war natural disaster or a global pandemic can leave someone isolated from their usual support structures during these times we all tend to look for friends are more open to strangers and are more willing to accept things we normally wouldn't usually it's the cults that go out and look for followers and cults recruit everywhere lectures seminars retreats going door-to-door they run schools businesses political groups meditation and yoga classes weight loss programs and therapy clinics most cults even have front groups set up to appeal to a wide range of interests the unification church commonly known as the munis have hundreds of front groups including academic and professional groups dozens of businesses and media such as the new world encyclopedia and the washington times the church of scientology has front groups like sterling management who do corporate training or the narconon drug rehabilitation program or hilariously the cult awareness network is also a scientology front group cults are always deceptive during recruitment new recruits will interact with a front group unaware that it's related to a cult there is never any mention of galactic overlords celibacy polygamy suicide missions 20 or work days or forced marriages that all comes much later for now it's just a group interested in bettering themselves and the world through mindfulness or new biblical interpretations or a public speaking workshop nothing to worry about the unification church calls this heavenly deception other bible-based cults call it giving milk before me it's okay to lie to new recruits because in the end it's for their own good once within reach the new recruit will be love bombed love bombing is a tactic in which cult members smother new recruits with flattery praise and affection love bombing is extremely effective on anyone but especially so on people who already feel isolated and ignored new recruits will gradually find their free time filled with group classes meetings dinners and retreats recruits lives are swallowed up by the group their entire day is filled with cult-related work assignments studying lectures meditating chanting etc etc this has the added benefit of keeping the recruit awake for long periods which affects their critical thinking abilities and simply leaves them with no time to reflect on what's actually happening you're constantly up you're constantly busy and you're made to feel guilty if you take too many luxuries like sleeping you tend to not really think for yourself and i did allow jones to think for me many cults will then begin to pressure new members to leave their family friends and jobs free domain radio is an internet-based cult led by self-proclaimed philosopher stefan molyneux known for its practice of encouraging its new recruits to defu to reject their family of origin this isolation tactic is common in cults to force a recruit to become dependent on the group removing family removes a fundamental source of emotional and financial support for people and an important source of reality checking romantic relationships and friendships must also be scrutinized even within the group this is why many cults practice either celibacy or polygamy because it stops people from forming a close romantic bond with just one person the only relationship they can have must be with the entire group or the leader to replace families many cut leaders take on familial ties david berg head of the children of god was known as dad or grandpa elizabeth clare prophet of the church universal and triumphant was mother and paul pot leader of the khmer rouge was known as brother number one many cults encouraged confessing traumas either to the whole cult or with an assigned member before i came here i was taking lsd marijuana every type of dope you can imagine without our pastor jim jones to teach me the right way i would not be in college right now the cult will usually lead the recruit to exaggerate or even misremember their pasts negatively this causes guilt and anxiety about their former personal connections and past they were bad people before they joined the group and the group is the only way they could become better people in my last lifetime i lived during world war ii and i was a french prostitute that had taken up with a german officer just to protect my butt the french resistance found out about me and they threw me and all my belongings out in the street and the mob that mobbed me and shaved my head there is the reason why i'm so afraid of crowds now the group will position itself as the only sanctuary in which these feelings can be expressed so now the follower will seek more comfort from the group even though it's the group that's causing their discomfort everyone is constantly confessing things to the cult sharing anything to one member of the cult means sharing it to everyone so privacy does not exist they cannot share doubts or complaints or tell anyone if they are being abused the lack of free time the sleep deprivation and the complete destruction of individuality means that there is no time for self-reflection recruits suffer from a triple isolation from friends and family from other cult members and from their own mind as the follower grows more isolated they begin to rely on approval from the cult and this is where human weakness the peer pressure can be used against them even when a cult member has doubts they are made to feel that they are wrong when they look around they see only happy believing followers no one expresses any doubt and so when a follower feels doubt they feel alone and wrong it is them that must work harder to understand the group the group or the leader is never wrong i'd look around and i say am i the only one that feels this way i learned eventually