International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 9, 2018 3
I
Cults−An Overview
To begin, “cult” is a fluid definition. Cults are
organized groups, often with a basis in
religion.
11F
12 Cults, by virtue of the power that they
exert over their devotees, have the propensity to
be harmful, and some are harmful, but others are
not.
12F
13 In sum, cults are at risk of perpetuating
harm.
13F
14
Those that have crossed the line, destructive
cults, have common traits. As one researcher
explained, these cults share three characteristics:
“(1) a charismatic leader who increasingly
becomes an object of worship as the general
principles that may have originally sustained the
group lose their power (2) a process ...call[ed]
coercive persuasion or thought reform (3)
economic, sexual, and other exploitation of
group members by the leader and the ruling
coterie.”
14F
15 The leader often tells a unique story
about the foundation of the organization that
elevates this group or religion above all others.
15F
16
The leader claims to be the chosen one, selected
by some supreme being, and frequently preaches
that followers will find salvation after death.
16F
17
The leader is the only member with a true
understanding of the religion and, thus, all
information must flow through the leader.
17F
18
A more detailed list of common traits shared by
cults is provided in the Appendix.
18F
19
12 Id. at 593.
13 See Arthur A. Dole &Steve K. Dubrow-Eichel, Some New
Religions are Dangerous 2 CULTIC STUD. J. 17−30 (1985).
14 See Rosedale &Langone, supra note 6.
15 See Lita Linzer Schwartz, The Millennium is Here−and So are
the Cults, 18 CULTIC STUD. J. 82, 83 (2001) (citing Lifton, R.J.,
Cult Formation, 8(1) CULTIC STUD. J. 1, 2 (1991)).
16 See Joseph Szimhart, Razor’s Edge Indeed: A Deprogrammer’s
View of Harmful Cult Activity, 8 CULTIC STUD. REV. 231 (2009).
17 Id. at 241. “The leader and group will supply the new recruit
with an interesting foundation myth that supports the leader’s
claims to authority. The foundation myth generally reflects a
profound spiritual experience and private journey the leader has
taken.” Id.
18 Id. at 243.
19 See Michael D. Langone, Characteristics Associated with Cultic
Groups, INT’L CULTIC STUD. ASS’N,
http://www.icsahome.com/articles/characteristics (last visited May
10, 2016). Since researchers cannot agree on a single definition,
Given this definition, one might wonder what
distinguishes traditional religious affiliation
from cult affiliation. The late Herbert Rosedale,
Esq.
19F
20 would ask his audience whether they
have ever joined a church. Often some members
would nod their heads.
20F
21 And then he would ask
them if they knew that they were joining a
church when they decided to participate. As a
bottom line distinction between what is a
religious organization versus a cult, the
difference often comes down to the narrow
question of whether the adherent knew what
kind of group he or she was joining at the outset.
A. The Case of Elissa Wall Against FLDS
Accounts of cult abuses told by ex-cult members
abound. In her autobiography, Elissa Wall
described her experience with a cult.
21F
22 At age
fourteen she was forced to marry her first
cousin, Allen Steed, who was nineteen.
22F
23 Both
members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints (“FLDS”), a
polygamous sect, Wall pleaded for a different
outcome in the days leading up to the ceremony:
Tears began to pour from my eyes. In all
the times I had met with [an elder] since
this mess started, I had always tried to
maintain my composure, but now,
exhausted, hungry, and defeated, I broke
down in front of him. Seeing this
opening, he took the chance to exploit it.
I felt the world closing in on me. I hated
here are some descriptive phrases, appearing on ICSA’s website,
used to define cults: “innovative, fervent groups” “an ideological
organization held together by charismatic relationships and
demanding total commitment” “groups at high risk of becoming
abusive because of members’ adulation of its leaders” and “a
continuum, in which large gray area separates cult from noncult.”
20 People Profiles, INT’L CULTIC SUTD. ASS’N,
http://www.icsahome.com/elibrary/peopleprofiles (last visited May
10, 2016). Herb Rosedale was a practicing attorney and former
President of American Family Foundation—name changed to
International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA). Mr. Rosedale was
of Counsel with Jenkens &Gilchrist Park Chapin, LLP, and was
one of the nation’s leading authorities on cults from the late 1970s
until his death in 2003.
21 See Richard L. Dowhower, Religion Versus Cults,
http://www.icsahome.com/articles/religion-versus-cult-dowhower
(last visited May 10, 2016).
22 ELISSA WALL, WITH LISA PULITZER, STOLEN INNOCENCE
(William Morrow 2008).
