Dear Hope, How do I start a cult?

Welcome to my blog. I am still getting organized here so please forgive me.

Thinking I had stumbled onto the genesis of a New Religious Movement (NRM) I first wanted to explore its origins and operating structure to understand the current paradigm. While it turned out not to be a religious group, there were so many stories that rolled in I couldn't correlate the data fast enough so I am breaking it into bite-sized pieces.

To protect their desire to tell their own stories in their own way (and me from accidentally giving free advertising out) this blog will explore common themes in current research on coercive groups from a sometimes sociological, sometimes anthropological, and sometimes humorous personal perspective.

The content will get more academic as we go on, but just to kick it off here's the answer to the first question: How do I start a cult? This video demonstrates a number of the commonly used tactics employed by coercive groups - perhaps you recognize some of these yourself if you've ever been asked to come to an information meeting only to get pitched on life insurance or something similar.


Now you know. You're welcome!

(One of my all-time favourite videos. Ridiculously poor production quality but ridiculously accurate.)

I have all kinds of informative and interesting things planned for this blog so it's going to take some time but scheduled for the near future, features and pages will be added, including:

Dear Hope - answering pressing questions, delivered with humour, wit, and a healthy dose of insight.
Shepherd of the Week - where does he fit, on a scale of Mahatma Ghandi to Charles Manson?
#metoomyguru - survivor stories from brave souls who refuse to be silent
Glossary - from "apophenia" to "vexatious litigation" you'll be able to look it up there
... plus feature articles, guest columns, and a handy guide on how to get the hell out if you're being fleeced.

Since I don't have an article of my own ready yet, I am just going to share this little gem by Chaya Kurtz called:


Tune in next time when I answer this question:

Dear Hope, 

I just attended a retreat and it felt kinda like a cult - how do I know if it's safe?

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