How Do I Know if It's a Sick Cult
or Healthy Spirituality?
- Healthy spirituality respects the individual's autonomy.
Cults enforce compliance. - Healthy spirituality tries to help individuals meet their spiritual needs.
Cults exploit spiritual needs. - Healthy spirituality tolerates and even encourages questions and independent critical thinking.
Cults discourage questions and independent critical thinking. -
Healthy spirituality encourages psychospiritual integration.
Cults "split" members into the "good cult self" and the "bad old self." -
Conversion to healthy spirituality involves an unfolding of internal processes central to a person's identity.
Cultic conversion involves an unaware surrender to external forces that care little for the person's identity. -
Healthy spirituality views money as a means, subject to ethical restraints toward achieving noble ends.
Cults view money as an end, as a means toward achieving power or the selfish goals of the leaders. -
Healthy spirituality views sex between clergy and the faithful as unethical.
Cults frequently subject members to the sexual appetites of the leaders. -
Healthy spirituality responds to critics respectfully.
Cults frequently intimidate critics with physical or legal threats. - Healthy spirituality cherishes the members' family.
Cults view the outside family as an enemy. - Healthy spirituality encourages a person to think carefully before making a commitment to join.
Cults encourage quick decisions with little information.