Traits of Dangerous and Destructive Groups [Cult Myths]

Every single day anti-cultists, politicians, corporations, religions and the media attempt to blur the lines of what is or is not dangerous by exaggerating harmless things as dangerous and downplaying dangerous things as harmless. To help you learn to distinguish these things for yourself, we will begin examining traits of dangerous cults in order to have a foundation from which to examine false claims about how to identify a dangerous or destructive cult*.

How to Identify a Danger

That a trait of some group disturbs you, such as their wearing robes or speaking in a way you find strange or handing out leaflets, is nothing to be worried about. If they do not actually damage the person, they cannot be dangerous or destructive by any measure, and are more than likely completely harmless in such practices. Though strange or militaristic uniforms and impenetrable forms of speech can be surface-level indicators of something deeper deserving investigation. But those things alone are not enough to label a group as dangerous or destructive; strange, perhaps, but not automatically harmful.

To identify the practices of dangerous cults, we must have criteria that distinguishes dangerous or destructive behaviors from those that are harmless or inconsequential. This is precisely where many anti-cultists go wrong by not clearly defining these, whereas counter-cultists simply redefine what constitutes as dangerous or destructive based on their ideas of what could jeopardize your spiritual soul while misdirecting you from analyzing their own practices.

To start, as the words suggest, we should consider what is “dangerous” or “destructive”, but we should start with defining what is not such. We know the definitions of these words, so assuming classical definitions, water is not dangerous in itself. It is, in fact, essential to our survival in multiple ways. We rely on it for hydration to let our blood flow and mediate or facilitate chemical reactions in our body. But it is potentially dangerous in that it can kill us if we drown in it. It is potentially destructive by washing away our homes or it can crack someone's skull open in its frozen form.

But this does not make water dangerous, but only potentially harmful if misused or not taking care in its presence. Irresponsible use of water can happen. Thus, water qualifies as a red flag under certain conditions, or even dangerous under certain conditions, but this is not true by virtue of its presence in just any quantity or condition.

Thus, there are things with the potential for being dangerous without being dangerous in themselves and are inversely potentially harmless. So, then, we should consider as dangerous or destructive only those things in which the conditions are certain to cause harm simply by interacting with them.

The dangers posed may be damaging or life-ending threats to our physical well-being or wholeness. Things that are destructive in nature may be emotionally damaging such that they could devastate our physical and/or mental health in either the short term or the long-term, impact future relationships or activities, or they may financially devastate us so that it takes time to recover or potentially impact our ability to maintain our lives, or damage our reputation or permanent record and future prospects. (Simple association does not count in these last regards because prejudices are the fault of the persecutor not the persecuted.)

Where to Draw the Line

Again, potential does not mean absolute, though there may be a certain threshold at which “potential” turns to “likely” such that a high percentage of individuals are certain to be harmed. But this must still be in the red flag category up to the point that no reasonable person would consider it anything less than dangerous or destructive so that it moves into that category.

These are not accidental harms caused by incidental mistakes, but they purposefully harm the member, usually to the benefit of the group or leader. “Purposefully harms” means that the danger or destructiveness is known by the group or its leadership, but nothing is done to change the circumstance. It does not have to be the invention of the group or leader themselves, but simply a conscious decision not to change it.

But this distinction does separate one type of dangerous or destructive cult from another. A group may be non-dangerous in all other ways, but practice just one dangerous thing. These groups might not be considered malicious because intent to harm is absent, but rather misguided because they do nothing to change it because of their traditions or beliefs.

A group that desists in its dangerous or destructive practices can no longer be considered dangerous or destructive. Any former status as such does not count.

Government Is Not Dangerous In Itself

Governments, though, should be held to a different measure. The very purpose of a government is to protect its citizens, impose rule, punish for disobedience, allocate resources, provide an economic system and defend against foreign invaders.

The ways it does these things is through armed military, local and national armed policing agencies, patriotism, prisons, prescribed penalties and laws governing trade, all of which have been agreed upon as necessary by nearly all of mankind from the beginning and will always be necessary, even in a government actively ruled by a divine being.

People die in the nation’s armed conflicts, criminals are prosecuted and may even die (whether by a police officer or the death penalty), the people become dependent on the economic system and perhaps even the government itself and some get left out and may starve. These are all for the purposes of public protection and perpetuation.

