The book “Terror, Love and Brainwashing” written by Alexandra Stein is of the most exact and academic existent analysis concerning the mechanism of totalitarian cults. It is a book which provides a comprehensive model to understand ” how an organization is able to conquer human being’s mind and behavior permanently” not merely through empirical narrations, but depending or attachment psychology, power sociology and the studies of ideological organizations. Stein explains: Apart from their theological secular contents-whether they are religious, secular, leftist, rightist or so-call social, the cults are a using a common logic: Creating a disordered attachment relationship based on love-fear, social and epistemic isolation, strict information control; collective identity engineering, constant crisis-making and structural submission.
Forty axes concerning cult characteristics are presented to be measured and compared with the Bahaism organization:
The contents of adaptation of Bahaism organization with cult [1] by the book:
۱) Charismatic and totalitarian leadership; the role of the universal house of justice as the center for absolute decision making:
The structure of the Baha’i organization introduces the universal house of justice as the final source of decision making. All middle foundations are obliged to obey it without any question. This vertical public concentration reproduces the pattern of totalitarian-charismatic leadership explained by Stein for cults. As a result, the possibility for forming each kind of mutual control, answering and fundamental criticism are practically omitted.
۲) Creating disorganized attachment through fear-love twofold in messages:
The messages of universal house of justice are stressing on “the divine affection”, “being elected and being provided” and “caution, deviation, falling and deprivation”. This fluctuation between love and fear is the very pattern of disordered attachment considered by psychological subjugation Stein as the axis of in cults. The person experiences affection and threatening sources in the unique reference. For this reason, he/she loses mental isolation power.
۳) Social isolation mechanism; isolating gradually from family, community and national foundations:
Rouhi institute system and growth program decreases his/her relationships with family, non-organizational friends and national foundations by saturating the person’s time to be in class, the association, to consult and serve. This trend is the foundational form of isolation which is considered by Stein as the necessary condition to stabilize mind control. Gradual cutting of external bonds depends the person on the Baha’i net structurally.
۴) Controlling information and producing “alternative reality” through the universal network of human resources:
A net consisting of ITC, the house of proselytizing, regional council and national education institute is merely producing and distributing a valid narration of “reality”. This closed system is the very cognitive enclosure explained by Stein in the form of epistemic enclosure. The Baha’i person is gradually learning that merely the interior organizational resources are the criteria for understanding the world, community and even the religion itself.
۵) Using “the purposeful emotional dependence” on recruiting and saving the forces:
Concepts like “love of serving”, the warm Baha’i community”, “the coherent life of serving” create extreme emotional bonds between the person and the organizational net. This dependence engineering transfers mental security from family and natural environment towards gatherings, assemblies and instructors. Stein calls this mechanism as attachment engineering used by cult to save members for a long time.
۶) Claiming for “explaining everything”; the extensive and comprehensive ideology which is answering to all questions of life:
The messages are always inducing this fact that the answer for all personal, family, social, moral and even political requirements and problems is hidden in “the divine plan and action pattern”. In this way, a totalistic ideology of is formed which is introducing itself to be unrivaled and adequate to interpret the world. This claimed comprehensiveness is the very condition mentioned by Stein to change an idea to ideological column.
۷) Interior purification: boycott system, branding and elimination of incompatible elements:
The mechanism of administrative and spiritual boycott along with brands likes “spiteful”, “confused”, “deviant” and “weak in faith” destroys the possibility of the emergence of each kind of serious opposition. The process of permanent purification keeps the organization body in the of state of “ideological sincerity”. This is exactly the very purification-expulsion cycle considered by Stein as the main characteristics of cults.
۸) The permanent structure of mutual supervision; study sessions, educator, collaborator and a person in charge
Rouhi plan [2] which has layers like “educator, teacher, collaborator, person in charge of cluster” creates a net having mutual supervision over behavior, presence, loyalty and people’s spirits. This structure extremely limits the possibility of real solitude and independent decision making for the person. In Stein model, this is a sectarian classic mutual surveillance system.
