Am J Psychiatry 1980; 137:1569-1573
Copyright © 1980 by American Psychiatric Association
Tenacity of attachment to a cult leader: a psychiatric perspective
A Deutsch
This follow-up study describes a cult whose leader became cruel and
increasingly bizarre. Six of 14 members who were investigated at the time
of the cult's formation remained loyal to the leader until the dissolution
of the group almost four years later. The author describes the attitudes of
these and other devotees who submitted to the irrational guru. The leader's
radical teachings, his purported closeness to God, and his embodiment of a
countercultural ideal of freedom appeared to be factors that bolstered his
overwhelming authority in his followers' lives. The devotees used denial,
rationalization, and other defensive operations to maintain the fantasy
that the leader was acting for their benefit.
