Political groups & movements
Is my political group a cult?
Caring deeply about politics is healthy. Organising, campaigning and protesting are part of a free society. But some political groups, on every side, slide into the same patterns of control seen in religious and commercial cults.
This page takes no political side. High-control political groups have existed on the far left, the far right, among nationalists and internationalists, radicals and reformers. We only look at how a group treats its members, not whether its cause is right.
What healthy political involvement usually looks like
- You can disagree with the group's leaders or positions and still be welcome.
- You can talk to, and stay friends with, people who vote differently.
- You read and listen to a range of sources, including opponents.
- Your involvement goes up and down with your life, and nobody punishes you for it.
Warning signs in a political setting
- The leader or "the line" can't be wrong. When predictions fail, the facts are reinterpreted rather than the leadership questioned.
- Opponents aren't just mistaken but evil, sub-human or a threat to be destroyed, and that hostility extends to your own friends and family.
- Only approved media are trusted. Everything else is dismissed as propaganda, fake or captured.
- Purity tests and public denunciations are used to discipline members, and any doubt marks you as a traitor.
- Escalating demands: more hours, more money, more risk, sometimes including illegal or violent acts "for the cause".
- Your whole social world is inside the movement, so leaving would mean losing everyone.
- The ends justify any means, including lying to outsiders, harassment, or harming people.
Why it's hard to see from inside
Political groups recruit through real grievances and real idealism. Feeling part of a righteous struggle is powerful, and it can make every criticism look like an attack from the enemy. People often only notice how much of their life the group controls when they try to step back.
Where to get help
- Parents for Peace (US, free and confidential, for families worried about a loved one's radicalisation, any ideology): 1-844-497-3223
- Life After Hate / ExitUSA and Exit UK: support for leaving violent extremism (both grew out of work with the far right)
- Worried about someone? Read how to stay connected without pushing them further in.
- More options: Get help