What is a cult?
In ancient times the word cult was used in the most positive sense to describe institutions worthy of respect, veneration and worship and would have been analogous to today’s connotation of religion. It is the root of words such as culture, cultivate, agriculture and, er, occult. Scholars of ancient history use the term in this context, such as when referring to the Greek Cult of Dionysius or the Egyptian Cult of Horus. Not coincidentally, these two examples incorporate myth stories with many close parallels to the Christian narrative of Jesus, such as the central figure as the Son of God (or Sun God), virgin birth, performing identical miracles to Jesus such as converting water to wine, healing the sick, resuscitating the dead, including the hero suffering and dying only to be resurrected from death on the third day thereafter. I find it interesting that these cults predated Christianity by hundreds and several thousand years respectively. In actuality, the Jewish followers of Jesus in the first century Roman Empire were all too familiar with these and similar myths having been passed down through the ages.
Today the word cult is a pejorative used for groups whose beliefs are considered deviant, fringe, illegitimate or dangerous. We immediately think of notorious ‘doomsday’ cults such as David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, or Marshall Applewhite and Heaven’s Gate.
Its definition remains subjective, however, depending on the individual’s point of view, often influenced by one’s own degree of religiosity or lack thereof. To the average mainstream Christian, a cult is commonly regarded as any new, non-conforming sect, usually with few members, branching off from a currently accepted religion (or worse yet, no religion!) and is therefore looked upon with disdain. Whereas the liberal Christian may take an ecumenical stance on religious diversity, Christian conservatives may take a less welcoming approach, labeling any belief or practice that deviates from their specific brand as heresy and therefore invalid. The beloved preacher and anti-Semite, Billy Graham, considered the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (aka the Mormons) a cult as did my parents who also considered all forms of Catholicism a cult.
If you really want to be “unliked” on Facebook, just suggest to someone their religion is a cult. Scholar of religious studies, Dr. Megan Goodwin, summarizes this bias when one brand of Christianity competes with another perfectly in this simple formula:
“CULT = ANY RELIGION I DON’T LIKE”.
Cults with roots in Christianity
The Branch Davidians, the Peoples Temple and Heaven’s Gate cults mentioned earlier may seem starkly different from each other, but they all have roots in Christianity. David Koresh’s followers were a branch of Seventh Day Adventism which is still alive and well today. His followers believed he was the second coming of Christ. Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple who claimed he was “the one and only God” had his roots in various Pentecostal churches and Disciples of Christ. Marshall Applewhite and his companion, Bonnie Nettles, of Heaven’s Gate fame claimed that they had been chosen to fulfill biblical prophecies, and that they had been given higher-level minds than other people. All believed in apocalyptic revelations extrapolated from the New Testament scriptures, most notably the book of Revelation. All predicted the end of the world. With self-inflicted mass murders and suicides, indeed it was the end of the world. Their world.
Many unlettered Christians fail to realize (or simply ignore) that the champion of this world view was none other than Jesus of Nazareth, no doubt the most famous apocalyptic preacher of all time. In his book Jesus: Apocalypic Prophet of the New Millennium, Professor of Religious Studies, Dr. Bart D. Ehrman, describes a host of self-proclaimed doomsday prophets throughout history, beginning with Jesus. In Matthew 16:28 Jesus warns his disciples that his kingdom would come for certain in their lifetime. “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
The first century self-appointed apostle Paul perpetuated this view as he preached throughout Greece and Asia Minor. Since then history is filled with dozens of failed prophecies of the so-called ‘end times’ by religious leaders around the globe. In the process, they uprooted and destroyed families, closed businesses and even shut down entire local economies, not to mention serving as the catalyst for the occasional mass suicide.
In almost all cults, similar doomsday predictions are a popular theme. Perhaps placing an expiration date on human existence is helpful to a cult’s purpose, imparting a strong sense of urgency to comply with the demands of the cult leader. As such, apocalyptic cults create group paranoia which can lead to a path of self-destruction. Imprisoned pedophile, polygamist and cult leader, Warren Jeffs, named one of his properties Yearning For Zion Ranch. The name says it all. Predicting the end of humanity seems to be a favorite Christian pastime.
