I escaped a cult – for years I didn't even realise I was in one

The Age

2 days ago

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across the livestream for the Victorian parliament's inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups. It was launched after recent claims by former cult members, including from the Geelong Revival Centre, and as I looked at the inquiry's terms of reference I felt an unexpected tear escape. I read about the coercive practices organised religious groups can use, their methods to recruit and retain members, and the significant psychological harm they can cause, and found myself nodding along in recognition.
The next day these feelings came flooding back when I read a news story about a child in Queensland who died within a secretive cult, and the efforts of churches to expose coercion with their ranks.
'Good,' I thought, surprised but pleased at this attention being drawn to a reality that has thus far remained largely hidden.
For five years, from late adolescence into my early 20s, I was in a cult. And for decades, I have carried and hidden this early part of my life, feeling great shame that I was gullible enough to be lured into such a group, and even more ashamed of the grievous mental health struggles I experienced upon leaving, as I tried to rebuild my life from scratch.
There is a perception that someone who finds themselves in a cult is different to the rest of us – perhaps more naive or vulnerable. While to some extent this is true, as it was my own early trauma history and psychological vulnerability that made me responsive to the recruitment tactics used, I have also spoken to numerous people who had healthy and safe lives, but still found themselves in these groups.
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Many highly intelligent professionals have spoken to me of their time in organised high-control religious groups, and I have come to realise how common some of these groups are. But broadly, societal awareness of their existence is sorely lacking, perhaps led by misconceptions that cults demonstrate their strangest behaviours and beliefs openly for all to see.
In reality, most such groups will have a seemingly normal front, with stranger beliefs and coercion only appearing once you are embedded within the structure of the organisation and have bought into some of their beliefs. That's when they warn you that changing your mind now would cause distress.
The word 'cult' is often used unthinkingly. Cults are social groups that have extreme religious, spiritual or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Devotion to a particular person is another characteristic, and they are set apart from religious groups by the coercion and secrecy which characterises their actions. However, normal religious groups too can have these elements of coercion. Due to their secretive nature, it's difficult to determine how many cults operate in Australia, though estimates suggest approximately 3000, including some well-known ones such as The Family.