Cultic organizations have increased dramatically in the modern day. The fascinating fact about these social movements is that each is unique in its own right. Every cult has its own unique language, beliefs, and internalized norms, among others. The Democratic Workers Party and Heaven’s gate are good examples of cults, which have been studied by Lalich to create knowledge on the factors that motivate people to enter cults, as well as how these groups are developed and maintained. This paper makes a comparison of the tenth and the eleventh chapters of “Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults,” by Janja Lalich.
In the tenth chapter, Lalich explores the cults and their role in transforming the beliefs of true believers. He further compares the Democratic worker's party and Heaven’s gate social movements, to clearly illustrate how difficult cults convert the views of their members. The main similarity between the two chapters in the book is that they both examine the factors that motivate people to enter cults. Nonetheless, these chapters are very distinctive since the tenth chapter addresses the effects of cults on various individuals by making a comparison between two social movements, while the eleventh chapter examines the bounded choice framework to gain a new perspective on identity shift and resultant behaviors of various individuals involved in cults.
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One of the significant similarities between the two chapters is that both use theories to foster deeper understandings of what they intend to communicate. For instance, in section ten, Lalich uses Gidden’s theory of structuration to highlight the dual nature of social structures, which refers to the relationship between a social system and its participants. Lalich argues that the topic is critical in making a relevant discussion on the issue of cults since this sort of interaction is often overlooked in other discussions. Moreover, the author contends that most of the times, a group is studied on an abstract level, with minimal attention being given to a person’s role in the group or the effect of the social system on the participant.
The author makes use of this theory since it offers a mechanism for assessing these crucial elements. The text provides examples of the defining dimensions of a social system, which are, legitimation, domination, and signification. Signification refers to the composition of meaning. Domination, on the other hand, denotes the expressions of control through the authorization and allocation of resources, while legitimation is based on a code of conduct which is endorsed by normative sanctions. 1 Lalich claims that the dimensions, apart from making up a social system, also enlighten the knowledge base of the participants of a particular system. Moreover, he argues that the aspects are interdependent and interlocking. As a result, when combined, they form a cult structure, or rather, a totalistic system.
Similarly, the eleventh chapter employs the bounded choice theory to support the author's arguments. According to Lalich, the theoretical approach integrates the process of conformity with the post-dissonant state. Human actions action coincides with their worldviews, based on this approach. Nonetheless, the difference between the chapters is that the eleventh chapter not only examines one theory but also its connection to other approaches such as conformity theories and cognitive dissonance. The conformity theory, which the bounded approach is directly related to argues that people act in various ways and engage in different activities due to the need to be right, as well as the desire to be liked. 2
Chapter eleven gives insight into an experiment that was done to demonstrate the theory of conformity, in which participants answered a question in the same way, even though most of them did not agree with the answer. Even when people know that they are wrong, they follow the majority so that they are not perceived as different and in order to fit in. The author refers to this behavior as public conformity. Lalich contends that people who enter cults are motivated by the fear of undesirable social consequences such as criticism, ostracism, and exclusion from the group. The dynamism of people’s worldviews is therefore attributed to the need for aligning with the group's perception of various things.
Moreover, the two chapters have one additional aspect in common. Both of them emphasize the role of charismatic leadership in the development of cults and dwell on DWP and Heaven’s gate to examines how cults develop. The eleventh chapter, even though it does not give comprehensive information on cult formation, offers four primary dimensions in which this social system is formed. The first is through charismatic authority, which entails secretive and inaccessible leadership. The second dimension is through a transcendent belief system which involves an uninfringeable doctrine which is established by the most superior of the leaders in the system. 3
The third dimension is the system of control which refers to firm boundaries which demarcate unreachable space, as well as topics which are closed for discussion or query. The final factor is the systems of influence which encompasses adopted standards as well as continuous peer monitoring which rules out any questioning that is deemed inappropriate. Lalich argues that the cults are characterized by strictly shut knowledge restrictions, which are strengthened primarily through ideologies, social control, and most importantly, resocialization. Likewise, the tenth chapter comprehensively studies the cult formation system and specifically, the role of charismatic leaders in the development of these systems. Lalich, in his chapter ten, argues that charismatic leadership is the interactive relationship that exists between leaders and their subordinates. He contends that this form of relationship is evident in both DWM and Heaven’s gate.
