Why are so many people joining cults? | The Economist

Evolution of Cult Tactics

• Online influencers, life coaches, and stealth healers have replaced traditional door-to-door evangelists and street-corner preachers as primary recruitment vectors.
• Groups now specifically target individuals when they are alone online, exploiting vulnerability in digital isolation.
• The Roblox game "Forsaken" was used to recruit children by steering them from a multiplayer game into a private Discord server.
• Recruiters used the game's geometric symbol to claim spiritual powers and a "higher state of being" to selected children.
• Loyalty tests involved assigned tasks and requests to film themselves, with some followers encouraged to carve symbols into their own skin.
• Modern cults increasingly disguise themselves as wellness organizations or communities focused on "self-mastery" and "purpose," a trend that exploded during the pandemic.

Statistical Trends and Growth

• The International Cultic Studies Association tracks approximately 4,000 cults worldwide, double the number tracked in the 1980s.
• France logged over 4,500 reports of suspected cult activity in 2024, nearly double the figure recorded in 2015.
• Most contemporary cult cases involve communities with an established online presence.
• The structural shape of cults has shifted from a few well-defined organizations to thousands of fragmented groups spread across the internet.
• Digital platforms allow these groups to scale rapidly while remaining difficult to spot.

Defining Characteristics of Modern Cults

• Cults universally revolve around a charismatic leader claiming special access to truth, enlightenment, or power.
• They promote a belief system promising transformation, higher states of consciousness, or enlightenment.
• Systems of control are imposed through rules or practices designed to erode individual autonomy.
• Members face social consequences, including marginalization and ostracization, if they attempt to leave.
• Algorithms on social media reinforce dependence by curating content that aligns with the group's worldview, distorting followers' perception of reality.
• Recruitment often begins with seemingly harmless rituals or private chats before gradually escalating in demands.

Risks and Criminal Behaviors

• Cult activities have escalated to include violence, sexual abuse, and rape.
• Financial exploitation occurs through demands that followers hand over their income as a test of devotion or spiritual growth.
• Traditional religious cults (e.g., Opus Dei) differ from modern internet groups by having a lower online presence and less reliance on "wellness" language.

Legal and Societal Responses

• France has implemented a statute criminalizing psychological manipulation and maintains a dedicated watchdog for cult activity.
• Belgium and Spain have also criminalized cult activities, though Spain maintains a higher threshold for intervention.
• The US and UK generally avoid statutes targeting mental manipulation, intervening only when cults commit demonstrable crimes like forced labor or rape.
• Prosecuting groups for psychological manipulation is difficult due to the challenge of proving that fear and control coerced compliance against a victim's will.
• Experts suggest prevention and societal education (similar to campaigns against gender violence) are the most effective strategies for countering cult manipulation.
• Critics note that laws targeting mental manipulation risk criminalizing eccentric communities or unconventional faiths.