Category: Spirituality

“Cult” is a word that is used a lot these days. It’s not always a derogative term, to be fair. But, it does often hold negative connotations. So this week, we’re diving into “what is a cult?” (after diving into spirituality and religion over the last couple of weeks)

A cult is typically a group or organization that is devoted to a particular person, ideology, or set of beliefs. It is often under the control of a charismatic leader. Cults often exhibit patterns of manipulation, exploitation, and psychological control over their members. These groups may isolate members from mainstream society, employ mind control techniques, and demand unquestioning loyalty. A group given the label “cult” is not necessarily harmful, of course. However, many exhibit characteristics that can be detrimental to the well-being and autonomy of their members.

Is there a legal or generally accepted definition?

I found a working paper from the European parliament, from back in 1997. I’m honestly not sure what the outcome was to be honest, and I’ve read it a few times. Essentially, there are two sides to the argument:

• First side wants a legal definition of cult for the European parliament to be able to tackle ostensibly religious organisations who are engaging in illegal or violent activities
• Second side want to avoid the use of the word “cult” because of the negative connotations in most countries in the EU.

The group decided that cults could not be made illegal. Mainly because, within the EU, there are stringent laws regarding freedom of religion and freedom of association in many countries. (If not all countries!)

This committee’s objectives could be summed up under five headings:

1. an in-depth study in Belgium on the basis of interviews with the competent authorities, experts, victims’ defence associations, victims’ families and any other relevant people;
2. a more specialized study of methods of recruitment and practices within cults, to discover possible abuses and gain more information on their organizations, the resources at their disposal and in particular practices which violated social and fiscal legislation;
3. a report on the legal remedies available, including jurisprudence enabling sanctions to be imposed for illegal acts committed by cults;
4. proposals for changes to federal law with a view to restraining illegal action by cults against both adults and minors;
5. any useful recommendations, at both federal and national level, with regard to measures to draw the attention of those involved to the extent of the phenomenon, the forms it took, its dangers, the means to combat it and the care to be given to victims and their families.

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/workingpapers/cito/w10/page1_en.htm#:~:text=Legally%2C%20there%20was%20no%20such,and%20should%20be%20adhered%20to.

Can I find a follow up paper? Can I buggery!! Essentially though, within Europe, there is no legal definition for “cult”. Well not that I could find!

Now, while I was searching for papers on cults, I found this interesting one on on cults in businesses. To me, it seems pretty clear on what a cult is. Some elements they identify are:

• tight control by management over how their employees think and behave
• requirement for alignment and tightness of fit, with a clear mandate for consistency
• Preservation at all costs of a fervently held self-image and self-identity includes fanatical attention to tiny details, including minutia regarding personal grooming and dress code
• an uncanny concern with secrecy
• incentives, decision-making, evaluations, and termination decisions favor insiders
• organizations will create unique rituals, pep talks, slogans, motivational team-building activities
• Having their own special language, terminology, and internal jargon

Once employees buy-in, they proceed with pride to work hard to perpetuate the instilled perspective of being special, unique, superior, and elite. The instilled intense sense of loyalty to the company and its values become a mechanism to influence and enforce the desired behavior

Journal, I. (2022). Is your workplace a “Cult?” International Journal of Business Marketing and Management (IJBMM).

Let’s move on to religious cults

I’m going to be honest. Pretty much any religion will have started off as a cult, in the sense of characterized by its devotion to a particular person, ideology, or set of beliefs. Or possibly being organised around a single charismatic leader. I mean, how did Christianity or Islam start? A religious movement organised around Jesus and Mohammed, respectively.

However, this paper highlights the internal regard of cults within religious movements:

Most religions, or subdivisions of religions, will regard themselves as good, legitimate and mainstream. Other religions, or even sects within the same religion, will be regarded as extreme, false and bad. They may be considered unorthodox or “way out”; their followers may act with excessive zeal. They may brainwash their members. They may even live in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian charismatic leader.

Allan, L, (1996) Religious Cults

So, even within religion, there comes a stage when a “cult” becomes so mainstream it, it becomes a religion.

