>>Cult Criteria
>>"Cult" is a very specific term with a very specific set of criteria that must be met for the label "cult" to really apply. Since 2015, I've been using the excellent Cult 101 Checklist provided by the International Cultic Studies Association to figure out, for myself, what is or is not a cult. Here's the "lite" version of the checklist.
>> - The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.
>> - Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
>> - Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, etc.) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).
>> - The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel.
>> - The group is elitist.
>> - The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.
>> - The leader is not accountable to any authorities.
>> - The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary.
>> - The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.
(Paul Joseph Watson) Ritual Public Shaming (715,999 views - Sep 4, 2020)
"The Red Guards are back."