"we had doctors, lawyers, social workers..."

Quote

AnonymousAugust 14, 2015 at 12:11 PM

Peer Pressure and Lack of Information

Peer pressure is a critical factor in keeping people in cults.

Former members have told me, "In my group we had doctors, lawyers, social workers, people with all kinds of advanced degrees, intelligent people. I would look around, and I'd think, Well, Joe's still doing it. Mary's still doing it. It must be me; it must me. I just don't get it. There is something wrong with me; I just have to try harder."

Cult members feel that way because nobody else is speaking out---because nobody CAN speak out. The one who does feels alone, isolated, contaminated, wrong.

Directly or indirectly, all the cult members actively encourage each other to behave in certain ways. Since we are social animals, it is difficult to resist such pressures.

In addition, the cult's dishonesty about many things keeps members from knowing what is really going on. Members are not only kept from sources of outside information but are also told lies and misrepresentations about the cult, the leader, and the group's activities. The importance or influence of the cult's actions is made larger than it really is; the leader's reputation is embellished, if not fabricated; the number of members or followers is often exaggerated to make the group look larger and more popular; and world events are distorted, as are the outside world's attitudes toward the cult. All these myths bout the cult and the society at large are generally perpetuated not only by the leader but by his inner circle of leadership as well.

The resulting lack of knowledge among most members helps prevent them from making a real assessment of the situation they are in.

Margaret Thaler Singer
Cults In Our Midst - pg. 269-270