Have you ever been in a cult... Are you sure?
Lately there has been some stuff in the news that got me to wondering how many cults there were in the United States. Are they all harmful? Can a cult be a positive experience? What makes a cult? Who enters into a cult? Do they know they are joining a cult at the time? So I got to looking what is a cult how do we as a culture define a cult? Do I really know what a cult is?
And as I got to looking I was surprised to find out that I really didn't know what a cult was. I had an idea of what I thought a cult was, but most of that centered around people like David Koresh and his group in Waco, texas. Cults are a group of religous zealots who follow some bible thumping leader that preaches about the end of time, hellfire and damnation. I thought for sure you could recognize a cult. They would all be dressed in crazy clothes and stand out in a crowd. But then as I read more I began to wonder would I really recognize a cult when faced with one. Would I unintentionally join a cult thinking it was something else at first. Would I buy into their "teachings" only to realize later that I had been duped. I consider myself a fairly bright and very perceptive individual how could I possibly be convinced to join a cult.
So as I continued to do research on what is a cult. And this is a definition of a cult that I took straight from a webpage called,
how cults work dot com
“The modern definition of a mind control cult is any group which employs mind control and deceptive recruiting techniques. In other words cults trick people into joining and coerce them into staying. This is the definition that most people would agree with. Except the cults themselves of course!”
Okay so now I know that a cult could be any group, not necessarily a religious group, and it certainly doesn’t have to focus on religion, to qualify as a cult. For example a cult could be a company, any company for that matter. I have often believed that a software company such as Apple or Microsoft is ripe to become a cult. Apple after all has a campus and certainly a very enigmatic leader.
So what would it take to turn that company into a cult, if it isn’t one already, probably not that much. After all the people you employ in that industry are often very introverted people that you hired from one part of the country and then moved to your part of the country. Thereby eliminating their previous outside support group. So naturally any new friends that they made would most likely come from inside this new company. This seems to be a classic cult manuevere, separate the members from their outside support groups. And then you get a group of people who now rely a small circle of people all with the same focus as their new friends. These people all working for the same company would begun to draw closer together only hanging out with each other. And if given the proper direction by an enigmatic leader, could be turned into a cult.
This is another classic cult marker that I have been reading about on the internet. The group seems to all follow the directions of the same enigmatic leader. So I then I gave some thought as to why did I always think that leader has to be a religious leader preaching gospel from a Bible. Why couldn’t that leader be the CEO of a software company, preaching the mission statement or mantra of that company as the new gospel.
One of the things I have found as I read more about cults is they often have one enigmatic leader that the group displays unquestioning commitment to. This person might have a right hand man that helps them accomplish the end goal. But the members of the cult are very devoted to that one enigmatic leader and could care less for the right hand man.
Some other things that I have found out about cults while surfing the internet and reading more about them are, well I will just copy and paste below one list that seems to reinforce my idea that a corporation could easily be a cult.
The group is preoccupied with making money.
Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
Mind-numbing techniques (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, debilitating work routines) are used 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 from leaders to date, change jobs, get married; leaders may prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, 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 or an avatar; the group and/or the leader has a special mission to save humanity).
The group has a polarized us- versus-them mentality, which causes conflict with the wider society.
The group's leader is not accountable to any authorities (as are, for example, military commanders and ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream denominations).
The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify means that members would have considered unethical before joining the group (for example: collecting money for bogus charities).
The leadership induces guilt feelings in members in order to control them.
Members' subservience to the group causes them to cut ties with family and friends, and to give up personal goals and activities that were of interest before joining the group.
Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group.
Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members
WOW! Does this sound familiar to any one? I mean if you have ever worked in a company, be it small or large some of these things have to ring true to you. And these items were taken straight from a web page on
cult characteristics So it is not as if I edited them to validate my argument. And that’s what was really so scary as I read through them it really got me to thinking. Have I ever worked for a company that was a cult?
I think maybe I have.