It is whether those in power go beyond these measures that determines whether a government administration, its organs or an individual in a position of power is dangerous or destructive. Thus a government is not dangerous or destructive simply by its existence. It is such only by the abuses it commits beyond its purposes in the world.

Slavery Is Not A Danger In Itself

Also, as repulsed as some have been trained to feel, slavery in itself is not an indicator of abuse. If a government protects slaves with laws and enforcement, it is possible for slavery to be equitable to the slave as long as the slave is either a volunteer, a criminal or a prisoner of war, rather than arbitrarily abducted for resale or for any other reason like working a drug plantation, sweatshop or sex trade, and a history of being subjected to slavery is certainly not to be used as an excuse for singling out any race as inferior or “wicked”.

Prisons enslave their prisoners all around the world, even in the United States. Contracts keep people bound to a benefactor or corporation for mutual benefit. Soldiers are conscripted into militaries in many countries. Some people have no choice but to work in a country’s only domestic product. There are all forms of slavery besides the kind that invokes fear. To these ones, slavery means never being unemployed, never having to search for a job and never worrying about advancement or what to do next, which appeals to some, but that can never be achieved outside of slavery.

It is not that slavery exists that is wrong, but whether it is abused and whether the slaves feel undamaged by their circumstance. Whether you believe slavery of any kind is acceptable or not, it must be accepted that slavery does not damage the individual simply by nature of their slavery. It is the abuses of their masters that define the dangers. The lists below appropriately cover those dangers.

True Dangers

The posts in the Cult Myths series that include the aforementioned dangers will help us distinguish what is truly dangerous from what is not dangerous and help identify where the line actually blurs so that your conscience can guide you. This series will not consider spiritual dangers as such are highly subjective from the world’s standpoint.

Following is the list of traits that we will discuss that definitely identify dangerous and destructive cults. I have listed them in the two categorical realms of Totalitarianism agreed upon by sociologists and which anti-cultists cannot deny.

In a Ted X talk in 2022, Steve Hassan said, “Fraud and coercion forms my whole model.” Indeed, these do cover the lion’s share of determinants. They will be under Thought Suppression (Mostly fraud) and Behavioral Control (Mostly coercion). These will be the basis for the understanding of dangerous cult tactics throughout this series.

These are traits that definitely result in and are used for suppressing thoughts and invasively controlling member behaviors. These traits are guaranteed to do damage to a significant number of members. Many of the traits listed here are often comorbid within a dangerous cult.

Note: As a reminder, the Cult Myths series is designed for eventual non-religious audiences. Therefore, it will not include scripture references in the text of each subject. Scriptural principles affecting the subject will be provided in the lists below and will be removed when the series is finally given its own site for a broader audience.

THOUGHT SUPPRESSION:

Information warfare against the mind of the member to prevent education or suppress freedom of thought (Includes dangers affecting emotions and access to information.)

• Abduction—Ex 21:16; 1Ti 1:8-11.
• Isolationism—Pr 18:1.
• Purposeful Deception—Ho 4:1-6; Joh 8:44; Titus 1:7-14; 2Co 11:12-15.
• Malicious Reinterpretation—Ps 101:7; Isa 5:20; Pr 17:15; Joh 8:44-37; 1Co 13:4, 6.
• Anti-science—Pr 16:18; 22:3, 4; Isa 5:20; Jer 8:9; Mr 7:19; Act 15:28, 29; 1Co 1:18-23; 3:19; Col 2:20-23; 1Ti 4:1-5; Tit 1:10-16.
• Thought Banning—Pr 2:11; 3:18-21; Ro 12:1.
• Emotional Manipulation—Pr 29:25; Mt 10:28; Lu 21:25, 26; 2Ti 3:5.
• Deprivation—Ecc 5:18-20; Col 2:20-23;1Ti 4:1-5.
• Pleasure-seeking—Ho 4:7-19; Mt 4:8, 9; 5:28; Ga 5:19-21, 24-26; 1Ti 5:11; 2Ti 3:6; 1Jo 2:16.
• Donation Abuse—Le 19:13; Le 25:35-37; Pr 22:22.
• Antisocial rhetoric (Supremacy)—Gal 5:19-21; Tit 1:10-12; Jas 3:13-18.

BEHAVIORAL CONTROL

Warfare against the autonomy of the member to ensure total submission and prevent them from leaving.

