What If You’re In a Cult and Don’t Know It?
Because Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers.
You wake up tomorrow and see the news: some cult in the desert has poisoned their Kool-Aid and taken their spaceship ride off the planet. You shake your head, maybe mutter “how sad,” and scroll on.
Because you would never fall for something like that.
Right?
You have free will. You think for yourself. You’re educated. You use reason, logic, and you’ve definitely evolved past the need for authoritarian groupthink. You’re not susceptible to cult dynamics.
Except… what if you are?
What if the modern cult doesn’t wear matching robes or chant in the forest? What if it looks like your friend group, your algorithm, your subreddit, your church, your activist circle, your favorite YouTube channel? What if the real Kool-Aid is just certainty?
You Might Be In a Cult If...
Let’s do a little checklist.
There is only one correct view. If someone disagrees, they’re not just wrong—they’re dangerous.
There’s an unquestionable authority figure. (Could be a preacher. Could be a politician. Could be a TikTok “expert” with a ring light and a master's degree.)
Leaving or questioning is betrayal. Not curiosity. Not growth. Treason.
The group has a special mission. They’re the enlightened. The chosen. The last bastion of truth in a sea of lies.
Language is coded. There are magic words—woke, based, saved, canceled, redpilled, indoctrinated, liberal elite, radical right, ally, heretic.
There is a clear enemy. They’re not just misguided. They’re evil. Immoral. Subhuman.
If that list reminds you of… well, anything in your life, congratulations. You may not be in a cult. But you’re definitely in a cultish structure.
Cults Aren’t Just About Belief—They’re About Belonging
People don’t join cults because they’re dumb. They join because they’re lonely.
They join because it gives them identity, meaning, community, and clarity.
In a world that feels overwhelming, cults offer a simple narrative:
“You’re good. They’re bad. Stick with us, and you’ll be safe.”
It doesn’t matter if it’s an online wellness group telling you to eat liver and ice-bathe your way to enlightenment, or a megachurch warning you that Democrats are demonic.
It’s the same script.
And It’s Everywhere.
👨🏫 The ultra-woke progressive who thinks every institution is racist and the only cure is to dismantle everything? Yep.
✝️ The evangelical Christian who believes God literally wrote the Bible in King James English and anyone who questions it is headed to hell? Oh yeah.
👳♂️ The hardline religious fundamentalist who believes the solution to all modern ills is a return to the 7th century? Sure.
🦅 The MAGA diehard convinced that Trump is the only man who tells the truth and all opposition is part of the Deep State? Bingo.
🧘♀️ The spiritual influencer who says you just need to “raise your frequency” while ignoring that your rent is due? Namaste.
🟧 The activist group who demands absolute conformity to their language and tactics while preaching tolerance? For sure.
Mormons. Muslims. Marxists. Masons. Meat-only-diet influencers.
It’s not about the content. It’s about the behavior.
The Real Test
You’re not in a cult because you believe something strongly. You’re in danger of it when you stop asking questions.
Cults aren’t about belief. They’re about the inability to tolerate ambiguity.
They’re about fear. Fear of being wrong. Fear of being cast out. Fear of being alone.
Which is why the cure isn’t just rational thinking. It’s humility.
It’s being willing to say: I might be wrong. And that doesn’t make me worthless.
The Cult of Certainty
Every group thinks they are the reasonable ones. They have the data. They have the evidence. They have the anointed leaders.
But most of the time, it’s just a closed loop of confirmation bias.
“We’re right because we’re right.” “We have the truth because we’re the ones who believe it.”
Sound familiar?
Ideas Should Compete, Not Conquer
This isn’t about moral relativism. Some ideas are better than others. Some systems are more just, more compassionate, more effective. Truth DOES exist.
But how do you know which ideas those are? Not by silencing disagreement. Not by excommunicating dissenters. Not by parroting the party line.
You find better ideas by testing them. By discussing them. By debating them. Not to defeat your opponent, but to refine your own thinking.
“Truth is not something you possess. It’s something you pursue.”
This is why Heretix exists. Not to replace one cult with another. But to create a space where it’s safe to not know. Where truth is treated as something alive and dynamic. Where questions are welcome. Where discomfort is sacred. Where growing matters more than winning.
Because the goal isn’t dominance. It’s evolution.
So Ask Yourself:
What beliefs do you hold that feel untouchable? What people or voices do you immediately dismiss? What would happen if you explored the things you’ve been taught to fear?
What if you found out that some of the people you call “crazy” have a piece of the truth you need?
And what if the real heretic… is just someone brave enough to say:
“Maybe we don’t have it all figured out. But we’re going to keep trying—together.”
Welcome to the fire. We don’t burn people here. We just light torches and pass them around.
🔥 New podcast launching soon 🔥 Real talk. No dogma. No Kool-Aid. 🔥 Subscribe. Comment. Question everything.
Hebrews 6:4-6
New International Version
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen[a] away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
1 Timothy 4:1
New International Version
4 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
2 Peter 2:1-3
New International Version
2 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
Hebrews 10:26-27
New International Version
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.