۹) Creating permanent cognitive dissonance to destroy the critical thought:
The slogan of “not to be political” alongside with practicing resembles a social-political actor in clusters and countries level and creates overt contradiction. Psychologically, the person represses his/her critical wisdom to decrease this cognitive incoherence instead of criticizing the structure. Stain shows that cults use this mechanism consciously or unconsciously to neutralize questioning.
۱۰) Reproduction of growing / shrinking cycle: Recruiting forces – Boycotting forces
In one side, the project of “entry of groups” and explosive growth are proselytized and in other side, boycotting system, elimination and making permanently active people marginal dweller are done. The structure is expanding at the same time in quantity manner and is purifying in quality. This expansion-purification cycle is the very pattern described in Stein’s book for the dynamic cults.
۱۱) The ideology of serving; Changing personal life into organizational project :
The concept of “the coherent life of serving” redefines all structures of the person’s life -education, occupation, emotional relations, and free time – in “the organizational service” orbit. In this logic, the person doesn’t possess his/her time and energy practically, but he/she hand over them to the organizational project. Stein calls this situation as behavioral ownership through which the cult seizes the member’s body and time.
۱۲) Attacking the old relationships and defining “intact relationships” just in organizational form:
The messages are speaking about “the intact environment”, “the Baha’i neighbor making” and “the assembly as the real family” and in contrast they portray non- organizational relationships as less important or problematic. In this way, the boundary between person and organization and between “the real family and “the Baha’i one” are weakened. This is boundary dissolution used by the cults to dissolve the person in public.
۱۳) The centralized financial structure; “the continental fund”, “Israel office”, and the currency movement:
The Continental and national funds network which connect to Haifa center eventually create a financial self-sufficient structure out of influential monitoring of host government. The structural independence decreases the possibility for exterior capacity answering and increases the capacity for social-political influence. Stein considers such mechanism as structural self-sufficiency in universal cults.
۱۴) The mechanism of eliminating cognitive substitute”; prohibition of external resources:
Repeated advice for preventing “disorderly resources”, “opposite literature”, “external criticisms” and unfiltered study limit the person’s understanding field to formal resources. Stopping clichés of thought such as “let’s not weaken unity” or “these questions destroy the spirit” practical means of this elimination. This is exactly the main column of mind control in Stein and Lifton models.
۱۵) Structural vagueness and reproduction of foundations to hide the central power:
The existence of various so-called independent foundations- assembly, regional council, assistance board, Rouhi institute, development office – makes an image of plurality and power distribution. However, all these foundations answer a strategic center in Haifa. This is bureaucratic opacity used by cults to hide the real axis of power.
۱۶) Collective identity engineering: Changing the person into human resources of organization:
In the literature of Baha’i humane resources, the person is defined as “resource”, “agent of service” “humane capacity” not as the independent subject. This language redefines the person’s identity in the form of organizational function for the universal plan. Stein calls this process as identity flattening in which individual complexity is sacrificed by the organizational role.
۱۷) “The structural surrender” system: Absolute obedience in the form of consulting concept:
“Consulting” has been planned in the formal Baha’i foundation, so that its output is known: Implementing upstream guidance. Each view which is against this line is interpreted as spiritual weakness as or lack of consulting maturity. This condition is structural surrender used by Stein to describe fundamental surrender in the cults.
۱۸) Gradual elimination of individual agency; determining life course, occupation, service and marriage:
۵-year plans and human resources programs, “service” courses, “emigration”, “choosing job”, and even marriage patterns are directionalized in the framework of organizational aims. In this way, individual agency is weakened in key decision makings of life in favor of organizational requirements. This is exactly the very behavioral direction showed by Stein in the cults.
۱۹) Dogmatization of vocabulary:
Terms like “basic measure”, “function pattern”, “purposeful discourse”, “recognition formally”, “growth control”, make a language within a group which make the world understandable just in this framework. This language is valuable and heavy ideologically. In Lifton and Stein theory this is called loaded language which is the direct means of cognitive control.
