The Vulnerability of an Unformed Identity
Allison Mack, a former Smallville actress, has been in the news for her participation in a sex cult. She led other women to participate in physical mutilation, starvation, and sex acts. How could someone end up convinced this is okay? It is easy to look at such extreme behavior and think, “That could never be me.” But the reality is that cults don’t recruit people by showing them the end of the road; they recruit them by promising a solution to a deep, internal void.
What is a Cult?
A cult is different from a Christian church in one very important way. A cult has an underlying, intentional mission to exploit its membership for its own selfish gain. The leadership might be the only ones who benefit and the only ones aware of the full extent of the cult’s destructive agenda.
A healthy church, while never perfect, has an explicit mission to help, nurture, and strengthen its membership. God wants us to be committed to Him and His church, but He never coerces us against our will. A cult, however, usually has three defining characteristics:
- Members are required to maintain an unquestioning commitment to the leadership.
- Members tolerate exploitative manipulation (whether they see it as such or not)
- Members harm other members and anyone outside the cult they can influence.
See Character of Cults for more details.
Why We Fall for Cults
To be attracted to a cult, a person must have a deep unmet need. Since this describes most—if not all—people, the person must also lack an absolute worldview and suffer from low self-worth. By absolute worldview, I mean a solid understanding of what life is all about, based on fact, not fiction.
Notice that the factors leading to vulnerability describe “normal” people:
- Having a strong need to belong
- A desire for meaning and to make a difference
- Lacking boundaries – an inability to define oneself
- Lacking confidence – an inability to discern and confront questionable behavior
- Lacking independence – an inability to think for oneself and make one’s own decisions
- Acting with blind trust – a willingness to give up one’s identity and follow another’s
- Dissatisfaction with how life is going
An empty person will be drawn to a cult because a cult has “answers.” A naive or desperate person will not catch that the answers are evil; instead, they will see only superficial good intentions.
A person who lacks independence—an inability to think for oneself—is often looking for a shortcut to meaning. Without a clear understanding of your priorities, it is easy to let a charismatic leader set them for you.
We are all vulnerable to deception when we are empty. Having an answer to the meaning of life is a core need. Without meaning and a worldview, you’re extremely vulnerable to signing up for some bizarre movement. Gullible people aren’t necessarily looking for “evil”; they are looking for the significance they haven’t been able to find within their current communities.
How to Defend Against Cults
The primary reason a person seeks a rigidly defined group is a lack of a Confident Identity. If you don’t know who you are, someone else will be happy to define you.
One of the most dangerous things a cult does is force you to give up your identity. As I’ve discussed in “Is Control Healthy or Unhealthy?”, healthy people understand that God wants them to develop their own convictions. In a cult, the leadership seeks to take control of your “internal” world—your thoughts, your schedule, and your self-worth. They encourage an unhealthy “handing over” of the self.
Furthermore, cults often teach members to suppress their natural responses to pain or red flags. Therefore, we must remember that emotions can lead us to health. If you feel a “check-engine light” of anxiety or fear regarding a group’s behavior, trust your gut and talk to more people. This is your signal that a boundary is being violated. A cult will tell you those feelings are “sinful” or “weak,” but a healthy worldview recognizes them as vital tools for discernment.
If you won’t stand for something good, you might end up following something evil. Invest your best effort to develop a confident identity which includes an absolute worldview. Knowing your worldview and identity keeps you safe. A worldview can’t be what you hope is true; it must contain what is actually true.
Life is demanding. To meet the demand, you must come to a greater knowledge of who you are. In particular, you must understand who God made you to be. You were created as a first-rate version of yourself, not a second-rate duplicate of a cult leader’s agenda.
Don’t fall into the same trap as Allison Mack. Popularity, fame, and the false “belonging” of an exploitative group are poor substitutes for genuine meaning. You can’t have meaning without knowing your identity. If you are ready to build a defense against deception, I invite you to Learn how to develop a Confident Identity through my books and resources. Knowing who you are in God’s eyes is the only way to ensure you never have to give up your soul to find a place to belong.
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Last updated 20260329
Matt Pavlik is a professional counselor, author, and devoted follower of Christ. With decades of experience in Christian counseling, he writes with theological depth and everyday clarity. His resources—centered on salvation, identity, marriage, and emotional healing—are anchored in Scripture and guide believers to discover the freedom of their identity in Christ and the security of their salvation in Him. He and his wife Georgette, married since 1999, live in Centerville, Ohio, and have four adult children.
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