The Cult of St. Brigid

Oh yes. I found a few papers on the cult of St. Brigid. And it brings us to another interesting facet of cults. Now, this is the point at which I have to say, the Irish have never been backward in venerating one of their own. We’ll tear them to shreds as well, but one of the best sentences I read in this paper is:

devotion to her was carried over to, and propagated throughout, Europe by the Scots peregrini wherever they settled, and their propaganda in her favour attained dizzy heights. In the Book of Leinster Brigid was compared to Our Lady and acclaimed as ‘ the Prophetess of Christ, the queen of the South, the Mary of the Gael [i.e. the Irish]

O’Riordan, S. (1951). The Cult of Saint Brigid. The Furrow, 2(2), 88–93. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27655719

Now, in terms of the breadth of the cult of St. Brigid, O’Riordan uses the evidence of the following:

• the number of Irish girls and women called Brigid
• the number of places called after her – far more than St. Patrick
• the great number of St. Brigid’s Mantles, St. Brigid’s Girdle and of course, St Brigid’s crosses
• pilgramages to her places
• the great number of hymns and prayers to her
• He also mentioned a great liturgical history that has been stripped from the Irish church during, as he describes “the period of oppression and of persecution”

He quotes some of this in Latin, which didn’t help me. So, in traditional modern fashion, I tried Google Translate.

The sixth lesson: once a certain holy man in a synod he saw a vision, and rising, he said: This is the other Mary which dwells among us

Response:

he virgin is carried away, and honor is heaped upon her
there: the synod was pressing, the ninth Brigida Star was flashing. Rites the band applauds, because it hears the heavenly signal.

Verse: The priest announces that this is another Mary.

O’Riordan, S. (1951). The Cult of Saint Brigid. The Furrow, 2(2), 88–93. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27655719

Now, obviously, I have an interest in this paper because it’s about Brigid. But I also wanted to explore this other meaning for “cult”.

Religious cults

Many times throughout my studies in Brigid, I see the term “cult” used to describe the worship or relationship with a particular saint. (This is, of course within Catholicism. Not every Christian sect has saints; and those that do, don’t always define them the same way Catholics do!)

So, here’s another way to think of a cult. It is still linked to that idea of devotion to a particular person. It’s not a negative term in this context. It simply describes the group of people devoted to that particular saint. Within Catholicism anyway, it’s a relatively neutral term.

So, am I member of a cult? Maybe. I definitely am involved in the worship of a particular person/saint/ deity.

I’m not necessarily saying to ignore the warnings about cults though.

The warning signs

This post has a really handy list of warning signs for cults

1. Absolute authoritarianism without accountability
2. Zero tolerance for criticism or questions
3. Lack of meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget
4. Unreasonable fears about the outside world that often involve evil conspiracies and persecutions
5. A belief that former followers are always wrong for leaving and there is never a legitimate reason for anyone else to leave
6. Abuse of members
7. Records, books, articles, or programs documenting the abuses of the leader or group
8. Followers feeling they are never able to be “good enough”
9. A belief that the leader is right at all times
10. A belief that the leader is the exclusive means of knowing “truth” or giving validation

I like this list for a few reasons. It doesn’t really include any of the religious cults as described in O’Riordan’s paper above. The list above is a list of control and restriction. St. Brigid’s cult is not restricted or controlled at all – not even by the Catholic Church really.

In the end

Honestly? Probably any new religious movement goes through a cult like phase. It’s rare a new religion doesn’t form around a charismatic leader.

But there’s the restricted, brainwashing type. And then there’s the more organic, less controlled kind. And both types exist within religious organisations. For example, the Opus Dei organisation within the Catholic Church could be considered to show cult-like tendencies. Certainly, it’s a fairly secretive organisation, although it was sanctioned by Pope John Paul II. (He’s not my favourite pope by any means and was extremely conservative!! Pope Francis is better. Not brilliant, but better.)

So, if the organisation you’re looking at asks you to abandon everyone you know outside the cult, uproot your life, donate all financial assets to the intitution… probably a cult on the dodgy side.

Otherwise – proceed. Definitely, proceed with caution, but proceed…

You would think after last week, this would be straightforward. What is religion but something inherently linked to spirituality? Well, as it turns out, not so much…

I came across this paper by Dr. Mike Sosteric. It’s described as “introductory unit, Athabasca University Sociology 231: The Sociology of Religion”, which you’d hope would make it straightforward. Again… not so much…

To start with, it’s fairly straightforward:

Religion is an institution setup to meet various and specific needs. What needs a particular religious institution will meet will depend on the intent of the people who set it up

Dr. Mike Sosteric, https://www.academia.edu/80934448/What_is_Religion

It’s a complicated topic and it’s made the more difficult, because it is so personal.

What’s so complicated about it?

Well here’s the thing. Sosteric, in that paper linked above, highlights the fact that it’s extremely difficult to consider religion while removing our own biases. If you’re raised religious and believe deeply, then you believe. If you’re atheist and believe deeply, you might think it’s all a pile of manure.

Marx reduced religion to “opiate.” Freud reduced it to an “infantile delusion.” Durkheim called religion a projection of society, and most scholars who approach it reduce it to a belief in spirits of some sort.