You are thinking, “Surely, such a dangerous belief is held only by a handful of fringe crazies." Not so much. According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, 41% of Americans hold the apocalyptic belief that by 2050 Jesus Christ will have returned to this planet to exact his judgment on mankind. Forty-one percent!
Even scarier are dead and living American leaders who hold such views. Former president Ronald Reagan, former vice-president Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have all publicly expressed these entirely Bible-driven views. In fact, Pompeo pressed then-president Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the true capital of Israel in order to fulfill the prophecy in Revelation that would ultimately welcome in the ‘rapture’ and the second coming of Christ. This is detailed in the New York Times article, The Rapture and the Real World: Mike Pompeo Blends Beliefs and Policy. Ronald Reagan was famous for saying we may very well be the generation that sees Armageddon–a very unnerving thing to hear from any man who has the formidable American nuclear arsenal at his command!
How many cults are there?
Up to 10,000 cults still exist today in the United States, according to psychologist Steve Eichel, a recognized international cult expert and president of the International Cultic Studies Association. These numbers do not include mainstream religions and their generally accepted denominations.
In addition to the doomsday or apocalyptic cults, other subcategories include polygamist cults, sex cults, racist cults, Satanic cults, vampire cults, ufo cults–you name it, there’s a cult for everyone. All or any combination of these are all generally regarded as sinister and destructive cults.
The application of the word cult has even been extended, although somewhat loosely, to popular institutions that demonstrate certain cult-like fanaticism such as celebrity cults, sports cults and even to political cults that are willing to commit violence in the name of their leader, such as the appropriately named “Cult of Trump".
The Cult Test
So, is there an official definition of what constitutes a cult? Contemporary psychologists and sociologists that study the phenomena of cults generally agree on the following ten points as a litmus test in determining what groups might qualify as a cult:
Interestingly, there are several Christian leaders that have published their own checklists of what constitutes a cult which agree on most of the above characteristics! So, just for fun, let’s run plain ol’ mainstream Christianity through these filters using the Bible as our evidence whenever possible.
Cult Filter #1-The leader claims a special or exclusive connection to the divine
Throughout recorded history there have been numerous claims of an exclusive connection to a god or gods by leaders with great influence over peoples and nations. Pharaohs, generals, prophets, emperors, kings all made these megalomaniacal claims. For example, the Old Testament is replete with spurious claims which, for five thousand years or so, provided one ethnic group with the belief that they are God’s chosen people. Ostensibly, in his role as an omniscient real estate broker, God gifted them the deed to one special patch of desert located in one of the most God-forsaken regions on the planet, and probably the only area in the region without much oil beneath the surface. And because of that divine connection, Moses and his army committed mass genocide on a scale unmatched in modern history. But, alas, for this essay we are concerned only with Christianity.
After Jesus, the list of claimants of a divine connection is long. Here is just a handful of examples:
Invoking God in public speaking is and has always been a political weapon of sorts. The “God Strategy” is intentionally employed by presidents and politicians, even more so by candidates running for office, including the likes of Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. According to Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, President Clinton invoked God, spiritual and faith terms in public addresses more than either presidents Bush, and more than any pre-1981 president. When thinking of ‘godly’ men, the name Bill Clinton is not one that comes to mind, although it provides insight as to how he was able to connect with black worshipers and Southern white evangelicals alike. Donald Trump, who makes Bill Clinton look like an altar boy, successfully employed the God Strategy as evidenced by his surprising success with the most pious amongst us, the Evangelicals, many of whom, like the Rev. Pat Robertson, believe Trump was chosen by God. Literally.
Delusional thinking and hearing voices are not confined to the realm of religious or political leadership. Even Hollywood celebrities and media icons cannot resist claiming divine connections if it suits their purpose. Shortly after the January 2018 Golden Globes, the political Left has gushed over the idea of a “President Oprah” after she used the entertainment platform to deliver a stirring sermon. When queried by CBS correspondent Ann Silvio about rumors that she might run for president in 2020, Oprah replied in true Mike Pence form, “And wouldn’t I know? Because if God actually wanted me to run, wouldn’t God kinda tell me? And I haven’t heard that.” As one would expect, there was no response from Behar and friends at The View questioning Oprah’s mental health. Celebrity worship is nothing new, so it is not a stretch to say that until her retirement, Oprah had her own cult-like following.
