When I was in High school, one of my teachers, not realizing I was Mormon, interjected into a conversation about religion that “Mormon’s are a cult!” – This really ticked me off… Very likely other Mormons have had similar experiences.

Cult is this word with all sorts of negative and emotional baggage that is thrown around and can be very hurtful. A friend recently told me that all organizations can be technically defined by the word “cult”. I agree with him, but it leaves the question in my mind – what is it that makes a cult a “Cult!”.

Steve Hassan was a college student who got ensnared in the Unification Church (aka the Moonies) and it was only by a freak van accident and the intervention of his family and some former moonies that he was able to see it for what it was – a hurtful controlling organization. He reeled at the thought that he could have been duped into such a thing as a Cult.

He went on to devote his research and work to identifying the specific traits that controlling organizations use. All groups use some of these methods, to some extent – but taken to an extreme they can be psychologically harmful.

The most difficult part of this issue is that much like a fish has no concept that he is surrounded by water – people in these organizations vehemently deny that they are involved in such a negative and controlling environment.

Dr. Hassan has assembled data on some of the most controlling organizations and written extensively on it. Here is a quiz that you can take to see if your organization uses any of the same methods.

NOTE: Most of the questions and examples are taken from experiences of people in groups that he has studied. While he has worked with Scientologists, Moonies, Jehovas Witnesses and others – he has yet to do extensive research in Mormonism. As a result this quiz does not make any references that are specific to Mormonism.