23 Id. at 123−24.
I
Cults−An Overview
To begin, “cult” is a fluid definition. Cults are
organized groups, often with a basis in
religion.
11F
12 Cults, by virtue of the power that they
exert over their devotees, have the propensity to
be harmful, and some are harmful, but others are
not.
12F
13 In sum, cults are at risk of perpetuating
harm.
13F
14
Those that have crossed the line, destructive
cults, have common traits. As one researcher
explained, these cults share three characteristics:
“(1) a charismatic leader who increasingly
becomes an object of worship as the general
principles that may have originally sustained the
group lose their power (2) a process ...call[ed]
coercive persuasion or thought reform (3)
economic, sexual, and other exploitation of
group members by the leader and the ruling
coterie.”
14F
15 The leader often tells a unique story
about the foundation of the organization that
elevates this group or religion above all others.
15F
16
The leader claims to be the chosen one, selected
by some supreme being, and frequently preaches
that followers will find salvation after death.
16F
17
The leader is the only member with a true
understanding of the religion and, thus, all
information must flow through the leader.
17F
18
A more detailed list of common traits shared by
cults is provided in the Appendix.
18F
19
12 Id. at 593.
13 See Arthur A. Dole &Steve K. Dubrow-Eichel, Some New
Religions are Dangerous 2 CULTIC STUD. J. 17−30 (1985).
14 See Rosedale &Langone, supra note 6.
15 See Lita Linzer Schwartz, The Millennium is Here−and So are
the Cults, 18 CULTIC STUD. J. 82, 83 (2001) (citing Lifton, R.J.,
Cult Formation, 8(1) CULTIC STUD. J. 1, 2 (1991)).
16 See Joseph Szimhart, Razor’s Edge Indeed: A Deprogrammer’s
View of Harmful Cult Activity, 8 CULTIC STUD. REV. 231 (2009).
17 Id. at 241. “The leader and group will supply the new recruit
with an interesting foundation myth that supports the leader’s
claims to authority. The foundation myth generally reflects a
profound spiritual experience and private journey the leader has
taken.” Id.
18 Id. at 243.
19 See Michael D. Langone, Characteristics Associated with Cultic
Groups, INT’L CULTIC STUD. ASS’N,
http://www.icsahome.com/articles/characteristics (last visited May
10, 2016). Since researchers cannot agree on a single definition,
Given this definition, one might wonder what
distinguishes traditional religious affiliation
from cult affiliation. The late Herbert Rosedale,
Esq.
19F
20 would ask his audience whether they
have ever joined a church. Often some members
would nod their heads.
20F
21 And then he would ask
them if they knew that they were joining a
church when they decided to participate. As a
bottom line distinction between what is a
religious organization versus a cult, the
difference often comes down to the narrow
question of whether the adherent knew what
kind of group he or she was joining at the outset.
A. The Case of Elissa Wall Against FLDS
Accounts of cult abuses told by ex-cult members
abound. In her autobiography, Elissa Wall
described her experience with a cult.
21F
22 At age
fourteen she was forced to marry her first
cousin, Allen Steed, who was nineteen.
22F
23 Both
members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints (“FLDS”), a
polygamous sect, Wall pleaded for a different
outcome in the days leading up to the ceremony:
Tears began to pour from my eyes. In all
the times I had met with [an elder] since
this mess started, I had always tried to
maintain my composure, but now,
exhausted, hungry, and defeated, I broke
down in front of him. Seeing this
opening, he took the chance to exploit it.
I felt the world closing in on me. I hated
here are some descriptive phrases, appearing on ICSA’s website,
used to define cults: “innovative, fervent groups” “an ideological
organization held together by charismatic relationships and
demanding total commitment” “groups at high risk of becoming
abusive because of members’ adulation of its leaders” and “a
continuum, in which large gray area separates cult from noncult.”
20 People Profiles, INT’L CULTIC SUTD. ASS’N,
http://www.icsahome.com/elibrary/peopleprofiles (last visited May
10, 2016). Herb Rosedale was a practicing attorney and former
President of American Family Foundation—name changed to
International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA). Mr. Rosedale was
of Counsel with Jenkens &Gilchrist Park Chapin, LLP, and was
one of the nation’s leading authorities on cults from the late 1970s
until his death in 2003.
21 See Richard L. Dowhower, Religion Versus Cults,
http://www.icsahome.com/articles/religion-versus-cult-dowhower
(last visited May 10, 2016).
22 ELISSA WALL, WITH LISA PULITZER, STOLEN INNOCENCE
(William Morrow 2008).
23 Id. at 123−24.
