this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2024
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Cults are small. Christianity is big. And it was Christians who, during the satanic panic, created a false association in pop culture between cults and abuse. See, back in the 60s, the hippie movement was turning young people away from Christianity and towards new age spiritualities like wicca and thelema. The christians had to put a stop to these cults, so they created a myth that cult=abuse.
Eh, I'm gonna go ahead and keep calling any group with charismatic authoritarian leaders/councils a cult. The word "cult" is inherently tied to worship which involves giving up some of your own agency or, at least, taking things on blind faith or admiration.
Any time you have adherents giving up their free will/agency, that's abuse and manipulation, to me.
Cult - charismatic leader is still alive. Religion - charismatic leader is no longer alive. That's how I see it, at least.
I get that. I definitely leave my definition open for transfers of power from an initial leader to another authoritarian leader or surviving council of leaders that will keep the grift going.
Edit: Or for transfers of power from an initial group or figure of a generally helpful movement to those who would co-opt those ideas or movements for their own goals.