Episode 4: The Sacred Assumption in Cults

Подписаться 4,7 тыс.

Просмотров 1,3 тыс.

50% 1

In this episode of the Cults and the Culting of America podcast, hosts Scot Loyd and Daniella Mestyanek Young dive into the concept of the "sacred assumption," a core belief that underpins a cult's worldview. Daniella explains how cult leaders create and manipulate these worldviews to control their followers, emphasizing that these assumptions don't have to be religious but can revolve around power, status, or other ideals.
The discussion touches on the similarities and differences between cults and religions, the manipulation tactics used by cult leaders, and the challenges of deconstructing these beliefs after leaving a cult. Daniella also shares personal anecdotes about her experiences with the Children of God cult and the US Army, highlighting the parallels between different high-control groups.
Scot and Daniella discuss the ongoing process of deconstruction, the importance of questioning sacred assumptions, and the impact of privilege and societal constructs on our beliefs. They emphasize the need for skepticism and self-defined values, contrasting this with the often rigid and manipulative frameworks of cults. The episode concludes with a call to action for listeners to engage with Daniella's work, including her book Uncultured and her Patreon project UnAmerican.
Autographed book: uncultureyours...
From Bookshop.org: bookshop.org/a...
Daniella’s Tiktok: / daniellamestyanekyoung
RU-vid: / @groupbehaviorgal
Instagram: / daniellamyoung_
Unamerican Videobook: tr.ee/ODM-qtUJaR
Secret Practice Videobook: tr.ee/DGEY3IeQQm
Connect with Scot Loyd's social media : / thescotloyd

Опубликовано:

8 сен 2024

Ссылка:

Скачать:

Готовим ссылку...

Добавить в:

Мой плейлист

Посмотреть позже

Комментарии : 44

@user-pu8if4wd1s Месяц назад

Honestly, I feel like you could write a whole book called "Hold Nothing Sacred" all about getting through this time in the world without falling into that cult mindset. I feel like I see this pitfall in so many places. It's more obvious on the far-right right now, but it also appears on the left. Also I would totally read that book!!!

@GroupBehaviorGal 25 дней назад

@@user-pu8if4wd1s oh, it’s definitely a whole chapter of the book. I’m writing right now!

@ResponsibleFaith Месяц назад

Great episode! I resonated with the point about gossip in cults being defined the way it is, forbidden, and used to control the narrative. It keeps abuse victims quiet. And it is predominantly seen as a female quality.

@RobertJones-gq3jq Месяц назад

Great vid. I learned alot.

@browniebun Месяц назад

Sacred assumption and religious guilt held me hostage but I kept asking questions. To my own detriment. Bullying had become quite normalized in my home situation that when I went into the world, and was bullied as an adult, I started to give up on life. Listening to this message made realize I was actually brave enough to hold a torch to the bs insanity I was forced to believe. It angers me to know that this nonsense took so much that I had to give. For nothing.

@GroupBehaviorGal Месяц назад

@@browniebun so sorry. But good for you for fighting it 💔

@sarahpinho1114 Месяц назад

good point

@sarahpinho1114 Месяц назад

Oh my gosh I just realized my unintentional pun 😂 I really did mean good ideas, but yes also good knitting work

@suegr98 Месяц назад

I recently read The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen and watched the show on Max AND embarked on the Ken Burns documentary on The Vietnam War and a recurring theme was the fight for “freedom”. The war represented at least 3 cults at war and what they held in common was a sacred assumption of freedom. (New insight for me). I’m about to do a light spoiler but it’s not of the storyline (which is a violet historical thriller), it’s about breaking down the sacred assumption. . . . . In a viet Cong reeducation camp there is a sign that says “Nothing is more important than freedom”. After the prisoner (sympathizer/protagonist) is completely broken down he realizes that the statement should have a literal emphasis on nothing in that “NOTHING is more important than freedom”. Which is really deep and I continue to think about it especially under this bullet point of sacred assumption.

@suegr98 Месяц назад

Also if you are committed to holding nothing sacred you can also hold that assumption sacred! Sort of like everything in moderation, including moderation 😊

@Kiki-vc1xo Месяц назад

So if I got it right tldr: sacred assumption is that good things happen to good people, bad things happen to bad people and leader teaches you who is good and who is bad. That is why we must know that nothing is pure good or pure evil

@GroupBehaviorGal Месяц назад

@@Kiki-vc1xo what you’re describing his prosperity doctrine, which is a whole other kit and caboodle. The secret assumption is one single belief that a group has which you have to hold to be a member in good standing of that group. Not all groups have this. All cults have this. (for example, if you are in the US Army, you have to believe that the American flag is worth dying for.)

