I’ve been trying to develop a sort of a psychological profile of a typical cult founder or primary leader (which I will abbreviate here for ease of typing as cf/pl). Here are some things that I’ve come up with. I was wondering if anyone here might have anything to add to this list:

1. Cf/pl’s are always [b:bab19b427a]authoritarians[/b:bab19b427a], or those who favor complete obedience, or subjugation to authority, over individual freedom.

2. Cf/pl’s were usually (or perhaps always?) [b:bab19b427a]raised in authoritarian family environments[/b:bab19b427a] that operated under authoritarian rule.

3. Cf/pl’s always [b:bab19b427a]view themselves as super-human[/b:bab19b427a] or better than most, (or better than all?) other humans.

4. Cf/pl’s are always [b:bab19b427a]charismatic[/b:bab19b427a], having the ability to easily persuade many others to believe in their supposedly superior abilities.

5. Cf/pl’s usually possess a keen [b:bab19b427a]above average intelligence[/b:bab19b427a].

6. Cf/pl’s usually claim to have had [b:bab19b427a]paranormal or psychic experiences[/b:bab19b427a] at least once in their lives.

7. Cf/pl’s, when self-proclaimed, are [b:bab19b427a]never known to voluntarily abandon or renounce their roles as cult leaders[/b:bab19b427a], even despite the most convincing evidence to the contrar, e.g. Hitler at the end of WWII. (I have specified here that the leader must be [i:bab19b427a]self-proclaimed[/i:bab19b427a], as Krishnamurti, who was first proclaimed by others, is at least one example of such a person who voluntarily stepped down. Some day I may stand corrected about self-proclaimed cf/pl’s, but as yet I know of none who have voluntarily stepped down.)

8. Cf/pl's were often previously [b:bab19b427a]employed in professions that required the art of persuasion[/b:bab19b427a], before they became cf/pl's.

9. There are probably many other psychological profile items shared by cf/pl’s that might be of interest or value to some here, and I would certainly be interested to hear more input from others on this subject.

Looking forward to your input,

Scott P.

Very often cult leaders are found to be psychopaths.

I would speculate that probably the more elevated a cult leader generally views himself as being above common humanity, the more destructive and psychopathic his or her cult will probably be. According to this theory, cults where the leader has come to believe that he or she is in fact God, or somehow greater than God (some would argue that Hubbard may have viewed himself as greater than God), would tend to be the most destructive and psychopathic. Further, cults where the leaders might still recognize the possibility of their fallability, would tend to be less destructive and psychopathic.

Further I speculate that by focusing attention on the psychological profile of a cult leader, that this might be able to in some ways simplify the process of attempting to understand the dynamics of any given cult, as in all but a very few cases, probably the entire cult, no matter how large, is merely a reflection of the leader's own views and beliefs, that may from time to time merely be elaborated upon by the followers, but never fundamentally altered.

Taking these theories one step further, I wonder if there might be a certain somewhat common set of conditions that usually lead a typical cult leader to initially decide that he or she must be destined to be such a leader. Such a decision may have been made as an adolescent or even earlier.

I also wonder if these normally unapproachable people might be rendered more approachable if they were approached by someone who they somehow believed might actually understand all of these factors that might have led them to be in what must on some levels be the very difficult prisons of misconceptions and mistaken beliefs, filled with a constant undertone of imminent collapse, in which they must find themselves today.

I have asked this question about whether or not any of these folks have ever been known to voluntarily step down, as it seems to me that if this has ever happened, then perhaps by closely studying such an incident, greater insight might be able to be gained into how better to approach others who have not yet stepped down, attempting to add the use of persuasion at the top, to the list of techniques for coping with cults, in addition to the already proven techniques known to result in attrition from the bottom.

Admmittedly, the problem of [i:35d74eced1]closed-mindedness[/i:35d74eced1] would seem to be one of the common characteristics of cult leaders, and therefore this whole idea of attempting to dialogue with any of them in a meaningful way would seem to be tenuous from the start. Still it never hurts to consider such things, if for no other reason, then perhaps only to gain a better understanding of the overall dynamics of any given cult.


Sincerely,

Scott P.

thread "How to Recognize a Manic-Depressive Leader"

[board.culteducation.com]


about psychopaths

[www.geocities.com]



Cult Leadership 101 -- How to Be a Successful Cult Leader (humor)

[www.reallyweirdstuff.com]

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Scottperry
[b:eed5343499]I would speculate that probably the more elevated a cult leader generally views himself as being above common humanity, the more destructive and psychopathic his or her cult will probably be. According to this theory, cults where the leader has come to believe that he or she is in fact God, or somehow greater than God [/b:eed5343499]

Interesting...

