What’s Behind the Blowback You’ll Get When You Engage Cult Members
9 Points to Consider, plus Resources
I first published this 18 months ago, when QAnon wasn’t even on my radar. I’m reposting now, with some additional notes for this strange new time.
I started writing about cults in 2012 when a group I’d been recruited into more than a decade before began to implode, after the partner of one of the group’s leaders died of exposure in the Arizona desert.
In the ensuing nine years, I’ve weathered a broad spectrum of blowback from loyalists to the groups I’ve written about critically. The responses express a spectrum of defences: from primitive-enraged to sophisticated-subtle. I believe most of the responses share the features and impulses listed below.
This is not a complete list, nor is it scientific. It’s based primarily on personal observation. Some researchers might disagree with some premises here, and I welcome feedback and objections. I’m including a bibliography of diverse resources at the bottom of the post.
Please note: Most of the research on cult recovery comes from the pre-digital era. My working assumption is that for those who see clear cultic dynamics at play in online movements like conspirituality and QAnon, the list below will be both applicable, and need…
