“Cult Commitment” from the Perspective of Former Members: Direct Rewards of Membership versus Dependency Inducing Practices

Abstract

The experiences of involvement in a deviant “religious” group such as a cult or new religious movement is not well understood, with few qualitative studies having explored the experiences and perspectives of former members of such groups. To gain a better understanding of what compels individuals to be become committed to a cult or new religious movement, the current study is a qualitative investigation into “cult commitment” from the perspective of former members. Seven participants from four different groups were recruited, and in-depth interviews were conducted to explore the participants' accounts of their experience. This study found that participants' “decision” to remain in the group was influenced by both “direct rewards” of membership and levels of control exercised by the group and its leaders.

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Dr. Ann Taylor and the anonymous reviewers for their invaluable feedback on earlier drafts of this work.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dominiek D. Coates

DOMINIEK D. COATES is a Ph.D. candidate (Sociology) at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Research interests include cults and new religious movements, identity formation, and identity change. She also publishes and teaches in the area of “recovery” from childhood trauma. Recent articles have appeared in Psychotherapy in Australia; Journal of Religion and Health; Mental Health, Religion, and Culture, and Australian Social Work.