Cult Filter #2-Claims of group exclusivity
Mark 16:16 says, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Christians, on the whole, claim exclusive access to eternal salvation. However, within the ranks of thousands of denominations we often hear statements of group exclusivity such as “ours is the only true church”. As a youth in Sunday school I heard this claim repeated ad nauseam and continue to hear it today from family members. I find such arrogance annoying. There is a Calvinist ditty made famous by the late Christopher Hitchens that goes something like this:
We are the pure and chosen few
And all the rest are damned.
There’s room in Hell for you;
We don’t want Heaven crammed.
Cult Filter #3-Use of brainwashing techniques
Brainwashing is accomplished by isolating an individual, a group, or even entire populations and feeding them a steady diet of propaganda. Submission to preaching, Bible study, liturgy, repetition for hours each day and restricting information inputs to only those that agree with and reinforce the cult’s beliefs are effective means of brainwashing.
Dr. Janja Lalich, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of Sociology at California State University at Chico and former cult member hypothesizes that, rather than the long-held, simplistic idea that cult members are “brainwashed” into submission, they actually make conscious choices that seem reasonable in the context of the environment they are in. If she is correct, actively choosing to believe weird things is far scarier than brainwashing.
Humans may be hardwired at some level to look for causes, meaning and purpose where there may be none, therefore attracting us to charismatic personalities who claim authority to have the answers through revelation. Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley found a tendency for teleological thinking begins at a very early age. For example, ask a three-year old why it rains and you are likely to hear something like “so that plants have water to grow.” Likewise, lions exist “for going to the zoo,” and mountains “are for climbing,” and the earth has trees “so that animals can have shade.” The study found that brain-damaged adults suffering early stage Alzheimer’s dementia exhibited similar thinking.
Shockingly, even with scientific explanations supported by mounds of hard evidence, there are millions of credulous adults among us that continue to assign supernatural causes to natural events. There is no lack of such input from prominent religious ‘authorities’ like Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell. Both claimed hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment for legal abortion and AIDS is God’s punishment for America’s tolerance of homosexuality. Even politicians cannot resist such warped thinking. Tom Delay, former Republican House Majority Leader (and Christian), blamed the epidemic of school shootings on evolution being taught in schools instead of Bible stories. Such ridiculous explanations can only be acceptable to the brainwashed…and the brain damaged.
A cursory YouTube search using keywords “escape cult” will display results for dozens of testimonies from brainwashed escapees from Mormon, Evangelical, Baptist and other so-called mainstream religions. To witness wholesale brainwashing of children by Evangelical Christian groups, watch the Jesus Camp documentary if you dare. It sent shivers down my spine. What is witnessed on this video certainly qualifies as child abuse!
Cult Filter #4-Forbids the questioning of the leadership or disagreement with its teachings
In his letter to the church in Rome (Romans 9:20) Paul warns that as mere humans we are not to question God. As evidenced in his letters, Paul spent considerable effort attacking fellow Christians who disagreed with his version of Christianity, including some nasty attacks on the characters of the legitimate apostles appointed by Jesus, James and Peter. Heresy, or the questioning of leadership and disagreements regarding religious doctrine, immediately led to the splintering of the early Christian churches, at least until Emperor Constantine created his universal (Catholic) version. What followed was the systematic destruction of all who questioned or disagreed with Catholic doctrine.
Cult Filter #5-Encourages followers to break contact with non-believers, including family members
In 2 Corinthians 6:13-15, Paul admonishes his followers not to associate or marry unbelievers,“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers … for what part has a believer with an unbeliever?” In Matthew 10:35-36, Jesus shocked some when he said, “I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.” Continuing to verse 37 he said, “He who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” Again, in Luke 14:26, “If you come to Me but will not leave your family, you cannot be My follower. You must love Me more than your father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters—even more than your own life!” If you did not know these were the words of Jesus you would assume they were the words of a most narcissistic, authoritarian (and dangerous!) cult leader.