Despite the difference in the use of language, symbols, and various manifestations in DWM and Heaven’s gate, the impact of charismatic authority is the same. The amount of influence that the leader has on his/her followers is critical for the growth of the group. The author argues that early devotees intensely believe in the leaders as a distinctive entity who is destined to lead. 4 The leaders do not take part in recruiting more members into the system since this is the responsibility of the devotees. Lalich claims that new belief systems can be traced back to the initial leaders of a particular social system. Lalich, through various observations made from the two social movements, argues that leaders maintain their influence as well as the fear that they have instilled in their followers, through keeping their distance, limiting access, and safeguarding secrets.
Most members of a cult remain in the dark with regards to the whereabouts of their leaders, the locations of their homes, and other critical aspects pertaining to their lives. Moreover, Lalich argues that leaders of the two social groups often display feelings of paranoia due to real and imaginary enemies. The paranoia is then transferred to the followers, which makes them unsettled and forces them to live in constant fear. Basically, the author communicates the influence that charismatic authority has on follower’s beliefs and worldviews. The maturation of the two groups resulted in the implementation of strict behavioral standards, and norms, with charismatic power shifting from classic forms to a more routinized form.
The two texts are also similar since they provide information on DWM and Heaven’s gate that can be generalized to other cults. Moreover, this information is essential in creating an understanding of how cults function, why people embrace various worldviews, and how these social systems are maintained. For instance, the tenth chapter gives insight on how the cults operate. Lalich claims that cults are hierarchical, 5 which have vertical command structures. Moreover, he contends that these structures demand unconditional obedience, 6 which is the reason why most individuals in cults behave and act in ways that do not deviate from their cultic norms. In addition, cults embrace a centralized decision-making system, where leaders make all the decision pertaining to the operations of their groups. Similarly, the eleventh chapter draws on various theoretical frameworks that can be used to explain the factors that motivate cultic participation and shifting worldviews among individuals, such as the cognitive dissonance, groupthink, as well as conformity approaches. The theories can be used to assess the same factors in modern cults.
The two movements studied in the chapters are symbolic of other cultic groups that exist in modern society. Therefore, the information provides knowledge on the how different cults function. Lalich equates the obedience that followers have on the two social movements as undying loyalty. He compares this obedience to the one that was exhibited by American soldiers in the Vietnam war, which led to the murder of innocent civilians just because of commands. Nonetheless, the eleventh chapter does not view this adherence to commands as merely that, but rather, as the limited choices given to the believers who strictly adhere to the rules since they have limited options to choose from. Hence, they have to select the one that is most favorable to the leaders, as well as him/herself. The two chapters are similar, yet distinctive. Nonetheless, they address one issue, and the eleventh is a continuation of the tenth.
The increase in the number of cults in the global society has become an issue of grave concern. Cults are today associated with a variety of heinous practices, which has attracted the attention of many scientists and researchers. Lalich attempts to develop an understanding of the reasons why people enter different cults, as well as the manner in which these groups function. His text provides relevant, and well thought out arguments which can be used for conducting further research on the topic
Bibliography
Lalich, Janja. Bounded choice: True believers and Charismatic cults . Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.
Richardson, James T. Definitions of Cult: From sociological-technical to popular-negative . In Cults in Context , South Carolina: Rutledge, 2018.
Snow, R. L. Deadly cults: The crimes of true believers . Indianapolis: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003.
Robbins, T., & Zablocki, B. D. (Eds.). Misunderstanding cults: Searching for objectivity in a controversial field. Brooklyn: University of Toronto Press, 2001.
