Let’s say one day you decided to create a cult (like L. Ron Hubbard did). How would you go about creating it? What would be the first steps you’d take and how would you go about getting people to join your Cult? I’ll try to think of how I’d do it for myself, but I figured it’s be interesting to hear others perspectives first on how you’d go about doing this.

1.Start with a basic story. Or detailed one if you want.
2.Explain how’d you actually get people to follow the belief.
3.How would you build from there to make it grow?

Take your time on this and try to think it out.

ExMachina - 27 December 2010 03:47 PM

Let’s say one day you decided to create a cult (like L. Ron Hubbard did). How would you go about creating it? What would be the first steps you’d take and how would you go about getting people to join your Cult? I’ll try to think of how I’d do it for myself, but I figured it’s be interesting to hear others perspectives first on how you’d go about doing this.

1.Start with a basic story. Or detailed one if you want.
2.Explain how’d you actually get people to follow the belief.
3.How would you build from there to make it grow?

Take your time on this and try to think it out.

my version would be like this .

1- find stupid people
2-convince those stupid people
3- you have successfully created a cult !

Phi- - 27 December 2010 03:59 PM

ExMachina - 27 December 2010 03:47 PM

Let’s say one day you decided to create a cult (like L. Ron Hubbard did). How would you go about creating it? What would be the first steps you’d take and how would you go about getting people to join your Cult? I’ll try to think of how I’d do it for myself, but I figured it’s be interesting to hear others perspectives first on how you’d go about doing this.

1.Start with a basic story. Or detailed one if you want.
2.Explain how’d you actually get people to follow the belief.
3.How would you build from there to make it grow?

Take your time on this and try to think it out.

my version would be like this .

1- find stupid people
2-convince those stupid people
3- you have successfully created a cult !

Actually, you’d be surprised that even intelligent people can get sucked into cults. You have to really start with the young people. I’d be roaming the Elementary Schools if I had to, but I’d probably get arrested for stalking children.

ExMachina - 27 December 2010 03:47 PM

Let’s say one day you decided to create a cult (like L. Ron Hubbard did). How would you go about creating it? What would be the first steps you’d take and how would you go about getting people to join your Cult? I’ll try to think of how I’d do it for myself, but I figured it’s be interesting to hear others perspectives first on how you’d go about doing this.

1.Start with a basic story. Or detailed one if you want.
2.Explain how’d you actually get people to follow the belief.
3.How would you build from there to make it grow?

Take your time on this and try to think it out.

I have already done this.  The god Moola is the center of the cult.  Moola doesn’t require your love.  Moola doesn’t claim to be the only god, in fact Moola states that too much worship is as bad as too little.  Moola rule number one: 

balance your checkbook.

When I learn how to post my photos to this site I will post pictures of the Moola’s Shrine and temple grounds.  Also a holy scripture containing at least two books is in the works.  The Ledger of Moola and The Sayings of the Prophits.  Over the courde of the last two plus years we have recruited appox. 20-30 humans who acknowledge Moola and have been to the temple.  (Which is located in my garage.)

I think cults usually start with a charismatic leader.

Brightfut is quite correct.  Think of the most reasonable, useful idea that you can, then imagine your geekiest, low status friend an try to imagine him/her selling that idea.  Even if he’s intelligent and has decent status, a charismatic person will have 90% of the group follow him (and who cares about the other 10%).  I’ve watched this happen quite a few times.  All one needs along with, quite possibly an incorrect or even crazy structure is the promise of giving the people something they want and a charismatic person to present it, and you have a functioning cult.

Occam

Every major religion was a cult at some point.  IMO some still are!

Here’s how.

Pragmatic Naturalist - 28 December 2010 09:07 PM

Here’s how.

Cults are old news.

You want followers, money, dreams… Start your own multi-level marketing company.

Gnostikosis - 28 December 2010 11:31 PM

Pragmatic Naturalist - 28 December 2010 09:07 PM

Here’s how.

Cults are old news.

You want followers, money, dreams… Start your own multi-level marketing company.

LOL!!I have some friends who have been suckered into those. They did not believe my warning. The ‘rewards’ are just too seductive…never mind that they aren’t even realistic.

... why not believe in cult of money?!

