Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2005, Page 8
The Findings
A Leader who Requires Excessive Devotion
Cults are organized around a leader, typically described as a charismatic individual who
maintains ultimate power and authority over the group. Within the cult the leader is
designated as worthy of devotion and awe because of his or her superior capacity to
comprehend the true nature of reality. Due to this supposed unique and valuable
knowledge, leaders are presented as able to understand members better than they
understand themselves. It is held that through great personal sacrifice, cult leaders are
willing to share this knowledge on behalf of the members who require the wisdom and the
guidance of the leader in order to function. In return, members are expected to reserve
their love and devotion exclusively for the leader, who has earned an elevated place at the
center of their emotional lives. Cult leaders have been compared to both psychopaths
(Tobias &Lalich, 1994) and narcissists (Shaw, 2003) because of their lack of humility in
presenting themselves as superior to others and because of their willingness to use their
charm and persuasion skills in order to exploit and unduly influence others.
The adult children who participated in the interviews described the alienating parent in
similar terms. In particular, they perceived the alienating parent as needing to be the center
of attention at all times and insisting on being the center of the child‘s emotional life. ―She
was the center and everything revolved around her.‖ (31) Another participant said, ―Mainly
I think she always wants to be your everything. She wants to be your center of attention.
And so she liked the fact that by making me hate him all I had was her.‖ (27) In fact, many
of the interview subjects described their parents as narcissistic, either using that label or
using precise descriptors that called that term to mind.
In cults, it is not enough to feel devotion to the leader members are expected to
demonstrate their devotion on a regular basis. Expressions of devotion include putting the
needs of the leader first, never questioning the authority of the leader, confessing
imperfections, allowing the leader to make all important decisions, and making public
declarations of faith and love. These actions reassure the leader that the member is fully
indoctrinated and further solidify the member‘s commitment to the cult (Lifton, 1989). In
many cases the expressions of devotion are public, with the aim of turning a public
declaration of devotion into an inner desire to be loyal to the leader. By requiring such
public assertions of faith and trust in the leader, cult leaders are exploiting the natural
tendency in people to want their beliefs to be consistent with their actions (e.g. Festinger,
1957). In this way saying becomes believing.3
This process also occurred in the families of alienation. The participants reported feeling
pressured to show their devotion to the alienating parent. Many described their relationship
with the alienating parent as one in which their parent‘s needs were felt as more real and
urgent to them than their own. They recalled staying home from social activities to tend to
their parent, to keep them company, to take care of younger siblings, or to perform
household duties. ―I did what I could do to make her life easier because her life was so hard
because of my father. That was my mantra, Mom‘s life is hard. I have to try to help her.‖
(40) They chose friends, hobbies, and eventually careers and spouses to please their
parent. Others reported that they grew up believing that it was their job to satisfy the needs
of their parent, exemplified in the statement, ―I was there to help her. It would make me
want to try harder to please her. I learned how to be amusing at a very young age.‖ (27) In
general, they experienced themselves as extensions of their parent, their primary function
in life being to take care of, please, admire, reassure, and be devoted to them.
A particularly important expression of devotion was an allegiance to and preference for the
alienating parent over the targeted parent. Some of the participants recalled being asked to
spy on the targeted parent and keep secrets from him or her. Many participants said that
The Findings
A Leader who Requires Excessive Devotion
Cults are organized around a leader, typically described as a charismatic individual who
maintains ultimate power and authority over the group. Within the cult the leader is
designated as worthy of devotion and awe because of his or her superior capacity to
comprehend the true nature of reality. Due to this supposed unique and valuable
knowledge, leaders are presented as able to understand members better than they
understand themselves. It is held that through great personal sacrifice, cult leaders are
willing to share this knowledge on behalf of the members who require the wisdom and the
guidance of the leader in order to function. In return, members are expected to reserve
their love and devotion exclusively for the leader, who has earned an elevated place at the
center of their emotional lives. Cult leaders have been compared to both psychopaths
(Tobias &Lalich, 1994) and narcissists (Shaw, 2003) because of their lack of humility in
presenting themselves as superior to others and because of their willingness to use their
charm and persuasion skills in order to exploit and unduly influence others.
The adult children who participated in the interviews described the alienating parent in
similar terms. In particular, they perceived the alienating parent as needing to be the center
of attention at all times and insisting on being the center of the child‘s emotional life. ―She
was the center and everything revolved around her.‖ (31) Another participant said, ―Mainly
I think she always wants to be your everything. She wants to be your center of attention.
And so she liked the fact that by making me hate him all I had was her.‖ (27) In fact, many
of the interview subjects described their parents as narcissistic, either using that label or
using precise descriptors that called that term to mind.
In cults, it is not enough to feel devotion to the leader members are expected to
demonstrate their devotion on a regular basis. Expressions of devotion include putting the
needs of the leader first, never questioning the authority of the leader, confessing
imperfections, allowing the leader to make all important decisions, and making public
declarations of faith and love. These actions reassure the leader that the member is fully
indoctrinated and further solidify the member‘s commitment to the cult (Lifton, 1989). In
many cases the expressions of devotion are public, with the aim of turning a public
declaration of devotion into an inner desire to be loyal to the leader. By requiring such
public assertions of faith and trust in the leader, cult leaders are exploiting the natural
tendency in people to want their beliefs to be consistent with their actions (e.g. Festinger,
1957). In this way saying becomes believing.3
This process also occurred in the families of alienation. The participants reported feeling
pressured to show their devotion to the alienating parent. Many described their relationship
with the alienating parent as one in which their parent‘s needs were felt as more real and
urgent to them than their own. They recalled staying home from social activities to tend to
their parent, to keep them company, to take care of younger siblings, or to perform
household duties. ―I did what I could do to make her life easier because her life was so hard
because of my father. That was my mantra, Mom‘s life is hard. I have to try to help her.‖
(40) They chose friends, hobbies, and eventually careers and spouses to please their
parent. Others reported that they grew up believing that it was their job to satisfy the needs
of their parent, exemplified in the statement, ―I was there to help her. It would make me
want to try harder to please her. I learned how to be amusing at a very young age.‖ (27) In
general, they experienced themselves as extensions of their parent, their primary function
in life being to take care of, please, admire, reassure, and be devoted to them.
A particularly important expression of devotion was an allegiance to and preference for the
alienating parent over the targeted parent. Some of the participants recalled being asked to
spy on the targeted parent and keep secrets from him or her. Many participants said that
