A useful new habit of mine is to review the bibliography and/or the source list for an article, book or website that I am reading and/or studying. That practice led me to a website which discussed one of the influence tactics used by “cults”. The author of the site used information from sources we have used here in previous posts. Since the meanings or definitions vary when people mention the word “cults”, the author takes time to state what a cult is and how to determine the difference between a cult and a benign group that may employ techniques similar to other cult groups. The site is found here: http://www.workingpsychology.com/cult.html – the material is written by Kelton Rhoads, Ph.D.
As a normal response, while reading material like this, I take time to compare it with my experience and note similarities or differences. As many readers are aware, I spent 16 years being directly and/or indirectly influenced by the teachings, practices and commands of Jane Whaley- leader of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). Several former members and knowledgeable cult experts classify WOFF as a religious cult. After I left and began to ponder my life inside the group, I came to the same conclusion. That conclusion stands not as a tool meant to harm or offend, but as a result of reviewing what I witnessed and experienced inside WOFF and making comparisons to known traits of other groups which are classified as religious cults.
When answering the question about distinguishing a safe group from one that is not safe; the author of the site quotes from Dr. Margret Singer’s work in 1995- (Singer, M. T. & Lalich, J. (1995). Cults in Our Midst. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.) “There are lots of differences, but the major difference is that of ultimate goal. Established religions and altruistic movements are focused outward–they attempt to better the lives of members and often, nonmembers. They make altruistic contributions. Cults serve their own purposes, which are the purposes of the cult leader; their energies are focused inward rather than outward.” We have shared about the focus of WOFF in previous posts. There is a nominal effort to better the lives of those outside the group; but in my opinion, the minor efforts were/are tainted with the constant search for new members or relations (friends) that could make a contribution to the group – financially, politically, and/or somehow enhance the WOFF image and Jane’s power/influence in the community.
Dr. Rhoads quotes from Steven Hassan’s work in 1990 (Hassan, Steven. (1990). Combatting Cult Mind Control. Rochester, Vermont: Park Street Press. (ISBN 0-89281-311-3) to further differentiate benign groups from controlling cults: “Also, religions and altruistic movements typically lack the distinguishing characteristics of overbearing authoritarian control, the use of deception in recruitment, the use of coercive influence techniques, and the replacement of one identity with another which would not have been freely chosen by the individual before joining the group. Can any former or present member honestly say that WOFF is free from “authoritarian control”? Is you don’t see it, then you have not been inside WOFF. What about “deception in recruitment”? Is any prospective member ever told the whole truth when it comes to how their life will change when they become faithful WOFF members? I was not. Former members: Did you understand how pervasive the reach of Jane Whaley could/would be in your life as you considered joining? Was it glossed over or excused or just not explained at all? For those former members who were born into WOFF: Did it become obvious over time how controlled you had been- once you left? What is freedom like? Do you want to be controlled again as you were inside of WOFF?
What about “the use of coercive influence techniques”? Anyone see that in WOFF-life? Has anyone ever been “blasted” or rebuked in public meetings or shunned or put on church discipline while in WOFF? I was. Were there freedoms to come and go and live the typical American life inside of WOFF? For me, the freedoms eroded gradually as you were encouraged to “pursue the will of God”. That “will” was translated and interpreted by none other than – Jane Whaley. Can that be denied? And we then consider “the replacement of one identity with another”? If you doubt that WOFF members have their identities altered or replaced; consider, would that be one reason former members can have a hard time adjusting to their new life outside? Could it be that they struggle to find out who they really are apart from the closed, legalistic, controlling environment of WOFF? Even if there is a struggle to adapt isn’t the struggle and the victory better than living your life under a false WOFF/Jane given identity and never really knowing who God meant you to be?
The author then moves on the answer the question – what kind of people join cults? “For the most part, normal, average people join cults–people like you and me. Research indicates that approximately two-thirds of cult members are psychologically healthy people that come from normal families.” And further he quotes Hassan again, “Cults prefer intelligent, productive individuals who are able to contribute money and talent to “the cause,” whatever it may be.” I can say that was true for the folks I was among at WOFF. They were mostly normal folks wanting to serve God and do their best for “the cause”. What was that “cause”? Whatever Jane wanted or needed at the time. Rhoads goes on to explain the answer further. He writes about environmental factors and personality factors which influence people to join cults. It is too lengthy to go into here, but certainly well worth the read.
