Hooded and robed people gathered in a dark room with incense and candles burning, chanting ecstatically.
This is the image that most often comes to mind when someone uses the word “cult”.
Reality, however tends to be quite different. Usually it looks like a large welcoming auditorium with a pulpit and a rock band on the stage. A cross adorning the wall. Yes, it looks like your average church and in fact might just be.
Recently I was chatting with a relative of mine. The topic of church came up in conversation and I mentioned that I had been kicked out of my church a number of years ago, but I was OK with it as it is pretty much a cult. He was taken back by my assessment of the church as quite a number of our family members still attend there. He looked at me with a somber expression and told me that this is a pretty serious accusation to make. Here’s why I stand by my statement, claiming that my old home church is likely a cult.
What is a cult? First of all, cults are more than just religious groups. They can also be political. A cult is really any group in which there is charismatic and authoritarian leadership who use various forms of coercion in order to control the thinking of the people following them.
Why is being in a cult such a bad thing? Well, let’s just say that when you are essentially forced to go along with groupthink, it’s probably because the groupthink is not healthy. That’s why it is important for them to shut off your critical thinking. Forced unhealthy thinking upon you like, terrifying ideas about a supreme being, can lead to mental trauma and a lifetime of fear.
In my experience, I did experience religious trauma as I was given no other options other than to believe that the ultimate being in the universe was angry with me for apparently being born sinful and that if it did not give mental ascent to this groups particular set of beliefs, I was in danger of being tormented with unthinkable agony in a place called “Hell” for eternity.
That my friends is the ultimate stick. The human brain cannot even comprehend such a thing. If you take the concept of hell seriously (and I did), it is terrifying and traumatizing to imagine ending up in such a place or even imagining ANYONE else there.
The man who was the senior pastor during the last few years I attended the church would regularly tell the congregation from the pulpit at the end of a sermon, “Don’t take my word for it. Research what I have said yourselves.”
Sounds pretty good on the surface until someone actually takes him up on it…
Well, I did. I started a Bible study which was an ACTUAL study. Not a bible indoctrination as what is usually meant by “Bible study”. I encouraged critical thinking and open discussion in the group. I am a bit of a nerd and a voracious reader and started studying outside of approved baptist literature, going through my findings with the group and having some fantastic discussions.
We discovered the history of how certain toxic beliefs had crept into the church. Things like, biblical inerrancy/infallibility, penal substitutionary atonement, original sin, complementarianism, eternal conscious torment in hell as well as others. We started realizing that it is actually an option to be a Christian and not believe in these things…that there are healthier things to believe in which the early church actually believed too! In fact, if the early Christians from the first 500 years of the church knew what evangelical churches in our time would be teaching, they would be absolutely horrified!
It was discovered by the leadership what was happening in my study and I was “called to the office” a number of times so that the leadership could express their concerns and forbid me to teach such things. Needless to say, I value intellectual integrity over compliance with what I had realized is a corrupt institution. The last time I was called to the office was for a meeting with the now senior pastor who was at the time the associate pastor and also the head elder. They explained to me that by teaching things which were different from what the church taught, I was going to be confusing people in the congregation and that as a church leader, I shouldn’t be doing that. I asked them if it was my responsibility to teach people what to think and they emphatically said, “YES”. I told them that I thought that it was my responsibility as a leader to teach people “HOW TO THINK” and leave the rest up to God. I then straight up asked them if this church was a cult.
That didn’t go over well and I was asked to leave. Incidentally, both leaders mentioned in the meeting that if a woman ever got up to preach in that church, they would walk out. They also wrote a letter to the elders board telling me that I voluntarily left the church and wasn’t forced out. Yes. They actually lied to the elders board to protect their power.
According to the Cult Education Institute, there are specific warning signs to look out for when considering whether a group might be a cult. I will comment on each point as it pertains to my old church and I encourage you to make an honest assessment of whatever group you are a part of as well.
