These are selected comments regarding the article posted here: http://people.howstuffworks.com/cult.htm
There is no meaningful difference between a cult and a religion in terms of faith, morality or spirituality. The primary differences are that a "cult" operates outside of mainstream society, often calls on its followers to make an absolute commitment to the group and typically has a single leader, whereas a "religion" usually operates within mainstream culture, requires varying levels of commitment from its members and typically has a leadership hierarchy that, in practice, can serve as a series of checks and balances.
JWs definitely operate outside of mainstream society. Anything not part of Witness culture is "worldly," and Witnesses are often told to "shun the world." The absolute commitment is also a key indentifying mark of the religion. In most other churches, if you attend the services of another religion, you will not be subject to sanctions. In the Jehovah's Witnesses, just one visit to a different church will result in expulsion and shunning from the entire congregation. Friendships outside the organization are also forbidden.
It's really a two-part problem. First, many of these religions are founded by a single person who retains a position of exclusive power within the organization, and power tends to corrupt even the most ethical among us.
Russell, Rutherford, Knorr, Franz, Henschel, Jaracz, etc. etc.
In addition to this authoritarian leadership structure, some primary characteristics of a destructive cult include:
- Charismatic leadership - "ADVERTISE!!! ADVERTISE!!! ADVERTISE!!!
- Deception in recruiting - Not many witnesses will tell you about the disfellowshipping, oral sex, reading non-Watchtower research materials, changes in doctrine, etc.
- Use of thought-reform methods - "Put on the new personality!
- Isolation (physical and/or psychological) - Must be "no part of the world"
- Demand for absolute, unquestioning devotion and loyalty - The Faithful and Discreet Slave is God's messenger on earth. Questioning them, even when they're wrong, is a disfellowshippable offense.
- Sharp, unsurpassable distinction between "us" (good, saved) and "them" (bad, going to Hell) - There are only Jehovah's Witnesses and "Babylon the Great"
- "Inside language" that only members fully understand - JWs have an extensive jargon repertoire: the truth, of the annointed, apostate, Kingdom hall, etc.
- Strict control over members' daily routines - There are lots of parts about dressing like a Christian outside of "spiritual activities." The last large conventions even banned jeans, t-shirts, and shorts after the program, although VERY few witnesses complied
There is no cult without a powerful, charismatic leader. A charismatic leader has the uncanny ability to get people to follow him unquestioningly. The phrase "cult of personality" refers to this type of group dynamic. Cult members are devoted to the leader, not to the leader's ideas. The leader has complete control over his followers -- there is no questioning of his decisions, and he is accountable to no one within the group.
Rutherford definitely filled this role. Currently, the nameless, faceless "organization" most definitely counts as a "charismatic leader." They are accountable to no one, and questioning of the doctrines provided in the "spiritual food" is prohibited.
Cult members come from all walks of life, all age groups and all personality types. However, one common thread among most cult recruits is heightened stress: Research indicates that a majority of people who end up joining a cult were recruited during a particularly stressful period.
The main focus of the Witness ministry is to find those who are "sighing and groaning over this system of things." When someone is going through a bad time in their lives, they are more open to suggestion. JWs often have specially-written tracts for a variety of traumatic occurrences. Well-adjusted individuals often do not have any need for what the Witnesses are peddling, which often keeps them away from the Kingdom Halls. Instead, they are filled with people who have "come out of the world" into an environment where they instantly have 100 or more "friends." Their lives are instantly improved, and provide a good "example" for young ones curious about the world, since they'll be the first ones to discourage them from that curiosity.
Michael Langone, Ph.D., a psychologist who specializes in cults, also identifies some psychological traits that can make a person more likely to be successfully recruited, including:
- dependency - an intense desire to belong, stemming from a lack of self-confidence - I personally have experienced this all my life. I have a pathological fear of not being accepted, which has developed into full-blown social anxiety disorder
- unassertiveness - a reluctance to say no or question authority - Again, I experience his regularly. I have a very difficult time saying no to people or confronting them
- gullibility - a tendency to believe what someone says without really thinking about it - Used to have that problem, but now have come full circle into a healthy skepticism
- low tolerance for uncertainty - a need to have any question answered immediately in black-and-white terms - Again, had problems when I was in the organization, now not so much
- disillusionment with the status quo - a feeling of marginalization within one's own culture and a desire to see that culture change
- naive idealism - a blind belief that everyone is good
- desire for spiritual meaning - a need to believe that life has a "higher purpose"
Instead, recruiters portray it as something mainstream, low-pressure and benign.
JWs often tell people they are "normal, just like everybody else." Except that they don't celebrate holidays and will not even associate with anyone other than church members.
Also, cults typically isolate recruits so they can't get a "reality check." They may hold meetings or services at times that would normally be spent with family and friends; they may hold "retreats" that submerge the recruit in the group's message for days at a time; and they may ask recruits not to discuss the group with others until they know more about it, so they don't mislead people or give them only part of the story.
Meetings several times a week? Check. "Retreats" that submerge the recruit in the group's message for days at a time? District Conventions definitely qualify. The only difference here is that new recruits are encouraged to tell other people about what they're "learning."
This kind of isolation narrows a person's feedback structure drastically for a period of time, to the point that the only people they're really communicating with are the members of the cult they're being invited to join. Their doubts about the group, therefore, are never reinforced, and they end up turning into self-doubt, instead. Looking around them at all of the smiling, friendly people who have obviously found peace and happiness by following this path, it appears that it must be the right way.
Jehovah's Witnesses MUST be right because everybody is sooo HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't think about all the anti-depressants everyone is on! We're HAPPY because we're Jehovah's HAPPY people! Being HAPPY!! means we're right!
Once a person attends one meeting or service or lecture, he's invited to another, and another and another. He's welcomed into the cult family and invited to commit himself to the group. From day one, it's a process of manipulation and deception. And for those who stay on, the recruiting process culminates in the submission of their own personalities to the "will of the group."
The object of a "bible study" is to get the "student" baptised and in the group.
Isolation - Cults cut off members from the outside world (and even each other) to produce intense introspection, confusion, loss of perspective and a distorted sense of reality. The members of the cult become the person's only social contact and feedback mechanism. - Check
- Cults may keep new recruits from talking to other new recruits. They may only be allowed to speak with long-committed members for a period of time.
- Cults may not allow unsupervised contact with the "outside world." In this way, there is no chance for a "reality check" or validation of a new member's concerns regarding the group.
- Cults typically instill the belief that "outsiders" (non-cult members) are dangerous and wrong. - Remember folks, friendship with the world is enmity with God. Who is the world? Everyone but us. They're Babylon the Great
Induced Dependency - Cults demand absolute, unquestioning devotion, loyalty and submission. A cult member's sense of self is systematically destroyed. Ultimately, feelings of worthlessness and "evil" become associated with independence and critical thinking, and feelings of warmth and love become associated with unquestioning submission.
Yes, guard against independent thinking. It is of the Devil!
Dread - Once complete dependence is established, the member must retain the leader's good favor or else his life falls apart.
If you leave Jehovah's Organization, you will be tossed out into the EVIL WORLD that will CHEW YOU UP AND SPIT YOU OUT!!!