Having been asked to define what a cult is several times, i thought it might be good to put two well known definitions of it up for those who are maybe a bit vague about its true definition.

# followers of an unorthodox, extremist, or false religion or sect who often live outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader
# a religion or sect that is generally considered to be unorthodox, extremist, or false.

Scientology anyone?

I found this list from wiki quite useful, describing what a cult does to it's followers:

# People are put in physically or emotionally distressing situations;

# Their problems are reduced to one simple explanation, which is repeatedly emphasized;

# They receive unconditional love, acceptance, and attention from a charismatic leader;

# They get a new identity based on the group;

# They are subject to entrapment (isolation from friends, relatives, and the mainstream culture) and their access to information is severely controlled.

Scientology is a pretty much a perfect example of points 2 and 5, and perhaps 1 and 4 as well. Not so sure about 3 - the original leader was certainly known as charismatic, but not so much Davey-boy. New recruits and potential new recruits seem to receive the 'unconditional love' from the whole org they're joining.

1 is the stress test. 1 is also carried on with to keep people in for auditing.

3 is love bombing, which comes from local org members and staff.

Also, 2 is blaming everything on Engrams / problems with Thetan. And 5 is the obvious disconnection Sea Org policy

Just wanted to correct this. Disconnection's a general policy and not specific to the Sea Org. See:

• http://exscientologykids.com/disconnection.html
• http://www.scientologydisconnection.com/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disconnection

etc. With regard to the topic, I really like this video.