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AR 28:18 - The "enduring sinister attraction" of contemporary cults
In this issue:
CULTS, GENERAL - surveying current podcasts on groups with a "sinister attraction," and "how cultish thinking can bleed into our everyday lives"
SECULARISM - why the decline of religion in the USA "is very concerning, whether you're religious or not"
+ was a Wall Street Journal religion feature "based on faulty polling techniques?"
Apologia Report 28:18 (1,615)
May 27, 2023
CULTS, GENERAL
"6 Podcasts about Cults and Their Enduring Sinister Attraction: These shows explore the psychology of cult leaders and their victims, as well as how cultish thinking can bleed into our everyday lives, by Emma Dibdin (New York Times, Mar 20 '23) -- "Cults are ideal podcast fodder: psychologically rich human stories that combine elements of true crime, mystery and social history, and are often best told in long-form style. ...
"These six podcasts come at the subject from multiple angles" including:
* - Escaping NXIVM - "The so-called self-improvement program NXIVM promised its members happiness, confidence and a sense of purpose, and did so convincingly enough to attract many wealthy followers from the worlds of entertainment and business. But what lay beneath that shiny happy surface was cultlike psychological warfare, sexual abuse and a twisted ritual in which some members were branded with the name of the group's manipulative leader, Keith Raniere." [Editor: Not Raniere's name, but his initials.]
* - IndoctriNation - "As is true with any true-crime-adjacent genre of story, it's easy for the intrigue surrounding cults (and their charismatic leaders) to overshadow the human suffering they cause. ... Hosted by Rachel Bernstein, a licensed therapist <www.bit.ly/3q2YcvM> whose specialties include cult interventions and deprogramming, 'IndoctriNation' interviews guests about their experience of joining (or being born into) cults, what it took for them to leave, and the psychological ramifications they face as survivors."
* - Let's Talk About Sects - "deeply researched chronicles of all kinds of cults. ... Sarah Steel delivers each potted history with warmth and humanity, letting the facts speak for themselves rather than falling prey to overdramatizing."
* - You Must Remember This - "In her meticulously researched podcast 'You Must Remember This,' the film historian Karina Longworth tells true stories from the first century of Hollywood in a style that's captivating in its simplicity, with no elaborate re-enactments or soundscapes. ... The twelve-episode season is so packed with detail and nuance that even for those who know the story well, this is a fresh take."
* - Trust Me - "This show has a compelling selling point: It's hosted by two cult survivors, both invested in dispelling the myth that anyone who joins a cult must be naïve. Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth, who were raised in a Mormon offshoot sect and a high-control Christian sect, respectively, talk to guests about their experiences of being in cults, as well as abusive relationships, repressive religions and extreme belief systems more broadly. ... The subject of conspiracy theories and online groupthink also crops up often...."
* - Sounds Like a Cult - "In each episode ... the comedian Isa Medina and the writer Amanda Montell break down a different "zeitgeisty group" and assess how cultlike it really is. Some of the subjects are obvious choices, like Apple, boutique fitness studios SoulCycle and CrossFit, and Gwyneth Paltrow's wellness empire Goop." <www.bit.ly/42SGidA>
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SECULARISM
"Young Americans are becoming less religious. But why?" by William Padmore (Nebraska Public Media, Mar 28 '23) -- an interview with Phillip Schwadel (Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln), who is asked to open by explaining "America's religious roots and why that matters in today's society."
Schwadel, <www.bit.ly/3W1jdmo> who acknowledges that the issue is "contentious," is "very clear" in affirming that "religion has always played a robust role in the United States" and is "part of the national story of our country."
Padmore: "And how has that changed in recent years?"
Schwadel: "... for some Americans, and especially a disproportionate number of young Americans, religion has become a less important part of their lives. ... This used to be a very small portion of our country, and it's now a large minority. Over three in 10 Americans now say they have no religion. ...
"So we're looking at religion from sort of the ages of 13, to really the late 20s, to at most the early 30s. ...
"[T]here's a simple history to this event - I started working with the national study of youth religion 20 years ago as a postdoctoral researcher and so I have continued with that kind of research since then."
Padmore: "So the $20 million question: Why? Why this sudden, dramatic drop in religious young Americans? ...
Schwadel: There are various reasons. Many people point to the growth of Evangelical Protestantism and something of a backlash against that, starting in the 1990s, and early 2000s among some young Americans who may not have liked the idea of the politicization of religion that was happening a lot in our country. That's one reason that some of the research points to in terms of the growth of Americans who don't claim to have a religion anymore." Numerous additional reasons are submitted as well.
Padmore: "[W]hat are some of the benefits and costs of religion in society? And what does a decline in religiousness and Americans mean for society?"
