A. Definition

A Destructive Group is defined more by its behavior/actions than its belief.  The term cult is often over-used.  SDPP uses the term Destructive Groups to refer to groups which act in ways that seek to gain control over peoples’ lives.  This can include a strong domineering leader, threats and punishment for not agreeing with the group, and excessive financial requests.

A group must have all of these characteristics to some degree to be considered destructive:

• Self-appointed ‘messianic’ leader(s) focusing followers’ veneration upon himself or herself, claiming divine selection
• Leaders exercising autocratic control  over members’ lives.
• Use of deception and misrepresentation for recruitment, retention and fundraising.
• Use of techniques for controlling individual thought and personal privacy that frequently lead to coerced reconstruction of personality.

B. Issues

Types of Groups
Groups that are deceptive, destructive and coercive do not necessarily have to be “religious”; some of the most virulent groups are under the guise of therapy, human potential organizations, businesses and political organizations.

Deception in Fund Raising
Many of these groups use fraud and deception in soliciting funds by exploiting social needs in a community.  They also use misinformation to appear to be affiliated with bona-fide service agencies and worthy causes such as drug rehabilitation, and the fight against hunger, homelessness and poverty.

Involvement in Destructive Groups can be Hazardous to Your Health & Wealth
When people are enticed into a destructive group, they may undergo a severe personality change which can result in a rejection of their existing value system, an inability to make decisions independently and an overwhelming desire to follow the group and/or its leader with unquestioning obedience. Destructive groups seek to put all former relationship in opposition to the ‘new way” of life.  They seek to separate the victim from his/her money, family and from normal relationships with friends. Such groups may be involved in the systematic abuse of members: malnourishment, beatings, isolation, sleep-deprivation and sexual abuse.

People Need to Remain Aware
The massacres at Jonestown in 1978 have become history, the Unification Church seeks respectability, the Hare Krishnas dispensed with robes and shaven heads – such groups and other have “assimilated” – there is a danger that people will forget.

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