470 CHAPTER 12
APA Goal 2: Scientific Inquiry and
Critical Thinking
Cults and the Failure of Critical Thinking
Addresses APA Learning Objective 2.3: Engage in innovative
and integrative thinking and problem-solving.The term cult literally refers to any group of people with a particular religious or philo-
sophical set of beliefs and identity. In the strictest sense of the word, the Roman Catholic
Church and Protestantism are cults within the larger religion of Christianity. But most peo-
ple associate the term cult with a negative connotation* : a group of people whose religious
or philosophical beliefs and behavior are so different from that of mainstream organizations
that they are viewed with suspicion and seen as existing on the fringes of socially accept-
able behavior. Although many cults exist without much notice from more mainstream
groups, at times members of cults have horrified the public with their actions, as was the
case in 1997, when the followers of the Heaven’s Gate cult, who believed that aliens in a
spaceship were coming in the tail of the Hale-Bopp comet, committed suicide under the
leadership of Marshall Applewhite. They believed that their souls would be taken up by the
comet aliens. The splinter group calling itself ISIS in the Middle East is also an example of a
cult, one that commits acts of extreme violence and destruction (Hassan, 2014).
Why would any person get so caught up in cult beliefs that suicide, and in some
cases murder, becomes a desired behavior? What happened to their ability to think criti-
cally about ideas that, to those of us on the outside, seem obviously foolish and danger-
ous? The most likely targets of cult recruitment are people who are under a lot of stress,
dissatisfied with their lives, unassertive, gullible, dependent, who feel a desire to belong
to a group, and who are unrealistically idealistic (“We can solve all the world’s problems if
everyone will just love each other”; Langone, 1996). Young people rebelling against paren-
tal authority or trying to become independent of families are therefore prime targets.
Cult leaders have certain techniques for gaining compliance that are common to most
cult organizations. The first step may be something called “love-bombing” by current cult
members, who shower the recruits with affection and attention and claim to understand
just how the potential cult members feel. Second, efforts are made to isolate the recruits
from family and friends who might talk them out of joining. This is accomplished in part by
keeping the recruits so busy with rigid rituals, ways of dress, meditations, and other activ-
ities that they do not allow the recruits time to think about what is happening. Third, cults
also teach their members how to stop questioning thoughts or criticisms, which are typi-
cally seen as sins or extremely undesirable behavior. In other words, cults promote a high
degree of conformity and compliance (Singer & Lalich, 1995; Zimbardo & Hartley, 1985).
Commitments to the cult are small at first, such as attending a music concert or some
other cult function. (Notice that this is the foot-in-the-door technique.) Eventually, a major
step is requested by the cult, such as quitting one’s job, turning over money or property
to the cult, or similar commitments. Leaving a cult is quite difficult, as members of the cult
in good standing will often track down a “deserter.” Actress Leah Remini has written a
detailed and frank account of her struggles with Scientology and the difficulties of leaving
that organization (Remini, 2015).
Cults have existed all through recorded history and will probably continue to exist in
cult the future. Most cults do not pose a physical threat to their members or others, but the
any group of people with a particular
religious or philosophical set of beliefs
and identity.
*connotation: the meaning of a word or concept that is more suggestive than directly
stated.