Schwadel: "[T]he decline of religion is very concerning, whether you're religious or not. ... Particularly and most obviously in the forms of social support that come with people ... that accompany participating in religion. We know that people who are religious tend to be healthier. People who are religious tend to be happier. People who are religious are more likely to get married, to stay married, all these kinds of things. Then, the decline of religion is concerning for these reasons." <www.bit.ly/3BiCA10>
"ANALYSIS: America in spiritual decline: Is it true what the Wall Street Journal poll is saying?" by Julia Duin (GetReligion, Mar 30 '23) -- "It was certainly an attention-getting headline in the Wall Street Journal the other day: 'America Pulls Back from Values that Once Defined It.'
"'Patriotism, religion and hard work hold less importance,' the subhed ran. ...
"Meanwhile, does any other country relentlessly poll and examine itself as much as the United States of America? Was 1,019 people a large enough sample size to draw conclusions about how 332 million Americans are thinking?
"The story is this: Compared with how people responded to the same poll 25 years ago, America is slipping fast into a European-style secular state with little religious observance, less work ethic (four-hour work days anyone?) and less care for the motherland. ...
"[I]f anything, Trump was a boost for the legal standing of many religious Americans.... I'd say that some of Obama's policies encouraged the class warfare that helped get Trump elected.
"I downloaded the actual survey and found the largest percentage of people (32%) said they 'never' attend religious services, while 19% said 'less than once a year.' Together these groups comprise 51% or half the population. I added together the people who attend religious services frequently and that came to 29%. Those who follow Gallup polling may recall that, for years, about 20% of Americans have shown strong commitments to practicing traditional forms of religious faith.
"In this new poll, the three largest denominational categories were Protestant (26%), Roman Catholic (21%) and "just Christian" (20%). Add those together and you get 66%, which shows that while people identify as having some kind of faith, they're not necessarily in church.
"Thirty-two percent of the respondents said they are evangelical. In the age breakdown, the largest group were the young (!) or the 18-24 category at 29%. The 35-49 and 50-64 age groups came in at 25%. Over 65 was 22%. That reverses the accepted wisdom that the young are highly irreligious these days.
"I also found it interesting that the percentages of marrieds vs. singles were both at 50%. Sixty-two percent were employed; 38% were not, which seems high to me.
"It's hard to know how COVID-19 has changed these results for the better or worse. Church populations took a hit during the pandemic, especially among the young, although polls differ as to how much.
"Also, how do you account for the fact that 'Jesus Revolution,' the indie film about hipster-turned-evangelist Lonnie Frisbee, has become a hit, outdoing Oscar nominees, (according to this Free Press piece). <www.bit.ly/3oGZVXg> I mean, someone is going to see that film. If traditional forms of faith is a 'niche,' these days, it's still a large niche.
"(The Free Press, btw, which was started by former New York Times writers Bari Weiss and Nellie Bowles, is becoming a news source in its own right these days. Do give it a look). <www.bit.ly/3oysTZA>
"What about that short-lived revival at Kentucky's Asbury that people were jumping on planes to get to? Most of the reporting I saw on it in the secular media missed the real reason people were there: They are so desperate for God, they'll jump in a car and drive 3,000 miles if need be.
"Sadly, they don't seem to be finding God in church....
"Before we all get too depressed, Patrick Ruffini, a 40-something Republican pollster, came up with some interesting analysis in a Medium column <www.bit.ly/3I8vz6B> as to why the Journal's results were skewed to show dramatic changes.
"First, they fit into the 'declinist narrative' that many Americans feel compelled to believe about their own country, he wrote. Secondly, they just don't ring true. He wrote: ... [T]he dramatically different results we see from 2019 and 2023 are because the data was collected differently. ...
"In other words, responses gathered by phone will differ considerably from responses gathered via an online form. Read the whole thing for his argument that the Journal piece is based on faulty polling techniques." <www.bit.ly/3nP9Hq9>
And if you're in the mood, a little more counter-narrative by journalist John Blake in "Predictions about the decline of Christianity in America may be premature" (CNN, Apr 9 '23). <www.bit.ly/3J6opAz> In contrast with "church leaders and commentators [who] have warned that Christianity is dying in America," when CNN "asked some of the nation’s top religion scholars and historians recently about the future of Christianity in the US, they had a different message. They said the American church is poised to find new life for one major reason: Waves of Christians are migrating to the US." In the words of New York Times columnist Tish Harrison Warren, "The future of American Christianity now appears to be a multiethnic community that is largely led by immigrants or the children of immigrants." <www.bit.ly/3oC0TEn>
For a final (and uniquely important) metric, see the American Bible Society's impressive "State of the Bible, USA 2023" released this month. It's an early installment in a multifaceted series of analytical reports to be released from now through December. In his introduction, John Farquhar Plake writes that current evidence suggests three things: "1. When people engage deeply with the Bible, their lives and relationships are better. In other words, they flourish. 2. Fewer people in America are engaging with the Bible. Scripture engagement is not rising yet; it continues on a downward trajectory. 3. There are signs of hope. The Movable Middle has rebounded, and Bible disengagement has fallen in the past year." <www.bit.ly/429b00X>
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