In 1957, sociologist Albert Biederman described the tactics used by torturers to weaken and terrorize prisoners of war. Ann Jones, Susan Schechter, and Evan Stark took these ideas into the field domestic violence. They called this strategy mandatory control. “Coercive control” also seems to be an apt term for the manipulative and domineering tactics of religious leaders.
Coercive control is very common in cults. Cult leader usually makes the most important decisions and changes them at will. However, members of the cult also pressure each other into submission. Members weave a wide web of tactics that leaves little room for spontaneity or inconsistency.
Cults use coercive control to deprive them of resources such as friends, family, money, and health. Coercive control can manifest as isolation that shrinks the member’s world, degradation that saps their sense of self, and relentless micromanagement that turns everyday life into a minefield to prove their loyalty. Cults are often referred to as “high demand groups” (Laycock, 2024). Their tactics are usually manipulation, monitoring, physical or sexual violencethreats, financial exploitation and calculated punishments. But religious coercive control can crush members. free will although this does not include all elements.
In the chart below, I’ve adapted Biderman’s Coercion Chart to the tactics of cults. This diagram shows how cults and cult leaders lure members into a web of mind control that makes it difficult to leave. This chart can be used in mental health, advocacy, education and legal fields. I hope this table gives people an easy way to evaluate the coercion tactics of organizations and determine if they are truly “high demand groups”.
