cult recruitment
Luring into extremism
Cult recruitment refers to the methods groups use to attract and retain members, typically involving gradual indoctrination, love bombing, and isolation from outside influences.
The term carries negative connotations, implying manipulation rather than genuine conversion: The documentary exposed the organization's cult recruitment tactics.
Someone skilled at drawing others into ideological movements may be described as having cult recruitment abilities, even outside religious contexts.
- indoctrinationSystematic uncritical belief instillation
- thought reformCoerced ideological conversion
- brainwashingCoercive psychological manipulation
- mind controlDirecting another's thoughts
- manipulationUnderhanded control of others
charisma · leader · follower · true believer · isolation · love-bombing · trauma bonding · devotion · commune · compound · love bombing · vulnerability · conversion · grooming · surrender · belonging · dogma · obedience
- manipulationgaslighting, guilt tripping, blame-shifting, brainwashing, guilt trip
- conversionsconvert, exchange rate, encoding, transcoding, reformatting
- radicalizationextremism, indoctrination, radicalism, fundamentalism, fanaticism
cult recruitmentinformed consent
Permission given with understanding
cult recruitmentcult deprogramming
defection · disaffiliation · deconversion · apostasy · excommunication
cult recruitmentcommunity organizing
Collective local civic engagement
volunteer recruitment · civic engagement · university admissions · grassroots organizing · professional networking
cult, cults, cultish, cultist, cultists, culture, cultural, culturally, cultures