Rhoads writes further that there is no one “magic bullet” technique or elusive secret thing that cult leaders use to recruit and/or keep their members. He says that finding that one “secret” is what some are concerned with but he “find(s) almost nothing in the cultist’s repertoire that isn’t already in the social influence literature”. He continues – “I’ve been able to identify about 30 influence tactics (depending on how finely you make the divisions within types), which are used to varying degrees in cults. They appear to group themselves into two types: the first set are used to attract recruits (I call these get-tactics), and the second set are used to keep members (I call these keep-tactics).” Very wisely, he does not review all the techniques and thus become a resource for cult leaders! He does however mention one technique worth sharing, which is in his estimation is “a common one, already known by any cult leader worth his salt.” (or her salt…)
In order to explain, I must quote a paragraph that outlines a generic scenario which exhibits the technique labeled “The Hot-Seat Technique”. After this quote, I will relate it to my experience inside of WOFF. “Imagine you enter a dimly-lit room inside the cult compound and you see the cult members sitting in a large circle around a centrally-located chair. At the summons of the leader, an individual cult member slowly rises, walks toward the chair, and sits. The leader says, “Tell us your shortcomings this week, Aaron. Purify yourself by confessing to us all.” And so Aaron thinks, and then begins to speak. “Well, I doubted our teachings about the afterlife for a few moments on Monday. And I felt base sexual desire toward a woman on Tuesday. . .” and so on. His confession is met with a combination of alternating disapproval for his confessions and praise for “coming clean” by the rest of the group. As Aaron becomes overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of his hideous sins, he begins to weep, and is exhorted by the leader to improve himself, to resist doubts and base urges, etc., and redirects Aaron’s confessional into an extemporaneous exhortation to the group, which largely humiliates Aaron, while simultaneously lauding him for his confession.” (emphasis added)
For the purist, there were no “dimly lit” rooms inside of WOFF that I was aware of. The circles were not always large, though sometimes they were quite large. But, who can deny that this scenario did not play out OVER and OVER inside of WOFF? At times, it was called the “Truth Circle”. Suppose there was some flack about that and the name was dropped. But, for sure, the circle around a chair in the middle had not died out or been replaced as long as I was there at WOFF! I know I was in the middle of my share of them. For that matter, I sat in on several as a “helper”. The logistics changed over time. Sometimes there was no group leader present, but if you decided to not participate or “give your heart”, you could get a personal session to “help you get a breakthrough”… It seems fitting to mention here the series posted on Loud Prayer and Deliverance. Link… https://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=599
Rhoads explains further, “The primary purpose of this exercise is to reduce self-esteem. It’s an excellent example of a social influence principle that states the following: A person with low self-esteem will be more persuadable than a person with high self-esteem when the advocated message is weak. Notice the important qualifier: “…when the advocated message is weak.” There’s no simple linear relationship between self-esteem and persuasion.” Who would deny that “self-esteem” was a prosecutable offense inside of WOFF? If you were showed any “self-esteem”, you had a devil. So, the purpose/result of the Truth Circle and in many cases the prayer sessions was to help you “depend on Jesus and NOT yourself”! As you consider the social structure and relational dynamics inside WOFF- who had the final say to whether or not you were “depending on Jesus”? You got it! Jane Whaley! That was the result of the pyramidal structure and the power grid of the group. I cannot say that the resulting subservience of all members to Jane was premeditated in 1979 when the group was formed, but for sure, it seems to work well for Jane now. She has this technique down pat and certainly combined with the control dynamics of loud prayer- the hot seat technique is another signature practice of WOFF.
Moving into an explanation by citing a study about this technique, Rhoads backs up his work and goes into detail which is not practical to share here. Again, a good read for those wanting to learn more. He does mention a survivor of Heaven’s Gate, “In fact, D’Angelo (the survivor) admits to having been trained to “not be so confident!” Could any former members of WOFF agree with that statement? In practice, WOFF members were/are trained to be confident only in their desire to obey God- which in their reality was/is Jane. She was/is the only voice of God for the faithful WOFF members. We will share more from this website. I have found other influence techniques that were/are used at WOFF.
Thank you, for taking time to visit and read this blog. Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. The author is not a licensed mental health professional and encourages those that need professional help to seek it. The intent of the material is to inform and be a resource. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. There are readers at WOFF. Comments are invited from all readers, including present or former members. Polls are not scientific and no private information is gathered.
Look on the right side of any post for the option to subscribe by email for notifications or RSS feeds notifying of new postings. It is a great feature. Also, find more posts by selecting “Categories”.
(Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, the information about WOFF is from my memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. ) Scripture references are Amplified Version unless otherwise noted. (Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation ) This is post number 267.