And yet the perpetrators of those injustices are rarely brought to justice, largely because the boundaries of personal responsibility are fuzzy at best in these cases.

That does seem to be changing though–certainly in the court of public opinion–which we can see in the growing numbers of documentaries, series and podcasts on cults, their abuses, their money-making endeavors, their exoduses and escapes and everything in between.

The popularity and prevalence of these documentaries has me asking, are cults on the rise?

I’m also thinking about my own relationship with cults, or more specifically, cult-thinking, and about how easy it is, not just for any one of us to find ourselves accidentally in or in close philosophical proximity to a cult, but also how easy it could be for any of us–especially those of us who are teachers, coaches and mentors–to find ourselves leading one.

It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds.

RESOURCES

• We’re All Alright Episode 2: How Should We Practice Justice?
• What Makes a Cult a Cult? | The New Yorker
• The Seven Signs That You’re in a Cult – The Atlantic
• How MLMs And Cults Use The Same Mind Control Techniques | HuffPost Life
• ‘Holy Sh*t, We’re in a Cult!’
• The Multilevel Marketing Cults: Lies, Pyramid Schemes, and the Pursuit of Financial Freedom.
• Watch out for tell-tale signs | Rick Ross | The Guardian
• Nxivm Cult: Leader Keith Raniere Sentenced to 120 Years – The New York Times
• Gwen Shamblin, of HBO’s ‘The Way Down,’ Ran A Weight-Loss Cult
• QAnon FAQ: It’s been a year since Q’s last drop, but people still believe – CNET