The solstice rituals didn’t look quite right: according to the reports it seemed that people were taking them too seriously. But at least you could have given them the benefit of doubt: these people came from Christian or Jewish backgrounds and missed their traditional holidays, so they invented a replacement.
Separately, the link you’ve provided doesn’t support the claim that we are a cult. I think you’re trying to draw support from UC Berkeley’s list of 19 characteristics on that page and claiming we have the Guilt and Fear characteristic. I think we’ve also got Intense Study and arguably Striving for the Unreachable. Three out of nineteen doesn’t seem worrying. The page also has several independent lists of cult characteristics which do not include group confession.
The fact that they are practiced by existing cults does not mean they are not beneficial. The main cultish aspect is the fear of exploitation, which hopefully is not present.
I don’t know how much these are “confession” sessions (the link you provided focused on having people admit things they feel guilty about / ashamed by that could then be used to control them) as compared to “get to know each other much better very quickly” sessions. Can anyone who attended give us a sense of the vibe along that dimension, or quantify how many things people shared were confessions as opposed to struggles, joys, hopes, or something else?
I’d estimate that something like a third of what people had to say was confessions. These weren’t usually “I shoplifted” type of confessions, but closer to the category containing “I often feel like I’m obligated to do X, but can’t because of Y” or “I don’t fit social construct Z and I’m afraid I would be ostracized if my friends and family knew.”
I think this was common enough that, if someone did want to use this sort of information to control us, they could get some serious mileage out of it. I just don’t expect this to happen because there’s not much evidence of any unethical manipulation.
The solstice rituals didn’t look quite right: according to the reports it seemed that people were taking them too seriously.
But at least you could have given them the benefit of doubt: these people came from Christian or Jewish backgrounds and missed their traditional holidays, so they invented a replacement.
But group confession sessions are way beyond the rituals of mainstream religions, they are outright cult practices: http://www.prem-rawat-talk.org/forum/uploads/CultCharacteristics.htm
I have seen some convincing arguments that this sort of deliberate bonding is dangerous. Shouting “Cult!” is not one of them.
Separately, the link you’ve provided doesn’t support the claim that we are a cult. I think you’re trying to draw support from UC Berkeley’s list of 19 characteristics on that page and claiming we have the Guilt and Fear characteristic. I think we’ve also got Intense Study and arguably Striving for the Unreachable. Three out of nineteen doesn’t seem worrying. The page also has several independent lists of cult characteristics which do not include group confession.
I’d be interested in hearing them.
The fact that you’re doing things which make someone want to shout “Cult!” is in itself a warning sign.
The fact that they are practiced by existing cults does not mean they are not beneficial. The main cultish aspect is the fear of exploitation, which hopefully is not present.
edit: if it is, please say so.
But certainly it’s not evidence for them being beneficial.
How do you know?
I don’t know how much these are “confession” sessions (the link you provided focused on having people admit things they feel guilty about / ashamed by that could then be used to control them) as compared to “get to know each other much better very quickly” sessions. Can anyone who attended give us a sense of the vibe along that dimension, or quantify how many things people shared were confessions as opposed to struggles, joys, hopes, or something else?
I’d estimate that something like a third of what people had to say was confessions. These weren’t usually “I shoplifted” type of confessions, but closer to the category containing “I often feel like I’m obligated to do X, but can’t because of Y” or “I don’t fit social construct Z and I’m afraid I would be ostracized if my friends and family knew.”
I think this was common enough that, if someone did want to use this sort of information to control us, they could get some serious mileage out of it. I just don’t expect this to happen because there’s not much evidence of any unethical manipulation.