Freemind - 29 December 2010 04:18 AM

... why not believe in cult of money?!

See cult of Moola above.

brightfut - 27 December 2010 05:41 PM

I think cults usually start with a charismatic leader.

yup, that’s what I was thinking.
First you need a megalomanic,
add a ruthless understanding of human nature,
pick your target,
then build some message around what your target wants to be told…
sadly most people want their thinking done for them, so many doors are open.

Gnostikosis - 28 December 2010 11:31 PM

Pragmatic Naturalist - 28 December 2010 09:07 PM

Here’s how.

Cults are old news.

You want followers, money, dreams… Start your own multi-level marketing company.

hmmm, don’t some of them act a bit like cults too,

Gnostikosis - 28 December 2010 11:31 PM

Pragmatic Naturalist - 28 December 2010 09:07 PM

Here’s how.

Cults are old news.

You want followers, money, dreams… Start your own multi-level marketing company.

Actually, from personal experience from knowing people involved and who have tried and failed to absorb me into their creed, MLMs are without a doubt a system built on usually three things:

1) A pyramid scheme based on the original chain letter and Ponzi scheme combination
2) A motivation strategy using the best religious/cult techniques available to keep the investors from breaking the chain
3) A product or service that they use to legitimize the system. If someone technically receives an end product or service legally, the scheme can no longer legally be considered a “pyramid scheme”.

Usually, there is two sets of businesses that go on. They purposely create a legal division: product/service business and the MLMs. This way, should a particular MLM group get a bad rap when and if they collapse or do something illegal, etcetera, the whole entity doesn’t collapse. The product/service portion creates the legality for the scheme. They also create an exclusivity to the model of the MLM concept by only providing services and products to those distributorships (the MLM groups). They also provide the literature to suggest the model with insider definitions to apply to the members.

The product/service end makes there money mostly through selling continuous ‘kits’ and occasional extra product as the actual scheme in real life does not work. So they count on the greed of the MLM pyramid hopefuls to make lots of money to provide new recruits (the product/service’s biggest income) while the MLM part may pay the product/service company with services such as motivational speakers and books that help to keep the recruits purchasing kits.

It’s very clever and involved. Amway is the best example of this. They of course represent the product/service end of the business and so are untouchable by any wrongdoing that MLMs could do and yet they exclusively deliver to them, promote them, and sell their speaker motivational services and materials related to purchase/cult motivation.

Pragmatic Naturalist - 28 December 2010 09:07 PM

Here’s how.

This one is good.

I think any cult starts off with someone an apparent appeal to emotion and reason together. While most people usually have personalities that tend more toward one or the other, the initiator does both powerfully to some given audience. A charismatic person is one who is both beautiful in some way and smart.

If a charismatic person is well rewarded without justification, that person tends can recognize he or she has power over others and can choose to use it for his or her benefit. If his or her ego is strengthened by the process they start by making subtle demands from their ‘fans’. They are ‘fans’ to him or her because they seem to like him or her for what may be superficial or seemingly insufficient to determine trust.

But if it boosts the charismatic person’s ego and sustain him or her, they will begin to perceive their fans as both valuable and necessarily stupid. Not all charismatic people who become like this turn into cult leaders. But I think that this is the start.

He or she begins to value their own philosophical views as being meaningful because others support him or her with certitude. It is usually due to something sensible or very logical and real at first. When more people come along and show their support, he or she is justified in their claims. And more of these people are willing to do frivolous things for him or her for free.

So why not go the next step and ask one of them to do something unusual just to see if they would do it for you? Surprise…they do it! Play the emotional card and reward them with lavish attention. If someone else seems jealous, challenge that person to do something for you even riskier. If they are willing to invest a little the first round, they notice, the new followers are willing to invest more later.

Next, have an exclusive party. Play “truth then dare”. Challenge others to open up and share their weaknesses to the group with some anecdote of their lives while providing resolution with a group exercise of some sort at the end. Make the exercise physical and weird. Then challenge one or some of them to do something they wouldn’t normally do in front of everyone else. Close the event by encouraging commitment to some idea or moral and to each other. If it’s a highly emotional event, then someone in the group will say, “let’s do this again!” You, the leader, suggest a definite regroup time.

How’s that for a start?