- Absolute authoritarianism without accountability: In theory, the pastors are answerable to the elders board, who are in turn answerable to the congregation. However, to be a member, you must agree to the statement of faith which is set in place by the leadership. This particular church is not even accountable to the denomination. As such, there is a small group of men (NOT women) who are the ultimate rulers and decision makers for doctrine.
- Zero tolerance for criticism or questions: In this church, criticism and questions were tolerated, just don’t you dare suggest different answers.
- Lack of meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget: On this point, I have no complaint. They have regular congregational meetings and finances are very transparent.
- Unreasonable fears about the outside world that often involve evil conspiracies and persecutions: I have always been taught through the church to be suspicious of anyone who thinks differently from the group…even other Christian churches in the community! Any time there is legislation involving LGBTQ rights or really, anything else which impugns their moral sensibilities, they believe they are being persecuted. I’m sure that if any of the leadership reads this, they will consider it to be persecution as opposed to a revealing of what they are as an organization.
- A belief that former followers are always wrong for leaving and there is never a legitimate reason for anyone else to leave: I was recently chatting with a friend who still attends the church, but is secretly an atheist. He mentioned that people still talk about me leaving and how I am misguided and bitter. My parents have even told my children that my wife and I are “lost”. Not long ago, some friends of ours who were in leadership there recognized how controlling the church was and decided to leave. Others in leadership provided them with a list of “approved churches” in the area that they could attend as an alternative.
- Abuse of members: Teaching toxic theology as mandatory belief as well as practicing misogyny is inherently and objectively abusive.
- Records, books, articles, or programs documenting the abuses of the leader or group: Well, I may be the first one to make some noise about this one.
- Followers feeling they are never able to be “good enough”: When you are taught that you are inherently sinful and that God can’t even look at you—that you basically have to hide behind Jesus (who is also God…I know…confusing innit?) to be safe from this violent and angry god. Also, you are supposed to be magically changed once you have prayed the “sinners prayer” and must keep up the charade of being “free from the temptations of sin” and “full of the “Joy of the Lord”. This is why so many people in that institution tend to be disingenuous.
- A belief that the leader is right at all times: At this church, people are free to disagree with the leader on certain things that don’t have to do with the fundamental doctrines which the group must believe in order to remain in good standing.
- A belief that the leader is the exclusive means of knowing “truth” or giving validation: The leadership of this church has made a solid effort to train the congregation to disengage from critical thinking. They just assume that the pastor and the leaders are more knowledgeable about spiritual matters than they are because they went to a bible college or seminary which ultimately served to indoctrinate them so that they in turn could indoctrinate their congregation. As per my experience, individual congregants are strongly discouraged from learning outside of the denominational epistemology. The library is also heavily censored. I know this as my wife was the head librarian. We donated a number of books by Sarah Bessey, Rachel Held Evans, Steve McVey, Paul Young and other “forbidden” authors. They mysteriously disappeared from the shelves never to be seen again.
Very recently, I learned that this church has had a major split. Apparently there was an attempted coup against the pastor who kicked me out by the head elder who kicked me out along with a number of his cronies (which include the now former associate pastor). They failed in their mission and resigned, taking almost half of the congregation with them. According to the scuttlebutt I have been privy to, the dissenters thought that the theology was not quite toxic enough yet and wanted to make things even more “Calvin heavy”, but the senior pastor was not willing to go along with it. They met in secret and formed the plan for their coup before a congregational meeting with the intent of removing the senior pastor and installing the associate pastor who is an EXTREME 5 point Calvinist as senior pastor.
Now one might be tempted to feel sorry for the pastor and the remaining leadership, but I really don’t. This was a classic power move vs a defense of power. Both groups essentially want to control peoples thinking. They don’t give a flying shit about following the ideals of Jesus whom they claim to follow.
This church has a long history of infighting. The nature of this religious institution has been revealed yet again for the whole community to see as the ravenous beast it is. Their teeth are bared and their claws are out.
Well, that’s my experience with my old church that I grew up in. I know that I’m not alone in this either. If you are part of a church or even a political group, take a moment to check through this list. If you sense that your group is a cult, walk away…maybe even run. It’s a painful parting at first, but very worth it in the long run. You’ll thank yourself later!