Teaching Cults: Educating high schoolers on the dangers of cults
Introduction
In 1978, more than 900 members of the People's Temple cult died in a mass suicide. This is just one example of an extreme ending of a cult that has fascinated people in the last 50 years. The phenomenon of cults has intrigued sociologists, psychologists, and the general public for decades. A cult is often defined as a group led by a charismatic leader with extreme, unorthodox beliefs who subjects its members to intense psychological manipulation. Throughout history, cults have caused widespread tragedy, such as the mass suicide of The People's Temple in 1978. What are the dangers cults pose? What lasting effects do cults have on members and the wider community? The term “cults” is often misused, and a topic people only understand on a surface level. My goal is to educate high schoolers on the dangers of cults and how to understand and avoid them. Cults are still around today, as well as similar groups, and young adults are the most vulnerable.
Female members of the Manson Family
What is a cult?
“A group with extreme devotion to a charismatic, manipulative leader, with members who are willing to do anything for this leader and their beliefs. When a group becomes so destructive to the point that the members are harming themselves and others.”
My Project
The project: Over the week of March 31-April 6, I taught 3 classes to a 10-person class of high schoolers. This class aimed to evaluate the most effective way to teach this information across different groups. In this class, we talked about terms and psychological manipulation that is relevant to the discussion of cults, as well as recruitment, how these methods are applied, and the end of cults.
My reaserch question: What factors lead people to follow a leader who demands unquestioning loyalty, even at the cost of their individual and family well-being and freedom?
Why teach about cults?
Education about cults encourages and gives youth the tools to think critically. The phenomenon of cults are often misunderstood and incorrectly identified. There is a lot of negative stigma surrounding the term “cult,” one of the reasons that many researchers instead use the term “New Religious Movement.” I chose to not use this term in my discussion, as what we are focusing on is destructive cults, and this term shies away from the destructive element. Though “cults” may seem outdated, many groups, or branches are still active today, and post-high school is a high-risk time due to new environments and young people assuming adult identities. It is important to understand the term cult and the stigma around it, and understand how these groups operate. Information about cults and manipulation can also apply to manipulative relationships. Along with this being an engaging topic, information from this course can be widely applied.
“I wish it was longer, I would have loved to learn more about this topic!”
What is this and how do I use it?
I completed a yearlong project about cults, including research, a literature review, and teaching classes to a group of high schoolers. My experience and the resources I have collected can help other educators teach this information and spread the word about cult manipulation.
On the resources page, you will find my lesson plans, resources I used (including my literature review), as well as other materials you can use in your classes!
My classes
The first day focused on a discussion of their prior knowledge of cults, and what they wanted to learn from the course. We continued with the Heaven’s Gate documentary trailer, then had a discussion of terms. The class ended with information about who joins cults, and a few clips of ex-cultists talking about their experience.
The second day was an informative day of me teaching them key information about cults. Because this is a short course that is just an overview, this is just information they need to understand what a cult is and how it operates. The aspects focused on were: Recruitment, Membership, Structure of cults, Mind control, Leaving the cult, Cult of Trump.
For the final class, they were assigned case studies to look at each about a different cult and questions to answer about the cult. These questions were identifying psychological techniques used, the structure of this cult, recruitment, and more, learning to identify what makes a cult through examples. After they had completed this, they completed the jigsaw activity, where one person from each group shared what they learned.
Each class is 45 minutes long, allowing 5 minutes of spare time for students coming in and leaving. Each discussion should last 5-10 minutes depending on conversation.
Takeaways
Cults are a sensitive and complex topic and should be taught as such. When teaching, be sure to be aware of your audience, especially their age. For younger ages, some of the more violent parts should be shortened or left out. Graphic images are not the best option for these groups. Content warnings never hurt, and before any sensitive material is shown or talked about, there should be a disclaimer. Because presenting some information in more of a lecture form is necessary in a class of this length and with this information, keeping students engaged is important. I had students keep notes as we went, and made sure they had time to write down what they needed. At the end of each day, I had them write down two things they learned, and one thing they wanted to know. There is a lot of negative stigma around cults, so it is important to acknowledge that as teaching, as well as being clear about the definition of cults. I identified what my definition of a cult is on the first day, and discussed the unique qualities of a cult, specifically the destructive element. I also identified the difference between cults, sects, and New Religious Movements. The first day of class I started with a trailer about cults to get them engaged. I wanted them to be curious about cults, and trailers always create suspense, and it was a perfect start to my course, getting a glimpse into a cult, then moving outwards. In a future class, ideally there would be more time. This would allow for a deeper dive into this topic and more information to be shared and to be able to have more in depth case studies that look at recruitment and primary sources.
Did you enjoy this class?
Should this be taught?
Key information
When teaching about cults, there is certain information that is important to include for a full understanding.
Defining a cult, everyone has different definitions
Key elements of a cult
Psychological Manipulation tactics
Why people join cults
Vulnerable, looking for a sense of belonging
Inherent need for interpersonal bonds
Not stupid people, it can happen to anyone
The structure of cults
Leader
Followers
Hierarchical structure
How to identify a cult
The end of cults
Lasting effects
Student feedback
After the course was completed, a survey was sent out asking for their main takeaways and feedback.
What the students found the most interesting were:
How cults recruit people and the extent that they go to to make sure that they stay in the cult
The examples of what makes up a cult as well as hearing about past cults
Learning the reasons why people would join cults in the first place
The videos about people explaining how they got into a cult
The videos and just like the overall information shared
Lingering questions :
How do authorities not notice people going missing or these dangerous cults forming?
In what ways are people who were previously in cults still practicing certain beliefs/morals/etc that they learned from cults still practicing that in their everyday lives?
Why aren’t cults illegal?