Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 6, No. 2, 1989, Page 11
The demand for purity. In totalistic systems, the world is sharply divided into the good
and pure vs. the evil and unclean. Those outside the totalistic system are unenlightened and
therefore less than “completely human.” Leaving the cult means complete damnation.
Former ISKCON devotees have reported to me that leaving ISKCON is supposed to lower
one‟s spiritual status below that of the “spiritually ignorant” individual who has never been
exposed to Krishna Consciousness. It is especially damning to taste and then reject
spirituality. In the U.C., I was told that anyone outside the Church was “satanic” and less
than human. ISKCON refers to the non-ISKCON world as maya (illusion) and labels
nonmembers “demons.”
The cult of confession. The demand for continuous confession is related to the process
of mystical manipulation. The convert is repeatedly asked to confess his sins (real and
imagined), and although he may be rewarded for each confession, the demand to confess
does not subside. Thus, confession becomes mystified and made sacred in its own right.
The goal of this confession is self-surrender, not relief from guilt. In practice, the cult of
confession actually creates rather than alleviates guilt. In the U.C., both new recruits and
old members were strongly encourages to divulge intensely personal information to a group
of people who were essentially strangers. “Correct” confessions (e.g., past sexual relations,
experimentation with drugs) were rewarded with short-lived sympathy and attention (and,
in later stages of membership, more tangible rewards such as better work assignments) as
long as they were accompanied with the “correct” affect (i.e., guilt, shame) and
proclamations of loyalty to Sun Myung Moon. The next day, however, brought the same
demands for confession. Group confessions in the U.C. were typically accompanied by
crying, screaming, and other demonstrations of intense emotion that escalated to a nearly
orgiastic climax.
In ISKCON, devotees are also exhorted to confess continuously their transgressions to their
gurus. Ken, the cultist in my study, kept a lengthy journal specifically for this purpose.
The “sacred science.” Totalist systems proclaim their dogma to be the absolute,
complete, and eternal truth, which in turn elevates the dogma to a sacred level. Any
information that contradicts this absolute truth is therefore false by definition, and its source
is misguided at best and an enemy at worst. Questioning the sacred doctrine is forbidden.
In cults like the church of Scientology, anyone critical of official Scientology dogma is
labeled a “suppressive person” who becomes “fair game” for officially-sanctioned
harassment (Appel, 1983 Corydon &Hubbard, 1987). In ISKCON, the Prabhupada‟s version
of the Bhadavad Gita is considered the absolute and incontrovertible word of Krishna, the
supreme deity. Any information contradicting the Gita is by definition false. An example:
loyal devotees accept Prabhupada‟s Gitas‟s explanation that deities surround the earth,
residing on invisible planets in the upper atmosphere, and that it is impossible for mortals
(especially those without Krishna Consciousness) to travel beyond the level of these
planets therefore, the space programs sponsored by various nations are all elaborate
shams. The lunar landings were secretly faked by filming them in the Arizona desert.
Loading the language. Lifton (1961, p. 429) noted that “the language of the totalist
environment is characterized by the thought-terminating cliché.” In Nineteen Eighty-four,
Orwell (1954) foresaw the intimate connection between the manipulation of language and
the control of thought. He described the gradual erosion of English into a hybrid language
(“Newspeak”) devoid of variety, individual nuance and abstraction. In Orwell‟s mythical
totalistic state, the destruction of language would eventually, inevitably lead to the
destruction of all free thought.
Destructive cults typically evolve an elaborate and idiosyncratic terminology that is used to
answer quickly and simplistically any doubts, and terminate any troublesome questioning.
In ISKCON, a variety of Hindu words are employed to denigrate nonmembers and their
The demand for purity. In totalistic systems, the world is sharply divided into the good
and pure vs. the evil and unclean. Those outside the totalistic system are unenlightened and
therefore less than “completely human.” Leaving the cult means complete damnation.
Former ISKCON devotees have reported to me that leaving ISKCON is supposed to lower
one‟s spiritual status below that of the “spiritually ignorant” individual who has never been
exposed to Krishna Consciousness. It is especially damning to taste and then reject
spirituality. In the U.C., I was told that anyone outside the Church was “satanic” and less
than human. ISKCON refers to the non-ISKCON world as maya (illusion) and labels
nonmembers “demons.”
The cult of confession. The demand for continuous confession is related to the process
of mystical manipulation. The convert is repeatedly asked to confess his sins (real and
imagined), and although he may be rewarded for each confession, the demand to confess
does not subside. Thus, confession becomes mystified and made sacred in its own right.
The goal of this confession is self-surrender, not relief from guilt. In practice, the cult of
confession actually creates rather than alleviates guilt. In the U.C., both new recruits and
old members were strongly encourages to divulge intensely personal information to a group
of people who were essentially strangers. “Correct” confessions (e.g., past sexual relations,
experimentation with drugs) were rewarded with short-lived sympathy and attention (and,
in later stages of membership, more tangible rewards such as better work assignments) as
long as they were accompanied with the “correct” affect (i.e., guilt, shame) and
proclamations of loyalty to Sun Myung Moon. The next day, however, brought the same
demands for confession. Group confessions in the U.C. were typically accompanied by
crying, screaming, and other demonstrations of intense emotion that escalated to a nearly
orgiastic climax.
In ISKCON, devotees are also exhorted to confess continuously their transgressions to their
gurus. Ken, the cultist in my study, kept a lengthy journal specifically for this purpose.
The “sacred science.” Totalist systems proclaim their dogma to be the absolute,
complete, and eternal truth, which in turn elevates the dogma to a sacred level. Any
information that contradicts this absolute truth is therefore false by definition, and its source
is misguided at best and an enemy at worst. Questioning the sacred doctrine is forbidden.
In cults like the church of Scientology, anyone critical of official Scientology dogma is
labeled a “suppressive person” who becomes “fair game” for officially-sanctioned
harassment (Appel, 1983 Corydon &Hubbard, 1987). In ISKCON, the Prabhupada‟s version
of the Bhadavad Gita is considered the absolute and incontrovertible word of Krishna, the
supreme deity. Any information contradicting the Gita is by definition false. An example:
loyal devotees accept Prabhupada‟s Gitas‟s explanation that deities surround the earth,
residing on invisible planets in the upper atmosphere, and that it is impossible for mortals
(especially those without Krishna Consciousness) to travel beyond the level of these
planets therefore, the space programs sponsored by various nations are all elaborate
shams. The lunar landings were secretly faked by filming them in the Arizona desert.
Loading the language. Lifton (1961, p. 429) noted that “the language of the totalist
environment is characterized by the thought-terminating cliché.” In Nineteen Eighty-four,
Orwell (1954) foresaw the intimate connection between the manipulation of language and
the control of thought. He described the gradual erosion of English into a hybrid language
(“Newspeak”) devoid of variety, individual nuance and abstraction. In Orwell‟s mythical
totalistic state, the destruction of language would eventually, inevitably lead to the
destruction of all free thought.
Destructive cults typically evolve an elaborate and idiosyncratic terminology that is used to
answer quickly and simplistically any doubts, and terminate any troublesome questioning.
In ISKCON, a variety of Hindu words are employed to denigrate nonmembers and their