Cult Filter #6-Aggressive recruitment or evangelization
Evangelists, street preachers, campus crusaders and missionaries are known for in-your-face proselytization. I call it ‘Amway with Bibles’. Such are certainly motivated by Jesus’ command found in Mark 15:15, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” And in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son…blah, blah…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” These commands are punctuated by the threat of eternal punishment found in Mark 16:16, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
According to a recent Pew Research poll, 25% of mainline Protestant Christians identify as evangelicals. An evangelical is by definition compelled to openly bear witness to their faith in God and Jesus Christ and convert as many infidels as possible to Christianity. From their point of view, it is their God-commanded duty; a matter of (eternal) life and death. Converting someone to Christianity is like saving a life—no, far more than saving a mere human life: It is saving a soul from eternal torture in Hell with a payoff of eternal bliss. If you believed you had the power to prevent loved ones, friends and even strangers from suffering an unimaginable, horrific eternal punishment, wouldn’t you make this a top priority in your life? Would you not try every recruitment technique possible? Many churches employ the effective technique adapted by many cults appropriately termed “love-bombing” where members shower the newcomer with attention, affection, even gifts, to break down barriers and gain trust. Some of us who have experimented with attending a variety of churches are familiar with such techniques.
As well, we all have encountered Mormon missionaries and those pesky, persistent Jehovah’s Witnesses, both which more than meet this cult requirement.
Cult Filter #7-Financial exploitation ultimately benefitting the leader(s)
Tithing and indulgences or “pay-to-pray” as I call it, whether voluntary or mandatory, is the life blood of Christian churches. Someone has to keep the clubhouse open for business. I like to think that most churches use any extra funds for good works, like feeding and clothing the needy. But a line has been crossed by the long list of obscenely wealthy televangelists pleading for donations to continue their “ministries” in the name of Jesus. In 1989 Christian televangelist Jim Bakker was convicted for bilking millions from the faithful, diverting funds to he and his wife, Tammy Faye.
Except for a few, the majority of these religious con men and women continue their scam unchallenged, ostensibly operating under divine protection as law enforcement turns a blind eye. Years ago, lying in bed late one Sunday night I recall watching as charismatic Christian evangelist Jimmy Swaggart strolled through an exclusive Baton Rouge cemetery, microphone in hand, tears streaming and voice shaking, shamelessly begging for donations for the construction of his dear mother’s massive mausoleum! (This was before his fall from grace when he was arrested —not once, but twice — for having holy sex with a local hooker.) No doubt he was successful that evening in squeezing the checkbooks of his credulous following to complete Mama’s tomb. Today both Swaggart and Bakker back on the air, a bit more gray and plump, and will happily pray for you in exchange for your credit card number.
A new form of religious financial exploitation continues with the new wave of “prosperity preachers” (I call them “Camel Shrinkers” if you Bible readers get the pun) such as Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Robert Tilton, Kenneth Copeland and others who employ clever Bible interpretations to receive massive tithings, to sell their books, wrinkle cream and COVID cures, and to justify their accumulated wealth and lavish lifestyles.
Cult Filter #8-Emotional exploitation
Guilt, shame, original sin, fear of Hell are the big buttons in Christianity. Very effective for controlling behavior, especially in children. Then there’s the Catholic Church’s pedophile priests scandal which deserves its own category of “sexploitation”. And just when we thought we had put such scandals to bed (bad pun, I know), the Southern Baptist Convention has made public a growing list of over 300 predator pastors.
Cult Filter #9-False or deceptive teaching
One man’s lie is another man’s truth. All religions are guilty of false or deceptive teachings to some degree. After all, religions require faith which is by its very definition is to explicitly and intentionally deny evidence. And do not forget, 40 percent or so of the 2.3 billion Christians and 86 percent of the 1.8 billion Muslims believe that planet Earth is less than 6,000 years old and that the Universe and all its contents were created by a supernatural being in six 24-hour days. Literally. And talking snakes. And virgin birth. And angels. And demons. And miracles. And…and…and…
Cult Filter #10-Bizarre rituals or practices
The Bible provides the inspiration for some rather bizarre, even dangerous, Christian rituals and practices. Here are a few of Jesus’ Greatest Hits:
Then there are the less harmless (but still weird) rituals involving chanting, burning incense, lighting candles, crossing the heart, and so on.
Conclusion
As you can see, running Christianity through our ten filters, it certainly passes the cult test with flying colors! In my opinion, the only difference between a cult and a religion in the United States is that the latter is supported by us taxpayers.
If you have not done so already, read my companion essay Glorifying Human Sacrifice.