by Tara Backes | Aug 29, 2025 | Essays
Rob Picheta remembers walking towards the worst experience of his life. The dorm hall was a concrete tunnel, with chipped white paint on the walls and a stench of sweat trapped inside. The stairs, he recalls, squeaked underfoot. They led to a wooden door, which Andrew...
by Tara Backes | Jun 18, 2025 | Essays
Psychologist Maria Esquerra shares a great collection of terms and language used by cults and cult leaders to confuse, distract, and disguise their language to influence followers. Check it out HERE.
by Tara Backes | Jun 18, 2025 | Essays
Phil Elberg shares with us a document that explores the intersection of legal practice and personal experience with cultic involvement, offering insights shaped by years of navigating both professional and personal challenges. Check it out HERE.
by Tara Backes | Jun 18, 2025 | Essays
Perry Bulwer examines the religious concept of mystical marriage between GOD and believers in the context of biblical bridal theology. He discusses its scriptural basis in the Old and New Testaments and the doctrinal disputes surrounding it. Check it out...
by Tara Backes | Jun 18, 2025 | Essays
Dr. Robin S. Stein explores how certain intimate relationships can resemble cult dynamics, particularly through the lenses of narcissism and gaslighting. She illustrates how a dominant partner may employ gaslighting – a manipulative tactic that causes the other...
by Tara Backes | Jun 18, 2025 | Cults: The Basics, Essays
Alexandra Stein is a writer and lecturer specializing in the social psychology of cults, totalitarianism, and other dangerous social relationships and their opposites: “small d” democracy, inclusivity, and healthy social networks. In this essay, Alexandra...
