What are Cults, What is the Occult?

Individuals raised in highly controlling or high-demand environments, including some religious, spiritual, or ideological groups, may find it difficult to recognize behaviors they perceive as harmful or coercive. In some situations, practices that are considered normal within a group may cause confusion, fear, isolation, or a loss of personal autonomy for certain individuals.

If you have experienced these challenges, your concerns and experiences deserve to be heard and taken seriously. No one should feel pressured, threatened, intimidated, or deprived of their ability to make informed decisions about their own life, relationships, beliefs, or well-being. Research and survivor accounts have shown that harmful dynamics can occur in a wide variety of environments when authority is exercised without accountability, dissent is discouraged, or individuals are subjected to manipulation, coercion, or undue influence. IGA’s focus is not on any particular belief system, but on supporting individuals who report experiencing harm and helping them access information, resources, and appropriate support.

What is a cult?

A cult isn’t defined by what a group believes. A cult is defined by how a group behaves.

A group shifts into cultic territory when it, Controls personal autonomy (thoughts, choices, relationships) or discourages questioning or independent thinking. It uses fear, shame, or isolation to maintain loyalty and prioritizes the group’s authority over individual well-being

In short, A cult is any organization, religious or not, that demands obedience at the cost of personal freedom and personal safety. Some of the most notorious cults act as though they promote safety from the rest of the world, while hiding in plain sight.

This definition keeps the focus where it belongs: on harmful structures and behaviors, not on belief systems themselves.

Noteworthy legal cases:

Jehovah’s Witnesses Settle Historic Child Abuse Cases in Federal Court
» https://www.jwchildabuse.org/

Harding v. Watchtower / Jehovah’s Witness entities (10th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion)
» https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/

Survivor’s Rights Article on LDS and Boy Scouts Abuse
» https://survivorsrights.com/lds-bsa-perversion-files-coverup/

Church of Scientology Succeeds in Removing Judges From Abuse Cases
» https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/

Esoteric / Occult Traditions Commonly Practiced in the U.S.

What is the Occult?

From the Latin “occultus”, meaning “hidden” or “secret.”

The term “occult” refers to hidden or esoteric spiritual practices, ideas or rituals that aren’t part of mainstream religion. It doesn’t automatically mean harmful, dangerous, or abusive. They don’t always look like the cinematic display of corn fields, blood sacrifices.

Occults are more about secrecy, symbolism, and systems that operate outside typical public belief structures.

Some groups stay benign. Others can evolve into environments where secrecy becomes a tool for control, and that’s when harm can grow.

The BITE Model by Dr. Steven Hassan

FreedomOfMind.com

B

BEHAVIOR CONTROL

Behavior control is the regulation of a member’s daily life to increase obedience and dependence on the group. It can include rules about clothing, food, sleep, money, work, relationships, and routines.

These demands are often presented as discipline or virtue, but they reduce personal autonomy.

I

INFORMATION CONTROL

Information control means limiting what members can know, read, hear, or discuss. Groups may discourage outside sources, isolate members from critics or ex-members, distort facts, or promote an approved version of reality.

This creates an information bubble that makes independent judgment harder.

T

THOUGHT CONTROL

Thought control shapes how members think and interpret the world. It often relies on black-and-white thinking, loaded language, and teachings that label doubt as weakness or wrongdoing.

Over time, members may learn to distrust their own reasoning whenever it conflicts with the group.

E

EMOTIONAL CONTROL

Emotional control manipulates feelings to keep members loyal and compliant. Groups may use guilt, shame, fear, or conditional approval to make obedience feel necessary and leaving feel dangerous.

This can tie a person’s self-worth and sense of safety to the group.

If you’re in a high-control, cult-like, or abusive environment, you deserve immediate safety, support, and a path forward. You are not alone, there are organizations ready to help confidentially, day or night.

If you are in immediate danger, call 911.

QUICK EXIT