CULT DANGER EVALUATION FRAME

These criteria were copied from Real Magic, Revised Edition, (Samuel Weiser, NY, 1989) by P.E.I. Bonewits.

You can rate each criteria on a scale of 1 to 10. The higher the total score, the more potentially dangerous is the group.

  1. Internal Control, amount of internal political power exercised by leader(s) over members
  2. Wisdom Claimed by leader(s); amount of infallibility declared about decisions.
  3. Wisdom Credited to leader(s) by members; amount of trust in decisions made by leader(s)
  4. Dogma, rigidity of reality concepts taught; amount of doctrinal inflexibility
  5. Recruiting, emphasis put on attracting new members, amount of proselytizing
  6. Front Groups, number of subsidiary groups using different names from that of the main group
  7. Wealth, amount of money and/or property desired or obtained; emphasis on members' donations
  8. Political Power, amount of external political influence desired or obtained.
  9. Sexual Manipulation of members by leader(s); amount of control over sex lives of members
  10. Censorship, amount of control over member's access to outside opinions on group, its doctrines or leader(s)
  11. Dropout Control, intensity of efforts directed at preventing or returning dropouts
  12. Endorsement of Violence when used by or for the group or its leader(s)
  13. Paranoia, amount of fear concerning real or imagined enemies; perceived power of opponents.
  14. Grimness, amount of disapproval concerning jokes about the group, its doctrines or leader(s)
  15. Surrender of Will, emphasis on members not having to be responsible for personal decisions.

(c)Copyright 1979 by P.E.I. Bonewits; used by permission

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