Warning signs of a potentially destructive cult
[...]With that said, there are several warning signs that can be used to indicate when a religious group has gone from "harmless, quirky woo-meisters" to an active threat to its membership and even to others.[2]
Warning signs of a potentially unsafe group/leader
1. Promises are made of a new life, a "spiritual resurrection," and a rejection of one's former life, which are simply irresistible to many desperate people. Therefore, it's easy to be pulled in.
2. There is no legitimate reason to leave. Former followers are always wrong in leaving, negative, or even evil. Therefore, it is extremely hard to leave.
3. The leader's authority is absolute, without meaningful accountability.
4. There is no tolerance for questions or critical inquiry.
5. There is no meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget or expenses, such as an independently audited financial statement.
6. There exists an unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe, evil conspiracies, and persecutions.
7. Former members often relate the same stories of abuse and reflect a similar pattern of grievances.
8. There are records, books, news articles, or television programs that document the abuses of the group/leader.
9. Followers feel they can never be "good enough".
10. The group/leader is always right.
11. The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing "truth" or receiving validation; no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible.
Warning signs regarding people involved in/with a potentially unsafe group/leader
Rick Ross's Cult Education Institute lists the following warning signs for followers of a cult:[3]
1. They are extremely obsessive regarding the group/leader, resulting in the exclusion of almost every practical consideration.
2. Individual identity, the group, the leader, and/or God as distinct and separate categories of existence become increasingly blurred. Instead, in the follower's mind these identities become substantially and increasingly fused – as that person's involvement with the group/leader continues and deepens.
3. Whenever the group/leader is criticized or questioned, it is characterized as "persecution".
4. They engage in uncharacteristically stilted and seemingly programmed conversation and mannerisms, effectively cloning the group/leader in their personal behavior.
5. They are dependent upon the group/leader for problem solving, solutions, and definitions without meaningful reflective thought. A seeming inability to think independently or analyze situations without group/leader involvement.
6. They have a hyperactivity centered on the group/leader agenda, which seems to supersede any personal goals or individual interests.
7. They lose their spontaneity and sense of humor in dramatic fashion.
8. They are increasingly isolated from family and old friends unless they demonstrate an interest in the group/leader.
9. They can justify anything the group/leader does no matter how harsh or harmful.
10. Former followers are at best considered negative, and at worst, they are considered evil and/or under bad influences. They can not be trusted, and personal contact is avoided.