not to um not to say anything to anyone in a cult you are rewarded for good behavior with praise and privileges but those that behave in the wrong way are shunned and punished so as the cult is isolating you from your ordinary reality they provide you with a new and unanimously approved world view now when all or nothing point of view begins to be preached to them they teach that every single word of the ideology is completely true or none of it is if you have any doubts you will be excluded and you will suffer the way that these ideas are told also matters every cult or totalitarian system has its own loaded language scientology for example uses terms like reactive mind suppressive person and case gain loaded language prevents followers from expressing anything outside the cult's ideology new vague words that can stand for anything are used without the things themselves actually being discussed why listen to your family telling you you're a cult when they're suppressive people and you know suppressive people shouldn't be listened to all kinds of horrible names are given to non-cult members systemites unclean or satanic for example this creates an us versus them mindset now any criticism of the cult is seen as an attack you are in the cult or you are an enemy there is no in-between now their whole existence is the group if they leave they are nothing and joining the outside world is seen as a very dangerous idea many cults preach that anyone that leaves will probably die or be living on the streets in no time here the cult's control becomes total allowing no other beliefs and no other affiliations this is why cults are called totalist groups they consume every aspect of the follower's life while an average christian buddhist or muslim can enjoy astrology attend yoga classes and like and subscribe to the kogita youtube channel someone this far into a cult has nothing outside of it all activities relationships and beliefs revolve around the cult the deeper you go towards the center of the cult the more distant from reality you start to become the beliefs revealed to the inner circles of the cult are sometimes so extreme that the outer circles must be protected from it until they are ready for example in scientology the public and new recruits were protected from the most extreme ideas like that of the dictator of the galactic confederacy xenu and of alien souls bursting forth from volcanoes and jumping onto human bodies the public only found out about this story after it was leaked by ex-cult members journalists and the internet once a follower has reached a stage where the cult's ideology has totally consumed them they'll believe and do anything followers can now be exploited and deployed in most cases cult members end up losing a few years of their lives going broke or ending up with too many supplement pills that they can't sell but cults can take an unfortunately dangerous route sometimes which is why it's important to spot a cult's characteristics and the methods they use to isolate and control people and that's a basic introduction to cults it isn't even close to covering everything there's a lot of debate around this topic one video simply can't cover everything this was just a primer so that when we start making videos about specific cults you'll know what we're talking about cults can be very dangerous and should always be avoided so instead of joining a cult why not join curiositystream curiositystream is a streaming service that gives you access to thousands of documentaries they even offer exclusive original documentaries featuring great minds like david attenborough and stephen hawking and right now they're giving you a 26 discount off the annual plan so you get unlimited access for less than 15 for a whole year along with that discount you'll also get free access to nebula when you sign up at curiositystream.com forward slash cogito nebula is a streaming video platform i'm helping to build along with a bunch of other creators we're building nebula because we want the place for educational creators to be able to try out new and original ideas that wouldn't survive on youtube because of the 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you can see all of my great and incredible patrons who help keep this channel going thank you so much for watching this video

Channel: Cogito

Views: 199,338

Keywords: what is a cult and how does it work, cults, cult, religion, how cults work, how cults recruit, documentary, what are cults, how do cults work, how do cults brainwash members, heavens gate, what is a cult, jim jones, what is hinduism, what is buddhism, branch davidians, cults explained youtube, cults explained, cults 101, what are cults and how do they work, new religious movements, new religious movements sociology

Id: QUHNKCkXYes

Length: 16min 59sec (1019 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 25 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/Lance_Henry1]

I was in Amway (sorry, young and impressionable). It is quite chilling the parallels between techniques used by Amway distributor groups and religious cults. People were literally told to abandon their families and friends if they didn't support you or otherwise talked negatively about your network. I even heard a speaker telling people they needed to get a babysitter for their kids every night so they could "build the business". Why? "Your kids are only with you for a short while, but your wealth will be with you forever."

It was a terrible, weird time of my life. I continually wince at memories of being involved.

[u/squidwurd]

Good video.

[u/faustoc5]

Now you should ask yourselves why there are so many fucking cults in the US. Not all but the majority of cults are from the US