Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2010, Page 106
The Birth of an sCS
Based on the process involved in developing a self (both the I and the me), and the
assumption that creativity is a free expression of thought that originates from the freedom
to think with minimal restraints from the social environment, we can easily assume that the
creative self is suppressed in a cult. Using an SI understanding of self, as explained above,
we posit that a creative self is formed by the interaction between the individual who
expresses creative thoughts through an empirical object (symbol—e.g., a composition) and
the individual‘s understanding of the meanings attached to the object created—meanings
based on others‘ reactions to the creative expressions. This combination typically results in
a self composed of the creative self (the I) and the self-concept (the me), as Figure 1
depicts. Thus, in a social environment with freedom of expression, the I (creative self) and
the me (objective self-concept) are separate. We propose that in a cult environment, the
creative self is consumed by the me that is developed by the ―generalized other‖ of the cult.
The I of precult existence no longer exists. Any remaining creative I is suppressed and
obscured it never develops further in the cult and becomes weaker. The result is an
ignored or obscured creative self. As Figure 1 shows, informed by SI, a self is a dynamic
relationship between the individual and the ―generalized other‖ in the social environment.
The figure shows how the process of obscuring the creative self occurs in a cult
The Birth of an sCS
Based on the process involved in developing a self (both the I and the me), and the
assumption that creativity is a free expression of thought that originates from the freedom
to think with minimal restraints from the social environment, we can easily assume that the
creative self is suppressed in a cult. Using an SI understanding of self, as explained above,
we posit that a creative self is formed by the interaction between the individual who
expresses creative thoughts through an empirical object (symbol—e.g., a composition) and
the individual‘s understanding of the meanings attached to the object created—meanings
based on others‘ reactions to the creative expressions. This combination typically results in
a self composed of the creative self (the I) and the self-concept (the me), as Figure 1
depicts. Thus, in a social environment with freedom of expression, the I (creative self) and
the me (objective self-concept) are separate. We propose that in a cult environment, the
creative self is consumed by the me that is developed by the ―generalized other‖ of the cult.
The I of precult existence no longer exists. Any remaining creative I is suppressed and
obscured it never develops further in the cult and becomes weaker. The result is an
ignored or obscured creative self. As Figure 1 shows, informed by SI, a self is a dynamic
relationship between the individual and the ―generalized other‖ in the social environment.
The figure shows how the process of obscuring the creative self occurs in a cult
