What Does a Cult Look Like?

We need community for a healthy spiritual life. But it's a sad truth that some communities are toxic and can do more harm than good. Religious trauma is just as real as any other kind of trauma.

These days you need to be careful everywhere. The online world can be very inspiring in many ways, but also very dangerous. Social media is also crawling with "religious predators" who most often go after young believers.

Think it doesn't concern you? Experience shows that none of us is immune to this kind of manipulation. Cults offer appealing, perfectly thought-out interpretations of the Bible and, at first glance, a friendly community. Their study sessions may be free, but the real cost turns out to be pretty high…

How do I know if I'm in an unhealthy religious community?

1. Clear identification is hard… 🙈

A religious community with sectarian traits won't voluntarily and publicly own up to its true identity. If you ask directly, you'll be assured that you're mistaken.

Concealing facts, bending them, layering half-truths — that's typical. Your sources will be branded as demonic: after all, it can't be the religious movement itself or its members' manipulative behavior that's at fault, but Satan, who's trying to discredit it in the eyes of the public.

2. We have the one true key to reading the Bible! 🗝️

Yes, exclusivism is rooted in the core teaching of many churches. Still, we shouldn't ignore it! If you keep running into the idea in a community that every other church is going the wrong way and only here can you learn the whole truth, pay attention.

3. Isolation 😱

In recent years, unhealthy religious movements have thrived especially online. Do you meet in online (or even offline) group sessions where you don't really know anyone? Are you kept isolated, communicating only with your assigned "supervisor"? This is very likely happening so that once you start having doubts, you won't put other potential members' faith at risk.

4. They know so much about me! 📋

You don't really know anyone in the study group, but they know almost everything about you. Everything from your home address to your most intimate thoughts, probably gathered through a personal conversation or questionnaires. People often fill those out under the false pretense of some noble-sounding survey:

"I'm finishing my degree, I need help with a questionnaire," or "We need help creating a believable character for a student film." Fill in the blank with whatever fits.

5. Having doubts? Blame Satan. 👿

Critical thinking and doubt aren't welcome in a community that demands submission to the authority of a single correct interpretation. But the freedom to ask honest questions and to deepen your own spirituality is absolutely essential for healthy spiritual growth!

6. Leave us and you'll end up in hell. 🔥

Harsh opposition to other religious groups can lead to condemning them to hellfire. Anyone who doubts the truth of the teaching on offer is said to be headed for eternal ruin. This kind of manipulation and threatening is a clear sign that the community is definitely not a healthy place for your spiritual (or any other) life.

7. More and more intensity ⏱️

Do you gradually feel forced to give more and more time to this community? Sessions three times a week, going over them again, more and more activities… No time left for the people close to you, and you're even actively encouraged to keep some things from them? This kind of separation from loved ones, who are supposedly "under the enemy's control," is a classic sign of cult-like thinking.