• Fear Mongering (Threats; Abusive Speech)—Ps 73:8; Eph 4:31.
• Shaming (Confession Abuse, Love Bombing, Guilting)—Acts 19:18, 20; Jas 5:16; 1Jo 1:9.
• Crazing (Oppression; Exasperation; Gaslighting; Scrambling Memories)—Ecc 7:7 Col 3:21.
• Forced Conversion—Ex 20:5; Da 3:1-6.
• Inciting Persecution (Including Abusive Excommunication)—Ps 15:3; 119:86; Mt 5:44, 45; Joh 15:20, 21; Ro 12:14-21; 1Co 4:12; Ga 5:22-24; Php 4:8; 1Pe 4:15, 16.
• Human Sacrifice—Ge 22:1-18; 2Ch 11:2-17; Jer 7:31 (Ex 19:6, 12, 13).
• Faith Testing (unconditional obedience)—Jas 1:13, 14.
• Militant Preparation—Isa 31:1;  2Co 10:3-6.
• Mystical Manipulation—Acts 7:22-25; 8:9-11; 13:8-10.
• Perfectionism—Mt 5:43-48; 1Jo 2:5.
• Self-abuse (Asceticism)—1Ki 18:28, 29; Col 2:23.
• Sexual Predation (Sense Fulfillment)—Nu 31:15, 16; Isa 57:3-8; Eze 16:33.

If you have suggestions for more dangers, post below. Think first, though, of whether your idea may already be subordinate to one of the subjects here.

These traits do not just belong to a parent organization. They can belong to one of its offshoots (denominations) or just one of its local chapters or churches depending on the person or group running it. So do not assume that just because one of its smaller groups does this that the whole larger group does it across the board. A simple change of venue may resolve your vulnerabilities. Be sure to report unsettling subordinate groups to their parent group, and if necessary, to your local federal authority.

Though this lists the Dangers, the non-dangerous headings of Healthy, Harmless and Red Flags will also be provided in those articles. Other non-dangerous subjects that are falsely claimed to be dangerous by some will be provided later. Inside the posts covering the above dangers, you will also see the following non-dangerous subjects:

