“We all have an idea of what constitutes a cult,” writes author Jane Borden in “Cults Like Us – Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America” (One Signal Publishers). “The word cult conjures a mental picture: a group of beautiful young people dancing trancelike in the sun, probably aspiring actors in Los Angeles who took a wrong turn at the beach and landed in an orgy.”
But that image couldn’t be further from the truth and in “Cults Like Us” Borden charts not just the murky history of cult ideologies in America, but how the country remains a breeding ground for cult-like thinking.
“It informs our suppositions about American identity and our very understanding of the immutable self,” she writes. “It undergirds every vote, purchase, prejudice, and social-media post. Like fish that don’t know water, we swim through it without recognition.”
Ever since the Pilgrim Fathers arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 with almost cultish puritanical beliefs, the nation has been susceptible to cult ideologies.
“But their Puritan doomsday beliefs didn’t go away; they became American culture,” she says.
And, as Borden explains, the meaning of ‘cult’ has shifted from the original Latin, cultus (meaning any religion or religious practice), to something more derogatory, taking in fanatics, enthusiasts and imposters. “Today,” adds Borden, “cult carries strong valences of deception, abuse, and charlatanism.”
But because of the First Amendment and, argues Borden, a nation ripe for indoctrination, non-traditional groups once treated with suspicion, like the Christian Scientists and Jehovah’s Witnesses, are now established and institutionalized religions.
And with that recognition comes many benefits.
“If they can secure church status, we don’t even ask for taxes,” she adds.
We all know the notorious cults of our time, like the Manson Family and David Koresh’s Branch Davidians, but today the number of cultlike groups in the United States is growing exponentially and Borden estimates there are now around 10,000 such organizations nationwide.
Indeed, they might now be viewed as integral parts of our national psyche rather than simple aberrations. “Destructive cults and extreme belief systems are not unique to America, of course,” adds Borden. “But Americans certainly tolerate them more.”
Whatever the group, cults share similar characteristics; a demagogue at the helm, notions of exceptionalism, and, invariably, a ‘Doomsday’ endgame.
They also strive to pit members against a supposed adversary, irrespective of any threat posed.
“When cult leaders, con artists, grifters, demagogues, dictators, domestic abusers, or other selfish dillweeds wish to manipulate or exploit others, all they need to do is raise the specter of an outside enemy,” writes Borden.
“Any will do, it doesn’t matter which.”
Some of the case studies Borden examines in ‘Cults Like Us’ verge on the ridiculous.
Take Arthur Bell, leader of California’s Mankind United cult in the 1930s who convinced 14,000 members to part with their cash so he could take the fight against the conspiratorial web of ‘Hidden Rulers’ who, he claimed, were responsible for all the world’s ills, from wars to famines and even the Great Depression.
Like most cults, Bell’s sales pitch was based on a conspiracy theory where the enemy is “unfathomably powerful” and that only he, with the backing of his members, could do anything about it.
As Borden explains, it’s a common theme. “Cults and conspiracy theories are kissing cousins: they share DNA, often look alike, and sometimes get married,” she says.
But it’s this call to rebel against elites targeting everyday folk that has been the rallying cry of demagogues since the dawn of the nation – and will continue to be, says Borden. “Because these fears are deeply ingrained in us, they are often employed to manipulate us,” she writes.
For cult leaders, it’s personal gain that drives recruitment campaigns. “Voter feelings are all that matter to a demagogue, who stokes fears, bends the truth or outright lies, and builds fanatic followings instead of platforms,” adds Borden.
The problem is the widespread and unchecked deception involved.
“The issue is the card trick, not the ideologies themselves,” Borden concludes.
“OK, sometimes the ideologies are problematic.”