And as I got to looking I was surprised to find out that I really didn't know what a cult was. I had an idea of what I thought a cult was, but most of that centered around people like David Koresh and his group in Waco, texas. Cults are a group of religous zealots who follow some bible thumping leader that preaches about the end of time, hellfire and damnation. I thought for sure you could recognize a cult. They would all be dressed in crazy clothes and stand out in a crowd. But then as I read more I began to wonder would I really recognize a cult when faced with one. Would I unintentionally join a cult thinking it was something else at first. Would I buy into their "teachings" only to realize later that I had been duped. I consider myself a fairly bright and very perceptive individual how could I possibly be convinced to join a cult.
So as I continued to do research on what is a cult. And this is a definition of a cult that I took straight from a webpage called,
how cults work dot com
“The modern definition of a mind control cult is any group which employs mind control and deceptive recruiting techniques. In other words cults trick people into joining and coerce them into staying. This is the definition that most people would agree with. Except the cults themselves of course!”
Okay so now I know that a cult could be any group, not necessarily a religious group, and it certainly doesn’t have to focus on religion, to qualify as a cult. For example a cult could be a company, any company for that matter. I have often believed that a software company such as Apple or Microsoft is ripe to become a cult. Apple after all has a campus and certainly a very enigmatic leader.
So what would it take to turn that company into a cult, if it isn’t one already, probably not that much. After all the people you employ in that industry are often very introverted people that you hired from one part of the country and then moved to your part of the country. Thereby eliminating their previous outside support group. So naturally any new friends that they made would most likely come from inside this new company. This seems to be a classic cult manuevere, separate the members from their outside support groups. And then you get a group of people who now rely a small circle of people all with the same focus as their new friends. These people all working for the same company would begun to draw closer together only hanging out with each other. And if given the proper direction by an enigmatic leader, could be turned into a cult.
This is another classic cult marker that I have been reading about on the internet. The group seems to all follow the directions of the same enigmatic leader. So I then I gave some thought as to why did I always think that leader has to be a religious leader preaching gospel from a Bible. Why couldn’t that leader be the CEO of a software company, preaching the mission statement or mantra of that company as the new gospel.
One of the things I have found as I read more about cults is they often have one enigmatic leader that the group displays unquestioning commitment to. This person might have a right hand man that helps them accomplish the end goal. But the members of the cult are very devoted to that one enigmatic leader and could care less for the right hand man.
Some other things that I have found out about cults while surfing the internet and reading more about them are, well I will just copy and paste below one list that seems to reinforce my idea that a corporation could easily be a cult.
The group is preoccupied with making money.
Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
Mind-numbing techniques (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, debilitating work routines) are used 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 from leaders to date, change jobs, get married; leaders may prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, 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 or an avatar; the group and/or the leader has a special mission to save humanity).
The group has a polarized us- versus-them mentality, which causes conflict with the wider society.
The group's leader is not accountable to any authorities (as are, for example, military commanders and ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream denominations).
The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify means that members would have considered unethical before joining the group (for example: collecting money for bogus charities).
The leadership induces guilt feelings in members in order to control them.
Members' subservience to the group causes them to cut ties with family and friends, and to give up personal goals and activities that were of interest before joining the group.
Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group.
Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members
WOW! Does this sound familiar to any one? I mean if you have ever worked in a company, be it small or large some of these things have to ring true to you. And these items were taken straight from a web page on
cult characteristics So it is not as if I edited them to validate my argument. And that’s what was really so scary as I read through them it really got me to thinking. Have I ever worked for a company that was a cult?
I think maybe I have.
posted by The Information Officer at 7:45 AM
4 Comments:
*raises hand*
My name is Mike Girard and I have worked for a cult. :(
This is chilling. I have recently refrained from applying for a couple of jobs (for which I believe I was well-qualified) because of the employer's policies (e.g., it "strongly encourages" its employees to attend noon-time chapel services at least once a week). But I've never before looked on a former employer in this light.
Maybe all companies have some cult-like elements, and it's just a matter of degree.
Mmm paragraph breaks.
One definition: "In religion and sociology, a cult is a group of people devoted to beliefs and goals which are not held by the majority of society, often religious in nature. (Emphasis mine.)
If your company makes you wear a Kotex on your head, it might be a cult. Just because a company has rules doesn't make it a cult.
I think that "cult" is a word that one religion uses to denigrate another.
The latest Cruise-watch:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,160192,00.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8133757/
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