۲۰) Gradual structure to conquer mind; Gradual training without revealing the final goal:
The following course of Rouhi plan forms the person’s mind step by step inside a close system:
The person in charge of cluster educator teacher young teenager infant
The final aim – the complete surrender to function pattern – isn’t being discovered in the beginning of the path. This gradual pattern is incremental indoctrination used by the cults to educate the members gradually.
۲۱) Parallel governance to confiscate community; the network of local assembly as substitute government:
Local assemblies are resembling to a micro-government in action: Moral judgement, social networking, guiding social measure and managing disputes. This parallel network creates a layer of soft government on localities and clusters. In sectarian model, it is called the parallel governance; that is, the parallel government into formal structure.
۲۲) Eliminating the boundary of house and organization; the influencing on the private atmosphere of the house:
Plans such as kid-father one, household sessions, dual sessions and “coherent life of serving “make the boundary between the privacy of family and organizational atmosphere faint. The person’s house is gradually defined as “serving base” not as “the independent refuge”. Stein considers this influence on the household atmosphere as domestic penetration as the characteristics of aggressive cults.
۲۳) Creating “dual loyalty”; the universal house of justice against the host government:
The Baha’i person is educated by messages as if he defines the highest level of loyalty of him/herself towards the universal center in Haifa, even if this loyalty is tense with the policies and ruler of the host government. In this way, a structural gap is created between legal citizenship and ideological membership. This mechanism is recognized as dual allegiance engineering.
۲۴) Multi-layer reward-punishment system; spiritual and structural investment
Rewards such as “the strong faithful person”, “active in resource”, and plan”, “trusted resource”, and punishments like boycotting, dismissing from responsibilities or soft discrediting make a complicate reward-punishment net. The person knots his/her social value with his/her social status directly to the extent reward of organizational obedience. This is reward-punishment grid introduced by Stein as the main means of control in cults.
۲۵) Changing “social service” into a control means of population (Population Engineering)
Social measure – from kid and teenage class to local development plans – end in practice in purposeful recruit and gradual change of population structure in clusters. It is superficially serving and developing, but the output of its structure is increasing humane base of the organization. This confluence of serving and population engineering is service-based manipulation in Stein model.
۲۶) The organizational fear-mongering: The danger of “deviation”, “weakness”, “decline”, “misunderstanding”
The formal addressing is full of cautions concerning “weakness in service”, “incomplete understanding of the plan”, doubt in unity” and “the influence of destructive thoughts”. This permanent fear making makes the person to be in mental stand by whose mere way to get rid of it is sticking with the organization. Stein calls this process as fear conditioning used by cults to stabilize obedience.
۲۷) Making “collective guilt”: The common responsibility in failures:
In Baha’i discourse, the failures in plan or growth weakness is always being attributed to “group” and each person is bound to compensate it via “more serving”. This collective guilt engineering neutralizes the possibility for criticizing the structure by transferring concentration on “the spiritual loss of members”. Stein shows that collective guilt engineering is one of the influential means to destroy the critical thought.
۲۸) Cleansing the history of opponents; Disappearing Criticisms:
In formal narration, the voice of the opponents inside the organization has been emitted, nameless or accompanied by negative labels. The history is presented uniformed and conflict-free and failures or splits are being rewritten or censored. This pattern is a clear example of total narrative control in sectarian meaning.
۲۹) The definition of rescue, prosperity intact identity just in the form of Baha’i [3] community”:
Messages induce that the real prosperity, moral development and the fulfillment of modern human being is just possible in the structure of the Baha’i community. In this way, all spiritual and moral under-valued or misleading courses will be imagined. It is exclusive salvation ideology that makes the group identity base in cults.
۳۰) Dividing the world into “we” and “others”: sanctification of the inner world and humiliation of exterior world:
“The Baha’i community” is introduced as “pure, united, illuminated and growing” in its inner world and in contrast is introduced as “dark, turbulent, misled” in its exterior world. This duality makes a strong emotional and cognitive boundary between the member and nearby environment. In cult theory, this is in-group idealization and out-group degradation.
