Blogs About All Things Cultish And Coercive Control

When faith becomes fuel for domination, and how to reclaim it from the jaws of extremism In the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood, the...

Is Creeping into Australian What Does Freedom Mean Inside and Outside a Cult?Politics PART 2 OF 4 In my last blog , I explored how...

From ISIS to Christian nationalists to hardline Israeli settlers, extremist movements across the three Abrahamic faiths share something disturbingly familiar: A belief that they alone are chosen by God, and that this divine status grants them the right—sometimes even the duty—to dominate others. This isn’t just religious conviction. It’s totalistic thinking, weaponised. And when you peel back the sacred vocabulary, what’s left looks an awful lot like a cult. The Core Claim: “

Under the guise of humility and accountability, authoritarian religious groups have long used forced confession and public shaming to instil fear, monitor loyalty, and condition obedience. Far from creating “safe spaces for truth,” these rituals become highly effective tools for domination—dressed up as righteousness.

In truth, what cults call freedom is just a carefully rebranded system of its own—with its own hierarchies, unspoken rules, and consequences for disobedience. You’re not escaping control; you’re trading one structure for another. Only this new one doesn’t come with legal protections, social safety nets, or the option to question authority without punishment. It’s not freedom from the system—it’s just entry into a new one, cloaked in spiritual language and enforced through emo

When people see my cult ranking system, they sometimes assume it’s a trauma scale. It’s not. My rubric doesn’t measure the emotional pain a group causes—though many do cause immense suffering. Instead, it measures coercive control: the tactics groups use to limit a person’s agency, autonomy, and freedom.

The recent Victorian Inquiry into Cults and Fringe Groups made an important distinction: the state has no interest in policing beliefs. It is behaviours—particularly coercive, deceptive, and controlling behaviours—that are the concern. Still, the grey area where faith transitions into manipulation is where many people get trapped. Understanding how spirituality can be used both to heal and to harm is a critical step forward. This grey area is often where spiritual abuse in cu

Quote from Daring Greatly Shame is one of the most powerful and painful human emotions. It isolates. It silences. And when weaponised—as...

Explore the chilling parallels between onions, the Borg, and Cults and Coercive Control. Uncover how Cults and Coercive Control threaten freedom.

Explore why spiritual spaces need the same standards as workplaces and homes for a truly healthy community. Join the healthy community conversation.

This parliamentary inquiry into coercive control in religious groups, follows years of advocacy by victim-survivors and researchers, and will have a particular focus on recruitment and retention. At the heart of the investigation lies the troubling reality that not all spiritual communities are safe havens; some are meticulously orchestrated systems of psychological domination and oppressive manipulation that masquerades as faith.

Explore the intriguing history of Christianity in this blog post. Discover its early roots & debates around whether it was a cult religion.

Delve into the dangers of coercive organisations beyond the surface. Learn to spot the signs and protect yourself from harmful manipulation.

Uncover the chilling reality of email surveillance as a tool of control in cults. Discover how it stifles freedom of thought and isolates.

Standing up against coercive control in cults mirrors the suffragist struggle for equality. Learn how challenging power structures is a time

Uncover the modern-day fight against psychological enslavement and coercive control.

Uncover the sinister tactics of cult leaders on social media in 'How Cult Leaders Use Social Media'.

Uncover the hidden danger of coercive control in online cults. Learn how to spot the signs and protect yourself in the digital world.

Discover the subtle differences between harmless puppy-like cults and dangerous wolf-like cults.

Unraveling the Illusion of Free Will in cults is crucial for understanding coercive control. Learn how cults entrap and how to break free.