Aino's Modus Operandi

Episode of reference: "Ties That Bind"

What is a cult?
Some history on cults
Some numbers of cults and people connected to them
Kinds of cults
People who join
Recruitment
Effects on humans
Leaving a cult

What is a cult?
Cult: a system of religious belief; a sect regarded as unorthodox or harmful to its adherents; an intense devotion to a person, idea etc; the object of such devotion.
Taken from the AFF web page: Cult: a group or movement exhibiting a great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea, or thing, and employing unethically manipulative techniques of persuasion and control designed to advance the goals of the group’s leaders, to the actual or possible detriment of members, their families, or the community.

Some history on cults
The first traces of cults can be located thousands of years ago. Indeed, some estimates place the beginnings of cults to the European Ice Age (over 10 000 years ago). Cults have always been a world-wide phenomenon; records of them have been found in Mexico, Egypt, Europe, Persia (nowadays Iran) and The Middle East. In Egypt, a god by the name of Osiris, ruler of the Underworld, had a following. In Mexico cults (in accordance to the history of the natives) were particularly violent. The supreme Persian god of light, Ahura Mazda (his son is Atar, the subject of "Burnt Offerings' trivia section), was worshipped, although by a small minority of the people. Christianity has also been the foundation for many cult movements; Gnostics, Manichaeans, Valentinians to name a few. Some of the main stream Christian cults include the Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and Christian Scientists.

Some numbers on cults and people connected to them
Some estimates on the number of cults in the United States range from one thousand to five thousand. Millions of Americans encounter them at one point or another during their lives. Great Britain is the home to some 500 cults. In Japan as many as 180 000 cults have been registered. Cults stretch over nation limits; the Church of Scientology boasts a membership of seven million worldwide, while Japan's largest cult "Soka Gakkai" claims to have ten million devotees around the world.

Kinds of cults
The American Family Foundation establishes fourteen types of cults: eastern religious, Christian, Satanic, occult/witchcraft/voodoo, spiritualist, racist, Zen and Sino/Japanese philosophical-mystical, flying saucer and outer space, psychotherapy, mass therapy or transformational training, political, new age, commercial and communal/self-help.

People who join
While any cult will probably have its own preferred membership profile, basically anyone of us can join a cult. The public misconception of the fact that cults are joined by only certain types of people, whether they be mentally unstable, lacking in common sense or plain crazy, has been proven wrong. Cult members include the poor, the rich, the educated, the uneducated, the young and the old alike. All it takes are the right circumstances, from the cult's point of view. A loved one's death, breaking up with your partner, loss of a job, moving away, all these can render a person more susceptible to outside influence. Time of vulnerability in the prospective member is the key in recruitment.

Recruitment
Singling out a possible cult member can happen via a variety of ways. The person can be chosen at random, a cult member can "recommend" a new recruit, or the person can be picked because of his power, wealth or any other characteristic that the cult seeks in its members. Recruitment tactics range from giving out pamphlets on the street to organising courses. In the initial stages of interaction with the cult, many people experience "love bombing". This refers to a false sense of family and belonging is created by obvious concern on the part of the cult, which is exhibited in many ways, such as hugging, touching, kissing and flattery.

Effects on humans
A large proportotion of cults are considered harmful to their members because they usually encourage alienation from family and friends. Some cults require money from the members so that they can join the cult, or break loose from the ties of the past. Cults often demand zealous and unquestioning commitment to the identity and leadership of the group. The strategies they employ while indoctrinating and then keeping their members in their leash include peer pressure, emotional manipulation, removal of privacy, verbal abuse, sleep deprivation and fatigue, dress codes, isolation from the outside world and threat of violence at any sign of disobedience.

Leaving the cult
Because the cult member has undergone some form of brainwashing (better described as thought reform) or another, the leaving process is exceedingly difficult. Members are given information about the cult and are shown how their own decision-making power has been taken away. This process is called "deprogramming", although most people are reluctant to use the term due to the fact that it is now tinged with memories of the early snatchings and restraint of the cult members. Another term for deprogramming is exit counseling. Counseling helps ex-cult members adjust to the society and lives they once abandoned in favor of the cult.

Resources:
Ayella, Marybeth F. Insane Therapy - Portrait of a Psychotherapy Cult. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1998.
Hall, John R, and Philip D. Schuyler and Sylvaine Trinh. Apocalypse Observed. London: Routledge, 2000.
Jordan, Michael. Cults : Prophecies, Practices and Personalities. (Britain): ?, 1996.

AFF: American Family Foundation
Apologetics research resources on religious cults and sects
Cult Information Centre
Cult recruitment goes into orbit
Cult Solutions | Cult Education | Essays
FactNet