The Wrong Way Home: Uncovering the Patterns of Cult Behavior in American Society

Since this book was first published, events in Waco, Texas, refocused American attention on the prevalence of cults in our society. There, in an eerie parallel to Jim Jones’s People’s Temple, a group of devotees was immolated at the command of its leader. Amid all the horror and drama, few people identified with the cult members or compared the cult to groups to which they belonged. They should have, because cults grow out of behaviors intrinsic to the human condition, behaviors that are present in all of us. Wherever there are groups, including those not thought of as cults, cult-like behavior will be found. This is a hard fact for us to face, and it is generally resisted. We wish to separate ourselves from the behavior of the Branch Davidians, or the People’s Temple, or the less dramatic but alien groups soliciting in airports and street corners. We don’t want to recognize our own cult behavior because we take pride in being independent; we defend our own group’s rationality and purpose. Yet, as this book demonstrates, certain basic cult processes are present in the familiar and legitimate activities of our established religions, large corporations, government, the media, and the professions. (from the Preface)

The author, a psychiatrist, argues that cult behavior is not limited to members of religious groups but is based on childhood desires for meaning and dependency that we all share. He describes normal society as "an association of informal cults to which everyone belongs," including our educational, business, and other cultural structures. Although we live in a democracy, cult behavior manifests itself in our unwillingness to question the judgment of our leaders, our tendency to devalue outsiders and to avoid dissent. We can overcome cult behavior, he says, by recognizing that we have dependency needs that are inappropriate for mature people, by increasing anti-authoritarian education, and by encouraging personal autonomy and the free exchange of ideas. This is a provocative book that should have appeal for a wide variety of readers. Recommended for most libraries.
- Lucy Patrick, Florida State Univ. Lib., Tallahassee
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.