Dubious religious cults, training on the awakening of the “Vedic woman” and network marketing — what unites these communities? All of them are built and function on the principle of a sect.
If you want to experience a sense of unity and thrills, then it’s better to visit https://www.casinochan.com than to attend sectarian events. But how to understand what a sectarian event is? And how not to become a victim? Let’s figure it out!
What Is a Sect?
Dictionary: A sect is a religious movement that has broken away from a creed and opposes it. For example, Christianity was once a sect that separated from Judaism. However, this definition does not cover all facets of the concept.
Sociologists: this is an association of people who oppose themselves to the world and the interests of society.
Social psychologists: these are organizations that take away people’s right to choose and replace personal interests with group ones.
There is another definition that describes what is happening quite accurately. A sect is any community that consciously develops self—dependence in people and deprives them of autonomy.
Modern sects can be divided into several groups:
- Religious cults (Baptists, Jehovah’s Witnesses)
- Commercial sects (network marketing with the building of rigid pyramids and the cult of wealth)
- Psychocults (personal growth training, pickup, and seduction courses, etc.).
Distinctive Features of the Sect
It is possible to identify a sect in a certain organization or community by several main signs:
- The presence of an authoritative leader whose words or actions are not criticized. He has exclusive knowledge that can “turn life around” and is ready to share it with his followers.
- The requirement of absolute loyalty and self-denial. A person is expected to be constantly involved in the affairs of the community: he must spend all his time, money, and effort on this. This is not too noticeable at first, but the deeper the sectarian dives, the fewer resources he has left for himself.
- Limitations. Depending on the ideology of the sect, its guru /coach/mentor may insist that his followers refuse: communication with “unenlightened” relatives and friends, certain forms of leisure, certain food, medical care, sex, etc.
- Exploitation. The leader of the sect often uses the free labor of its members and requires financial injections. It does not always look like a real compulsion: it all starts with offers to buy special literature distributed only here, pay a membership fee, participate in volunteer activities for the benefit of the community, and sometimes end with sexual exploitation.
How Do People Get Into Sects
In addition to basic survival needs, all people have social needs: acceptance, recognition, belonging to a community, creative self-realization, etc. Unfortunately, very often they are not satisfied. And sects are attracted by the fact that they promise to give a person what he needs right here and now, without much effort. And, at first, they give.
For example, a lonely person, without family and friends, suddenly finds people there who treat him warmly and accept him. He comes to the first meeting, and everyone smiles at him, listens, and pays attention. And for this, you do not need to strain yourself, improve your personality and develop — it’s enough just to be part of the community. A person gets what he lacked and will not give it up so easily.
Or another example: a young guy is not confident in himself, and does not know how to get acquainted. He is invited to a communication skills training, where they promise to tell him how to seduce girls in 5 minutes. He gets into a structure where it is impossible to learn something. The mentor cheers and praises all the time (you’re moving in the right direction, you’ll take a couple more courses and that’s it, you’ll become the god of seduction), but the promised result just continues to loom on the horizon, since it’s just an illusion.
Sects lure people with beautiful promises that fall into unmet needs. And the longer a person stays in a sect, the worse critical thinking works, the more consciousness narrows.