Please share more. I voted NO it's too profitable for a cult leader to step down.

It seems to me that the role of 'cult leader' may actually be a rather hazardous occupation, contrary to popular suppositions. The more elevated the cult leader portrayed himself or herself, the more hazardous the role.

Look at what happened to Hubbard in his last years. According to all reports, in his final years he slowly went mad. His psychosis forced him to have to live out his final days 'on the lamm' in a motor home secretly parked in a barn. Apparently about once a week he would emerge and then ask his followers to ritually repaint the interior of the adjacent farmhouse, because it was 'too dirty'. This nearly weekly total repaint of the farmhouse took place regularly until his death. In his final years his fingernails were several inches long. His hair uncut for years and he was bearded. Photos of him during this final phase of his life are all rather ghastly.

Marshal Applewhite ended up leaving this world being short of one important member of his body, which I will leave for those who don't know which member I'm talking about to find out on their own :-), and with a belly full of self ingested poison. How many other cult leaders left this world via suicide, who knows? Certainly lots.

Interestingly, a disproportionate number of cult leaders seem to develop eating disorders, and to become exceedingly overweight. Perhaps this is a reflection of their insatiable appetites for power, reflected psychologically as an insatiable appetite, period.

Rajneesh, even though I've heard that he generally treated his followers fairly decently, ended up as an addict to nitrous oxide, requiring treatments several times a day, as I understand it......

Looking at other cult leaders..... who seem to have envisioned themselves in less elevated roles.... the final story here doesn't seem to always be quite so grim. For example, Brigham Young, former leader of the Mormons in the 1800's. As I understand it Young merely saw himself as a sort of a secondary prophet (secondary to Joseph Smith), and nothing more lofty than that. Young was apparently able to die in relative peace as I understand it. Still the Mormon church is known to incorporate lots of more subtle forms of abuse of women, abuse of children, etc. etc.

In my view, whenever any one adult of reasonable competence assumes an authoritarian role over another adult of reasonable competence, making the decisions for the other that the other should be making on his or her own, a cult of sorts has been formed, and abuse is likely to follow. While it is usually the followers who bear the most visible signs of such abuse, still the leaders will often suffer their own forms of psychosis as well. Sometimes this psychosis in the leader will become undeniably visible. Sometimes not.


Scott P.

Though it may take many years, I believe some cult leaders have the potential to see the impact of their influence on people. Many cult leaders admit to having doubts at times about the work they do (everyone does) but as cult leaders, they see themselves as people who have cultivated within themselves the ability to spontaniously squash those doubts as soon as they appear. They dangle this special endowment in front of cult members like it is something to aspire to. It's the demand for purity that is so enticing to one without such abilities.

All it would take for a cult leader to realise the reality of the position he/she is in, would be to allow a doubt to seed and germinate, reawakening the individual's critical brain. However, even should this be allowed to happen within the cult leader's mind, he/she is still surrounded by a network of 'support', who will step in and take charge should such a thing happen.

For example, I heard a story of one Landmark leader abandoning his seminar and refusing to do the work of brainwashing people. On that very day, 5 other Landmark leaders in the area showed up on his front door telling him to let go of his racket. So the deeper in you are, the harder it is to leave. But impossible? I don't think we can ever say it is so.

Scott P & Dynamix:

I concur with your statements. Thank you for taking the time to point out both the positive and negative sides.

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Dynamix
Though it may take many years, I believe some cult leaders have the potential to see the impact of their influence on people. Many cult leaders admit to having doubts at times about the work they do (everyone does) but as cult leaders, they see themselves as people who have cultivated within themselves the ability to spontaniously squash those doubts as soon as they appear. They dangle this special endowment in front of cult members like it is something to aspire to. It's the demand for purity that is so enticing to one without such abilities.

All it would take for a cult leader to realise the reality of the position he/she is in, would be to allow a doubt to seed and germinate, reawakening the individual's critical brain. However, even should this be allowed to happen within the cult leader's mind, he/she is still surrounded by a network of 'support', who will step in and take charge should such a thing happen.

For example, I heard a story of one Landmark leader abandoning his seminar and refusing to do the work of brainwashing people. On that very day, 5 other Landmark leaders in the area showed up on his front door telling him to let go of his racket. So the deeper in you are, the harder it is to leave. But impossible? I don't think we can ever say it is so.