Every cult I ever saw or read about thinks they're in a world unto themselves. But underneath it all, there's more similarities than differences.
Most cults wall off the world and make a strong line of demarcation between those in the cult and the outside world. It's as if only the world in the cult is spiritually correct and the rest of the world operates in a fashion that is incorrect. In other words, only the cult members are in step and everyone else is out of step.
Most cults have tremendous power because the people in the cult are tightly joined and there's a lot of reinforcement of the cult's value systems and teachings. In the Hickman cult, there were many Bible studies (and that church/cult had branches all over Long Island, NY - all the way from Nassau to the edge of Suffolk Counties).
Cult members form joint households have dorming for unmarried people and marry off their members as soon as possible.
The latter is of most importance to me. When I was very young, I pretty much decided that I didn't want to get married and definitely not have children.
I was miserable as a child and had a load of problems and I figured if I had children, I'd just pass it all off to them and history would repeat itself. I didn't want to drag anyone else, including a spouse, into this cycle of negativity.
But when I joined the Hickman cult, and later Lubavitch, the first thing they did was to try to pair me off to get married. Hickman didn't get the job done, but Lubavitch did and it was a total disaster.
Lubavitch especially, walls off the world. And since they're a relatively large movement, they feel a lot of support from their own ranks.
My ex-wife used to give me lectures, that she obviously heard from the Rabbis of Chabad, about how I "wasn't properly 'centered' before I got married.
Chabad gives you a few classes on marriage before you get married and then tries to pair you off. (Or vice-versa). I had one particular friend in Chabad who screams at his wife and she screams at him, like mad.
I couldn't take it so luckily my wife left me. Then of course, is the fact that it took 3 more years to get a divorce. But I'm the "bad guy" in Crown Heights I'd imagine. Unfortunately, they have a whole neighborhood basically to themselves and don't have to deal with the reality of the outside world too much.

"Every cult I ever saw or read about thinks they're in a world unto themselves. But underneath it all, there's more similarities than differences.
Most cults wall off the world and make a strong line of demarcation between those in the cult and the outside world. It's as if only the world in the cult is spiritually correct and the rest of the world operates in a fashion that is incorrect. In other words, only the cult members are in step and everyone else is out of step."

Since my departure from an abusive church, what helped me is to meet and discuss with others who also left their environment. While doctrinal teachings vary widely, the control methods are frighteningly identical.

Readers who have a psychological background are amazed by the type of narcissistic and sociopath behavior many so-called religious leaders display.