• Symbolism—Nu 6:9; Mt 13:10-17; Mr 1:4.
• Clarification of Terms—Joh 16:26; Eph 5:5.
• Tweaking Terms—Joh 17:3; 2Jo 5:6.
• Lingual Terms—Mt 1:23; Mr 15:22.
• Strong Terms (Loaded Language)—Mt 23:1-39; Re 16:14, 16.
• Associating Terms (Dual translation)—Joh 1:41.
• Oral Tradition (Interpretation)—Ps 119:27; Ne 8:8; Lu 24:25-27; Act 17:2, 3.
• Conversation-ending (“Thought-terminating”) clichés—1Ti 1:4
• Jargon (Status-enhancing speech)—Mr 7:9-13.
• Prompting (Power of Suggestion)—Le 19:26; Isa 1:13; Jer 23:16, 17; 27:10; Lu 1:20-22; Ac 19:19.
• Divisiveness (Us vs. Them)—Mt 13:11; Ac 15:24; 2Co 6:17.
• Misunderstanding—Lu 12:47, 48.
• Medical Procedure Rejection—Ge 9:4; De 12:16; 23:23; Zph 1:17; Ac 15:29.
• Caution Warnings—De 29;18-21; Mr 12:38-40; 1Co 8:7-13; 10:12-14; Heb 3:1-19.
• Defining Choices—De 30:19, 20.
• Self-determination—De 30:19, 20; Jos 24:15; Isa 48:18; Ho 14:4 (Compare Ge 1:26); Lu 22:42; R 6:12-14.
• Doubt Avoidance—Mt 21:21; Jas 1:6; Jud 22.
• Claims to Happiness—Ps 16:11; Pr 3:18; Mt 5:3-12; 1Pe 3:14, 15; 4:14
• Pursuit of Happiness—Ecc 2:24; Ps 128:2; Ac 20:35; Re 20:6.
• Incitement to Empathy—1Co 10:24, 32, 33; Col 3:12; Php 2:1-4; 1Pe 3:8.
• Greeting Members—Ac 18:22; Ro 16:16.
• Imposed Resource Dependence—Pr 3:27; Am 8:11; Mt 5:6; 1Co 6:12; Col 4:1.
• Dietary Restrictions—Le 11:4-8, 10-20, 26, 27, 29-31; Mr 7:18, 19; Ac 15:29; 1Co 8:7-13; 
• Self-denial—Col 2:16-23
• Sense Enjoyment—Nu 11:4-6; De 23:24; Ps 16:6; 78:25; 145:16; Pr 5:15-23; 20:13; 27:7; Ecc 2:1-3:13; Isa 58:9-11; Jer 31:12-14; 25, 26; Heb 13:5; 1Ti 6:8.
• Unseen Hope—Pr 13:12; Ro 8:19-25; 2Co 4:16-5:9.
• Donations—Mt 10:7, 8; Joh 12:5, 6; 1Co 16:1-3.
• Tithing—Nu 18:21; 24; Le 27:30-32; De 14, 28, 29; 26:12; Mt 23:23; Lu 11:39-42; Heb 7:4-10.
• Confession—Le 5:5; Jos 7:19; 2Sa 12:13; Ezra 10:11; Ps 32:5; Pr 28:13; Jas 5:16; 1Jo 1:8-10.
• Reporting Others—Le 5:1; Pr 29:24; Mt 18:15-17; 1Co 1:11; 5:1.
• Proselytizing—Isa 2:2, 3; Mt 23:15; 24:14; 28:19, 20; Lu 10:1-7; Ac 8:12; 20:20.
• Purposefully Standing Out—Mt 1:19; 6:1-6; 16-18; 23:5; 5:14-16; 1Co 4:9-13; Php 2:15.
• Receiving Persecution—Mt 5:10-12; Joh 15:18-20; 1Co 4:11-14; Gal 6:12-16; Jas 3:17; 18.
• Self-sacrifice—Ge 22:1-18; Ex 35:28; Joh 15:13; 2Ti 4:5-8; Ro 12:1, 2; Heb 13:15; 1Jo 4:10.
• Faith—Joh 3:17, 18; Ro 10:9, 10; 11:23; 2Th 3:2b; Heb 3:18-19; 11:1, 6, 13-16; 17-19; Jas 2:14-26.
• Obedience—Ac 5:29, 32; 7:39; Ro 6:12-14, 16, 17; 16:19; Eph 6:1; 5; Col 3:20; 22; Tit 2:3-5; 3:1; Heb 13:17; Jas 3:17; 1Pe 3:1; 5:5.
• Hierarchy—Ac 15:2, 6; 20:28-30; Eph 5:21-33; Heb 13:17; 1Pe 5:2, 3, 5.
• Leadership—Mt 23:9-12; 24:45; Joh 15:16; Ac 3:20; 14:23; 15:2, 6; 20:28.
• Self-aggrandizement—Pr 15:33; 16:18; Isa 14:13-15; Da 4:30-32.
• Governmental Self-defense—Jo 18:36.
• Private Weapon Ownership—Ge 27:3; Eze 33:25, 26; Lu 22:36-38.
• Prescience—De 13:1-5; 18:20-22; Isa 41:21-24; 43:9; 44:6; 48:3, 5.
• Deifying Living Persons—Acts 14:11-15; Re 19:10.
• Seeking an Ideal—Mt 5:4$-48; Lu 6:36; 1Pe 2:21.
• Moral Code—Ro 2:13-15; 2Co 4:2.
• Social Grouping—Heb 10:24, 25.
• Group think—Ro 15:5, 6; 1Co 1:10; Php 2:2.
• Avoiding Social Corruption (Shunning)—Ps 26:4; 119:115; Pr 13:20; Ro 16:17; 1Co 15:33; 2Co 6:14.
• Secretive Meetings—Pr 28:12; Isa 65:2-5.
• Controlling One’s Own Desires—1Co 9:24-27; Ga 6:8; Jas 1:14, 15.
• Marriage Doctrine—Ge 2:22-25; Mt 19:3-9; Tit 1:5, 6.
• Sexual Freedom—Nu 25:1-13; Mt 5:18; Ro 1:24-32; 1Co 6:13.
• Sexual Limitations—Ge 4:1; Le 18:6-20, 22, 23; Mt 1:25; 5:28; Ga 5:24, 25; 1Co 6:18.

This list does not cover every subject, but is a large number that will be included.

Soon we will begin the series with the subject of Inciting Persecution, since it is among the most dangerous and yet somehow socially acceptable.

* In the Cult Myths series, the word “cult” is used in the common pejorative, but only in company with the words “dangerous” and/or “destructive”. It is therefore distinguished from the colloquial meaning of “sect” or “religion”.