The Cult Playbook
How Cults, High Control Religion and Perpetrators of Domestic Violence Use the Same Predictable, Textbook Tactics
I still have a vivid memory from over a decade ago as I sat in my living room, pouring over my journals, and being confused. As I read what I wrote–the things I thought about myself–I couldn’t decipher who said them. Was it the voice of my (former) abusive partner, or was it the voice of the God I had been taught about, the books I had read, and the leaders I followed in the high control religion I had been a part of.
It was through those journals that I was able to begin piecing together how similar dynamics of power and control were in abusive relationships and systems of power and control–which I quickly recognized was high control religion, fundamentalism, and cults, to name a few.
This past week I watched a docuseries, How to Become a Cult Leader, which came out on Netflix late summer 2023. I was immediately drawn to the intentional, but subtle, reminders of how cults, essentially, had a playbook. You don’t have to be a cult expert to recognize the similarities not only between cults, but also with any high control group or relationship. Each episode features an in depth analysis of one of the steps and correlates them with various cult leaders’ tactics.
The steps are:
Build your foundation by embracing your calling
Grow your flock by creating a fervent following that is loyal to you
Reform their mind by creating rules and doctrines to live by that leads them toward enlightenment or a paradise-like end goal
Promise Eternity for following the mind-controlling rules and doctrines
Control your image by going after dissenters, living according to purity standards, collaborating with celebrities/news sources, and using religion as a reason for practices that others may not understand.
Become immortal through creating a group that continues to live on and thrive even if the leader dies, is incarcerated, or has to go into hiding.
Is it a cult? A religion? A relationship?
Or are they all playing from the same playbook?