International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 1, No. 1, 2010 5
The spiritual founder or guru is one step
removed and thus harder to challenge, and this is
part of the overall milieu control. If members
doubt the words of the leader, then it is because
they are not working hard enough for the group,
or are not spiritually connected enough. This has
been clearly reported in groups such as the Sai
Baba organisation, in which Sai Baba purports
to have god-like powers and is hence removed
from situations in which his godlike
omnipotence can be challenged. However, the
milieu control is essentially circular and leads to
a pattern of behavioural response that is akin to
Bateson’s double-bind position, as already
mentioned. If members feel unhappy, it is
because of their own failings, not the group. If
they disagree with the group, it is because they
have not studied hard enough. The more
someone tries to pull away because they feel
trapped, the more they are pulled back in and the
more trapped they become—a classic exemplar
of double-bind.
Loading the language, Lifton’s second theme,
describes how the discourse of the group is
allied to the milieu control that has already been
identified as a way of binding a person’s identity
to the group. A “group speak” is learned and
replaces previously used language. In this way,
an ideologically charged form of language is
honed that reinforces the dichotomy between the
group and the rest of the world. Negative
terms—often, in religious groups, terms that
describe the devil—are applied to nongroup
members. This language, repeated and
paraphrased on many occasions in the group
(often in lectures or classes), serves to constrict
beliefs further and reinforce the critical belief
that the only true path is that of the group and of
its spiritual founders. Here again the double-bind
is present: If a member disagrees, then that is
potentially the path of the devil and of course
this must be avoided at all costs (hence, a
circular reinforcing of the group position).
The third theme from Lifton is the demand for
purity that cults require from their members
this is linked closely with the practice of
confession, his fourth theme, whereby failings
and faults are confessed to the guru or leader,
who then sets the person on the path to
redemption—the path of the group and its
founders. For example, members are expected to
judge themselves against the all-or-nothing
standard of the group (again, the us-versus-them
standard). This inducing of guilt and shame is
therefore closely linked to the demand for
purity, wherein only the pure and internal code
of the group can lead individuals away from
these feelings. Again, they are trapped in a
double-bind in which, if they resist, then they
are judged as having serious problems that will
get worse (including worse feelings of guilt and
shame) without the teachings of the group thus,
there is a circular compunction to continue with
the teachings.
Lifton’s fifth theme is termed mystical
manipulation. The manipulation is termed
“mystic” because it usually is not based on
natural scientific modes of investigation or
evidence, but instead appears in ways that either
are not fully understood, or perhaps the guru has
the nearest insight of anyone. Indeed, revelatory
insights appear almost from nowhere, apparently
spontaneously but they are, of course, carefully
preplanned by the group leadership. Part of the
overall milieu control that involves the group
and its leaders is to show members how new
feelings, including redemption, can arise as a
consequence of the setting and the spiritual
teachings. In other words, to be here in the group
is to experience this new freedom and ability to
rise above where others cannot go in this way
the us-versus-them dichotomy is once again
reinforced.
Closely related to mystical manipulation is the
sixth theme of sacred science, wherein the
group leader invests in himself the highest level
of sacred knowledge and insight, which is both
mystic and claims to have unique insights into
the science of the world and the universe. How
can a group member, already dependent on the
group and its leader for redemption, dare to
challenge the bearer of such awesome insights?
The final two themes of undue influence and
control that Lifton sets out he has termed
doctrine over the person and dispensing of
existence. The group effectively dispenses with
the person’s earlier existence, career, or hobbies
and instead provides a complete and alternate
destiny that is absolute and unwavering. In this
The spiritual founder or guru is one step
removed and thus harder to challenge, and this is
part of the overall milieu control. If members
doubt the words of the leader, then it is because
they are not working hard enough for the group,
or are not spiritually connected enough. This has
been clearly reported in groups such as the Sai
Baba organisation, in which Sai Baba purports
to have god-like powers and is hence removed
from situations in which his godlike
omnipotence can be challenged. However, the
milieu control is essentially circular and leads to
a pattern of behavioural response that is akin to
Bateson’s double-bind position, as already
mentioned. If members feel unhappy, it is
because of their own failings, not the group. If
they disagree with the group, it is because they
have not studied hard enough. The more
someone tries to pull away because they feel
trapped, the more they are pulled back in and the
more trapped they become—a classic exemplar
of double-bind.
Loading the language, Lifton’s second theme,
describes how the discourse of the group is
allied to the milieu control that has already been
identified as a way of binding a person’s identity
to the group. A “group speak” is learned and
replaces previously used language. In this way,
an ideologically charged form of language is
honed that reinforces the dichotomy between the
group and the rest of the world. Negative
terms—often, in religious groups, terms that
describe the devil—are applied to nongroup
members. This language, repeated and
paraphrased on many occasions in the group
(often in lectures or classes), serves to constrict
beliefs further and reinforce the critical belief
that the only true path is that of the group and of
its spiritual founders. Here again the double-bind
is present: If a member disagrees, then that is
potentially the path of the devil and of course
this must be avoided at all costs (hence, a
circular reinforcing of the group position).
The third theme from Lifton is the demand for
purity that cults require from their members
this is linked closely with the practice of
confession, his fourth theme, whereby failings
and faults are confessed to the guru or leader,
who then sets the person on the path to
redemption—the path of the group and its
founders. For example, members are expected to
judge themselves against the all-or-nothing
standard of the group (again, the us-versus-them
standard). This inducing of guilt and shame is
therefore closely linked to the demand for
purity, wherein only the pure and internal code
of the group can lead individuals away from
these feelings. Again, they are trapped in a
double-bind in which, if they resist, then they
are judged as having serious problems that will
get worse (including worse feelings of guilt and
shame) without the teachings of the group thus,
there is a circular compunction to continue with
the teachings.
Lifton’s fifth theme is termed mystical
manipulation. The manipulation is termed
“mystic” because it usually is not based on
natural scientific modes of investigation or
evidence, but instead appears in ways that either
are not fully understood, or perhaps the guru has
the nearest insight of anyone. Indeed, revelatory
insights appear almost from nowhere, apparently
spontaneously but they are, of course, carefully
preplanned by the group leadership. Part of the
overall milieu control that involves the group
and its leaders is to show members how new
feelings, including redemption, can arise as a
consequence of the setting and the spiritual
teachings. In other words, to be here in the group
is to experience this new freedom and ability to
rise above where others cannot go in this way
the us-versus-them dichotomy is once again
reinforced.
Closely related to mystical manipulation is the
sixth theme of sacred science, wherein the
group leader invests in himself the highest level
of sacred knowledge and insight, which is both
mystic and claims to have unique insights into
the science of the world and the universe. How
can a group member, already dependent on the
group and its leader for redemption, dare to
challenge the bearer of such awesome insights?
The final two themes of undue influence and
control that Lifton sets out he has termed
doctrine over the person and dispensing of
existence. The group effectively dispenses with
the person’s earlier existence, career, or hobbies
and instead provides a complete and alternate
destiny that is absolute and unwavering. In this
