CREATORS
April 29, 2025
Sports teams often have a "cult-like following,"
described as a devoted and passionate fan base, often to the point of
enthusiasm bordering on fanaticism. A "cult movie" is one that has
garnered a passionate, dedicated, and often unconventional group of fans.
The word "cult" in the pejorative does not elicit
the fear and loathing it did decades ago, when diabolical cult leaders like Jim
Jones led his followers to mass suicide. As a result, it is difficult to pin
down an exact definition for the word.
Janja Lalich, Professor Emerita of sociology at California
State University, Chico, sees a couple of key elements defining a cult. "A
cult is a group or movement with a shared commitment to a usually extreme
ideology that is usually embodied in a charismatic leader."
Bethany Burum, a research scientist in psychology who
teaches a course on cult behavior at Harvard University, defines a cult like
this: "Cults manage to shift people's beliefs rapidly away from the
broader society and away from the beliefs they had before they joined."
She continued, "The second thing ... cult members act against their own
interests and their families' interests quite strikingly."
Experts who study cults suggest the human need for comfort
prompts people to seek out others or things to soothe their fears and
anxieties. As to the leaders of cults, Josh Hart, a professor of psychology at
Union College, told Discover Magazine, "they typically present themselves
as infallible, confident and grandiose. Their charisma draws people in."
Hart continued, "Followers who are craving peace, belonging and security
might gain a sense of those things as well as confidence through participation
in the group."
Many people are perplexed at how any rational person could
fall for the mistruths, irrationality or strongarm tactics of a cult leader. In
2020, Gregory Stanton wrote in Just Security, "modern social science shows
that people in groups don't always think rationally. They respond to fear and
terror. They blame their misfortunes on scapegoats. They support narcissistic
demagogues they hope will rescue them."
Experts, including Joe Navarro, a veteran of the FBI's
Behavioral Analysis Program, suggest that cult leaders are often pathologically
narcissistic. Navarro told Politics Today, cult leaders have an exaggerated
belief in their own importance, claim to have all the answers, and demand
unwavering loyalty. Cults erode individual autonomy and critical thinking,
leading members to follow the leader's orders without question, sometimes
leading to their own destruction.
In the 1930s, millions of Germans were unemployed, living in
poverty and looking for someone or something to blame for their plight. Adolph
Hitler came to power with a bombastic flair, creating an image bigger than
life. He immediately began to attack the foundations of democracy. Through his
cult of personality, Hitler convinced Germans that intellectuals, artists, the
press, the courts, freedom of speech and freedom of expression were at the core
of Germany's problems.
He also created a scapegoat for all of Germany's woes — the
Jew. First, he set out to remove the Jews and then decided to annihilate them.
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, the German
constitution guaranteed freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Through
questionable decrees, orders and laws — and a legal system that capitulate —
the Nazis systematically terminated basic civil rights and destroyed democracy.
Robert Musil, an Austrian writer living in Berlin in 1933,
wrote, "Freedom of the press, expression in general, freedom of
conscience, personal dignity, intellectual freedom, etc., all the liberal
fundamental rights have now been eliminated, without even a single expression
of outrage."
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly
& George P.C. His book The Executioner's Toll, 2010 was released by
McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him
on Twitter @MatthewTMangino
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