@traviswiggins1160 Месяц назад

The guy on the left came to our murder mystery here in Springfield, IL. I remember you, STALLION! Great podcast! What a coincidence!

@traviswiggins1160 Месяц назад

Just read the background of your channel. Absolutely tremendous work and I have such respect for your project.

@GroupBehaviorGal Месяц назад

@@traviswiggins1160 thanks so much! I’ll let Scot know about your message. ❤️

@thescotloyd Месяц назад

We had a great time! And obviously ‘Stallion’ is wishful thinking on my part! 😂 We’ll be back and bring some folks with us! Great fun!

@juliachildress2943 Месяц назад

I enjoy listening to both of you. I'm something of a "cult hobbyist", meaning that I enjoy the study of cults. I'm in my 70s and grew up conservative Southern Baptist. Would not consider that denomination a cult in its 1950s form. However, it has definitely moved in the cult direction starting in the 1980s. Years ago when I saw the Duggar family on TV, I immediately saw in their faith what the SBC could become in its worst form (the Duggars are not SBC but IFB) and that sparked my interest in cults. I would like to take issue with something at the end of this video, though. I don't believe that genuine expressions of humility or sacrifice are bad things. There are times when we should willingly humble ourselves or make a sacrifice for someone else's benefit. An example might be an adult child caring for an aged parent and making a sacrifice of time and/or money to make sure that the parent's end of life is comfortable and secure. I spent over 30 years in human resources and one of the characteristics I came to value most in an employee is humility. And by that I mean not being arrogant, being willing to listen to the ideas of others, being willing to step aside in a given situation to give someone else a chance and that sort of thing. Certainly both sacrifice and humility can be manipulative devices if their use is for public display and martyrdom. But I think that both are good and necessary in the right situation.

@GroupBehaviorGal Месяц назад

@@juliachildress2943 I don’t think we ever indicated that self sacrifice was bad at all-we are talking about CONSTANT self sacrifice the whole time, and the group never sacrificing for the individuals.

@coolchameleon21 Месяц назад

i’m curious if there’s such a thing as a cult without a specific leader. i feel like there are a lot of people with who exhibit cult-like mentality and behavior, but there isn’t necessarily one distinctive leader that they default to for the things they believe

@GroupBehaviorGal Месяц назад

@@coolchameleon21 yes, there is debate on this, but it’s the aspect we think is changing the most with the advent of technology and especially AI.

@user-pu8if4wd1s Месяц назад

Do all religions by definition have a sacred assumption?

@GroupBehaviorGal Месяц назад

@@user-pu8if4wd1s I think probably. I’m honestly not extremely educated in religious studies, but I could see it easily.

@polifemo3967 Месяц назад

can a cult have more than one sacred assumption? Maybe working with each other to maintain the world view?

@GroupBehaviorGal Месяц назад

@@polifemo3967 yes, probably.

@GroupBehaviorGal Месяц назад

@@polifemo3967 I almost think of it like a good book, you can have a variety of themes under one main topic.

@ellenseltz4548 Месяц назад

How does the "space travel" aspect manifest in the Army?

@GroupBehaviorGal Месяц назад

@@ellenseltz4548 THE SPACE FORCE! (Actually promising glory after you die for your country, I think)

@totonow6955 25 дней назад

39:18 Or Is nothing sacred? The original title for Rick Boothby's book Embracing The Void

@GroupBehaviorGal 25 дней назад

@@totonow6955 the good thing is titles are not copyrightable. I definitely came up with the firm the way I apply it.

@GroupBehaviorGal 25 дней назад

Term

@OpusMixtum Месяц назад

I don’t know if you addressed this somewhere but when did the word cult come to apply to these groups? In archaeology we use “cult” to refer to the forms of care and worship associated with a particular deity at a particular place and time. Do you have a sense of when the meaning of the word changes? Or is it still in flux?

@OpusMixtum Месяц назад

The thing about being “exceptional” or “special”: valid. I had a great therapist point out that there can be exceptionally good treatment or exceptionally bad. If you take your eye off the midline if what decency should look like, you open yourself up to the exceptionally bad.

@GroupBehaviorGal Месяц назад

@@OpusMixtum absolutely. It changed after Manson was followed by Jonestown. Since then it’s been purely pejorative, and those of us in the field understand that it’s a very different thing than when referring to “the cult of Isis” in Egyptian history, for example.

@OpusMixtum Месяц назад

@@GroupBehaviorGal thank you for the clarification. I always have to catch myself and explain to students when the word comes up.