۳) “Cluster” as the field structure of social control:
Cluster is not merely a geographical division, but it is the unit of planning, supervising and population-cultural controlling. All members of growth, service, education and social focused measure is focus on these units. This structure is completely overlapping cell-based control explained by Stein in totalitarian systems.
۳۲) Guilt feeling towards family and personal life engineering:
The person is addressed in the messages so that he/she feels moment that he/she passes out of ” the organizational service” is a kind of being ignorant of the divine will and the universal plan. Spending time with him/herself, family or personal interests is indirectly in contrast with “the coherent life of serving”. This guilt-driven obedience propels the person towards burnout in service, but towards organizational loyalty.
۳۳) Time Compression; eliminating the opportunity for critical thought:
The person’s plan becomes full of sessions, classes, consulting, summits and services; so that it doesn’t remain any for intellectual solitude and rethinking. This temporal saturation keeps the mind in “continuous doing the duty”. Stein calls this mechanism as temporal saturation which is a key means for free thinking in the cults.
۳۴) Producing ideological human being: A new case which quits the previous one:
The concepts like “the spiritual birth”, “rebirth”, “the modern Baha’i human” invite the person to the identity break from his/her past and join him/her to new organizational identity. “The previous one is imagined as incomplete, immature or ignorant and “the new one” means just in the framework of the plan. This is the very making ideological care described by Stein in the process of being sectarian.
۳۵) Controlling the course of emigration, training and lifestyle:
Encouraging to purposeful emigration (pioneering), contribution in transboundary and setting educational and occupational selections based on the requirements of the plan arrange the person’s lifestyle in the organization orbit. In this way; even geographic and professional relocations become the executive means for the universal plan. This pattern is adapted with sectarian structures of Stein.
۳۶) Permanent existential threat narrative against the organization:
The permanent existence of “ill-wishers”, “enemies”, “destruction movements” and “the enemy’s plan” in the formal discourse create a continuous threat feeling towards the community and organization survival. In such atmosphere, each interior criticism can be considered “harmony with the enemy”. This “Permanent existential threat narrative is one of the classic means of cults to close the atmosphere of criticism.
۳۷) “Spiritual confession”: consulting sessions, retelling weaknesses and letters of obedience:
In some structures, people are encouraged to retell their weaknesses, doubts and “service issues in group or in the presence of their trainers. These spiritual confessions are both the means for emotional control and the information source for the organization. Stein shows that confession rituals in cults are applied to break the inner privacy of the person and to increase his/her attachment to group.
۳۸) Changing the organizational structure into “a mental technology”:
The combination of Rouhi institute, ITC regional councils and net of assemblies make an integrated system of mind and behavior engineering; not merely a collection of administrative foundations. This system directs and regenerates the person from the primary tendency stage to complete merger in action pattern. Stein calls such composition as technology of mind control used by cults to redesign identity.
۳۹) The ideology [4] of “moving from up down; the elimination of real participation of people:
Although the formal language is speaking about “consulting”, “collective learning” and “the participation of community”, but orientations, purposes and gnomons are completely defined in the universal center. This condition is the example of pseudo-participation in Stein model.
۴۰) Manufacturing crisis continuously to preserve obedience: The formal discourse is continually speaking about kinds of crises:
The crisis of growth, the crisis of participation, the crisis of service, the crisis of understanding, the crisis of deviation. This continuous crisis-making shapes the psychological atmosphere in such a way that obedience to the plan and greater sacrifice are introduced as the only solution and the only source of peace. Stein calls this mechanism crisis manufacturing and considers it one of the main pillars of control in cults. It was explained in the previous paragraphs that Bahaism, as an organization, has various departments, the “security” department of the Baha’i organization plays the role of protecting information in the organization and constantly monitors issues, predicts crises and justifies members.
In general, Bahaism is an organization and establishment with sectarian teachings, that is, it is an eclectic of organizations and cults such as the Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization.
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