Dr. Mike Sosteric, https://www.academia.edu/80934448/What_is_Religion

Plus we can all probably list religions:

• Christianity
• Islam
• Judaism
• Hinuism
• Buddhism
• Confucianism
• Taoism
• Jainism
• Sikhism
• And there’s loads more here

Not to mention, under each of those headings there are up to dozens of flavours of those religions that might have relatively little in common with each other. I mean, I was in my teens before I realised that Catholicism and Protestantism were both under the umbrella of Christianity… I’m really not joking here!

The same Wikipedia post used above gives this as a quote to define a religion:

[a] system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic

(Clifford Geertz, Religion as a Cultural System, 1973)

I mean, ok the definition is limited to men. The feminist in me wants to shout out what definition works for women… But here we are.

Where does this leave us?

In a bit of a quandary to be honest. Some define religion in terms of belief in supernatural beings or forces, while others emphasize rituals, ethics, or community affiliation. And if I’m honest, I think there’s a bit of truth in all of this. Googling “what is religion” really didn’t help much. Dr. Sosteric is correct in his statement that depending on your viewpoint on religion, you either accept your religion or no religion…

It’s a difficult one. For me though, I’d like to think of it like this:

• includes a belief in something greater than ourselves, whether that is a deity, nature, the Otherworld or a combination
• A structured framework of belief, possibly dogma even (dogma = a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true)
• prescribed set of rituals
• material things such as building or items of clothing or holy objects/ relics etc
• there is usually a community involved, some sort of social gathering for ritual or other reasons
• there’s usually also a spiritual or mystical element – an experience of the otherworldly or supernatural being
• storytelling – all religions have stories. Whether it’s the hagiographies of the saints from the early Christian Church to the stories of Buddha or the various creation stories around the world
• There’s nearly always something around healing. Seriously.

How accurate is my list?

Well, I’m not a scholar of humanities or of world religions. The items in the list above come from my own, somewhat erratic reading around the subject. They come from my own experience in the last four decades. And from the experiences of people I know.

So, y’know, take it with a pinch of salt.

But it’s not that easy to define. There are too many different opinions and thoughts around it. And indeed, our own background, upbringing and religious experiences or lack thereof will fuel our own beliefs in this area.

Why bother trying to define religion then?

Mostly, because it is a thinking point. It’s not necessarily something I spend a lot of time on, but it is part of my spiritual practice to think on these things. Religion has been the cause of major upheaval, violence, racism, genocide and other evils in this world. I think given that, it behooves us to at least try and understand it.

We may never come up with a generally accepted definition of “religion”. But if we understand the concepts that generally make up a religion, we can start to understand why some people act the way they do, in direct contravention to the ways we think of as correct. Maybe neither party is fully correct, but by going back to first principles, we can make progress to understanding each other.

Finally, and I really do mean finally, most of what I’ve read about the core tenets of any of the major religions I’ve come across can be boiled down to this: be decent to each other.

That’s it…

I talk about a daily spiritual practice, but what is spirituality? Well, the idea is fairly intangible. But here we go.

The idea of spirituality is based in the concept of there being a realm or a place beyond the material world. The world of the soul. Now of course, there are entire books and learned people investigating what is a soul, so I’m not going to go into that here. For now – I will merely allow that it is a place of spirit, of ether, of that intangible part of us that is neither physcial, nor mental.

Any science behind this?

Well, yes! A quick search on Google Scholar for “What is Spirituality2?” got me about 2,940,000 results (0.13 sec)… I’m going to be honest here. I have not read all 2.94million results. I did however browse through four of them.

• Lepherd, L., 2015. Spirituality: Everyone has it, but what is it?. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 21(5), pp.566-574. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ijn.12285)
• George, L.K., Larson, D.B., Koenig, H.G. and McCullough, M.E., 2000. Spirituality and health: What we know, what we need to know. Journal of social and clinical psychology, 19(1), pp.102-116. (https://journals.lww.com/hnpjournal/Citation/1989/05000/Spirituality__An_analysis_of_the_concept.11.aspx )
• Wuthnow, R., 2001. Spirituality and spiritual practice. The Blackwell companion to sociology of religion, pp.306-320. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9780470998571#page=323)
• Murgia, C., Notarnicola, I., Rocco, G., & Stievano, A. (2020). Spirituality in nursing: A concept analysis. Nursing Ethics, 27(5), 1327–1343. (https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733020909534)

(Yes, this is the sort of reading I do in my spare time!)

Murgia et al above tell me that:

In Sanskrit, the term Atman [self] has been defined as: “Spiritual essence of life”.

Murgia, C., Notarnicola, I., Rocco, G., & Stievano, A. (2020). Spirituality in nursing: A concept analysis

Now, that’s a definition, but pretty much all the papers above mention the difficulty in setting “spirituality” aside from “religion”. I’m not gonna lie – it’s difficult. I am going to try though. Whether I succeed or remains to be seen. Lepherd (2015) tells us: There seem to be almost as many definitions of spirituality as there are writers on the subject. Yes, it does bear a remarkable resemblance to my attitude to Brigid.

Vague science, then?

Indeed. When it comes to defining spirituality, most researchers veer away, being more comfortable using terms like “describe” rather than “define”. However, let’s have a go…

There are few items that are mentioned frequently:

• sense of interconnectedness with the cosmos, nature
• reverence for life
• transcendence
• meaning in life

Sense of interconnectedness

This aspect of spirituality can be a connection to a Higher Power, deity, something like that. Or it can be considered a connection to the world around us. And sometimes – a combination of both.

What does this mean?

Well, in terms of my own spiritual practice, I look at this in terms of noticing the little things. Whether it’s the ray of sunshine peeking through the clouds or an unexpected present or even just a nice compliment for something… Noticing positive, pleasant or otherwise happy things in life has become an important part of my spirituality. And it helps me feel connected to the world.

Some of my worst bouts of depression have been associated with a lack of that sense of connection with the world, so I value it highly. But I also have to work to maintain it. It’s not something that happens naturally with me. And so, we come to the concept that spirituality might an element of work.

Reverence for life

The more I work with Brigid, the more I feel that reverence for life. And it’s mentioned often in terms of spirituality. Now, this doesn’t mean that someone is against all killing. I enjoy eating a nice bit of meat the same as the next person.

But, for me, it does mean that the meat I eat was treated with respect, both before and after it stopped breathing. (Or in the case of fish – whatever it is fish do!) This is a common theme through papers. It’s not necessarily that all life is equal or sacred. No one will ever convince me that ants have the right to enter my kitchen! But it is the feeling that all life has the right to exist. Just… not in my kitchen…

I think this is an off shoot of the connection to the world, to be honest. I can’t see how you can feel connected to the world, to nature and not feel reverence towards it. It’s an integral part of the whole thing for me.

Transcendence

OK, I have to admit, I have an issue with this one. Transcendence appears to be the will or ability to “rise above” our mundane, physical life. Above the dirt, the grime, the reality of the world to a “higher plane” of some sort.

And that’s ok for some people. But I think it leaves out a lot of the reality of the world. To me, this gives the impression of someone gone beyond the mundane existence of most of us, as if that mundane existence has no value. And I accept that this is probably one of the chips on my shoulder… but it’s still a belief.

If I redefine it slightly though, it works a bit better. So, if I see it as being, not ignoring the reality of life, but being able to acknowledge the beauty in all life… Maybe even have reverence for all life. Even the dirty bits. Because, let’s face it – it doesn’t matter how evolved you are, there’s very few people in this world that can survive without food and water. And once you consume, you also produce waste. For me – if you can achieve transcendence while sitting on the toilet, I’ll accept the reality of it!

Moreover, spirituality serves as a catalyst for personal growth and transformation, illuminating the path towards self-realization and inner harmony. By cultivating virtues such as compassion, gratitude, and empathy, individuals embark on a journey of self-discovery that transcends the confines of the ego and embraces the interconnectedness of all beings. In doing so, spirituality fosters a sense of unity and belonging, bridging the perceived divides between individuals and fostering a deeper sense of community and collective well-being.

Meaning of life

Ah the big one. When people ask “what is spirituality”, this is often where we end up. Finding meaning in life is hugely important, in my opinion. It doesn’t have to be a grand plan. Most of us won’t be changing the world.

But we can affect the world around us. Whether that’s starting off a smile outbreak, or just making the effort to make someone else’s life just that bit easier. Saying thank you to a tired waiter. Being patient when on hold to a call centre. (These are ideals, I don’t always manage it! I have been known to tell a call centre worker to put me on to their manager, since they don’t get paid enough to deal with the amount of outrage I’m feeling, though!)

We can all make small differences to the world. We can all make a difference in this world. Come back to the connection piece of the question. What part of the world do you most connect with?

Some ideas for meaning in action might be:

• organising a beach clean up
• speaking to a girls’ school about introducing girls to male-dominated professions
• supporting a charity of choice monetarily
• raising a family
• supporting a local sports club
• founding a community organisation – or indeed volunteering with them
• pick your cause of choice: homelessness, poverty, abuse, oppression… let’s face it, there’s loads of them. But do something with it.

Where does this leave us?

Well, this is only an introduction, of course. I did say this would end up being a series of posts and in the next one I’ll look at religion I think. But I hope this is enough to get you started on considering what spirituality means to you!

Because, let’s face it, spirituality is, above all, personal. Maybe some of what I’ve written here resonates with you. If so, brilliant! If not, I’m sorry. But please feel free to comment below or email me with your thoughts on the matter!