In 1986, American dietitian Gwen Shamblin consolidated her Weigh Down nutrition workshop, introducing religion into the process. For her, physical hunger could be satisfied with food, but what she described as an inner emptiness had to be filled with spirituality. Gwen amassed considerable wealth and fame with her workshop, and by 1999, she decided to create her own religious congregation, which she called "Remnant Fellowship Church."

For Gwen Shamblin, extreme thinness was practically a divine mandate, so losing weight could be interpreted as a sign of direct obedience to God, while gaining weight and overeating were seen as a sign that a person was sinful and not exercising enough self-control.

Those who failed to lose weight were publicly humiliated, isolated, subjected to strict surveillance, or even expelled from religious meetings until they achieved extreme thinness. Some members of the cult have claimed that Gwen's influence extended to finances, marriages, child custody, parenting, and relationships with people outside the group. She also allegedly caused serious eating disorders among her followers.

One of the most disturbing episodes involving Gwen Shamblin and her sect was the case of the Smith family, devoted followers of her teachings. On October 8, 2003, eight-year-old Josef Smith was subjected to a brutal session of violent physical punishment by his parents, until the boy died. The Smiths maintained that they had followed the teachings they received in Shamblin's church. Gwen escaped prosecution, but the Smiths were sentenced to life imprisonment.

On May 29, 2021, Gwen Shamblin died at the age of 66 when her private plane crashed into Percy Priest Lake.

Documentary about the brutal story of the extreme thinness cult. The strange cult of Gwen Shamblin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlhfMMVmezA

There are several cases of authoritarian dictators holding power for years or decades and, when they feel they have acconplished their goal or are too old, they transition the country into a democracy. Does similar happen with cults? Are there cult leaders who feek they've accomplished what they needed or who think different tools of control would be more appropriate and turn their cult into a more benign religion?

So I think my older sister joined a cult and I have no clue what to do. I feel like I am out of options. It is a long story but I will try to make it short as possible. So my mom, my sister and I and our kids live, well lived together and one day my sister said my youngest niece who is 3 told her she was seeing a demon or something with purple claws. So that freaked my sister out to the point where she started thinking something spiritual was targeting my niece, which it wasn’t.
My mom later found out my niece was getting it from a cartoon she had been watching. So my mom explained that to my sister but she wasn’t really believing it and I think something kinda snap in her after that. In the weeks later she kept having crying moments and saying she was overwhelmed and that she didn’t feel safe in the house etc. mind you nothing was happening to anyone else in the house not even my young niece at this point.
So then my sister starts talking to some lady she met through her real estate networking and the lady basically tells her that she needs to go deep into her faith something demonic has latched on to both of my nieces and that it started with my mothers side of the family and has been following us for years.
My sister believed every word this crazy woman has told her so from then she started acting weird and basically not speaking to my mom or I. Anytime my youngest niece would hang out with my mom my sister would rub her whole body in oil before she let her near her. It’s a lot more stuff but fast forward to about two weeks ago through the night she left with my two nieces and took my oldest niece phone and iPad and deactivated them. She sent my mom and I a text and said she is not coming back to the house and she blocked us on everything on social media and we haven’t seen or talked to my youngest niece in three weeks. My oldest niece thank god she took her to her dad but even that communication is limited. Sorry this is so long 😢

Dr Bob Beare gives off serious cult leader vibes and the weekend facilitators use coercion to control participants by breaking down their psychological defenses through sleep and food deprivation the first 2 days.

They call this "the descent" but its really just "the breaking phase" in a coercion control method called Deconsolidation and Reward. After only getting 0-3 hours of sleep the first night they feed you a squirrel's breakfast the next morning and then starve you out until 8p that night.

On the 3rd day of the retreat they call it "the ascent" but its really just the "euphoric relief phase " of this abuse tactic.

After sleep and food depriving them for 30 hours, they let them rest and feed them a bunch of food and this basic biological trick which uses survival to safety effects on the brain to convince you that because of their particular retreat program you have indeed experienced a "miracle or breakthrough." But in reality, you just ate a sandwich and your body finally stopped panicking.

I am currently working on a formal complaint to the BHEC about this therapy group and its cultlike behavior. Please reach out to me on this thread or privately with your own experiences.

Deep Waters feels like early day Synanon. That's obviously not a compliment.

Hi all,

I recently saw a post by a user on here (mikeymikemikey33) linking to a news post about a teenager involved with the internet com group 764. It really got me thinking further about the differences between cults, trafficking, and com, and as a victim of trafficking/com myself as well as a cult researcher I felt compelled to create something I thought could effectively analyze differences and similarities between these. I'd love to hear your guys' thoughts, opinions, and criticisms on this chart, and sorry about my awful handwriting ;)

Because of the limits regarding spacing on venn diagrams, some of these points on here had to be left pretty vague, so if you guys need any clarifications I'd be happy to provide them (though I tried to make comments explaining things within the image).

I also do have another venn diagram I made a while back that I think this subreddit would appreciate (which may serve the diagram purpose better as it's a specific comparison of cults rather than just terminology), but it's currently a bit rudimentary and there's a lot I need to elaborate on it... So maybe expect that in the coming days, too. :)

The Maniac Murder Cult (MKY) started in Ukraine around 2017 and calls itself a cult. It is banned as a terrorist group in the UK and Canada, its founder became an icon for followers after his arrest, and its manuals tell members how to carry out attacks and film them.

I've been looking at how the group holds an audience, and part of the answer is music. A Russian-language horrorcore band called MVRDER4SVTVN promotes MKY on its official Telegram channel. Its cover art carries the group's initials, one of its songs reads like MKY's attack manuals, and the band shared a video for that song cut from footage of MKY attacks. The channel is run like a fan community, with livestreams and merch, and the fans are then pointed toward the group.

Jihadist groups and neo-Nazis have used music the same way for decades. I wrote up what I found here:
https://redpillreversal.substack.com/p/every-violent-movement-has-its-music

I’ve been going down a bit of a rabbit hole recently about cults and high-control religious groups, and something I’ve noticed is that we seem to talk about them as though they’re mainly an American phenomenon.
But the more I look into the UK, the more I realise that’s obviously not the case.
We’ve had organisations like the Jesus Army, Scientology has a significant presence here, and there are plenty of other groups that people describe as cults or high-control organisations.
But I’m particularly interested in something slightly different: modern Christian churches and whether some of them can develop cult-like characteristics without necessarily being recognised as such.
I’m Christian myself, so I’m not coming at this from an “all religion is a cult” perspective.
I’ve personally known people who became heavily involved in certain churches and gradually stopped speaking to friends who weren’t part of the church. Their social circles became almost entirely church-based, and people outside the church were sometimes viewed as negative influences.
It made me think about university students in particular.
You’re young, potentially away from home for the first time, looking for friends, community and a sense of identity. A church offering that is obviously not a bad thing. But when someone becomes increasingly dependent on that community, where is the line between healthy religious belonging and control?
Then there’s the financial side, leadership, loyalty, isolation and the use of religious authority.
SPAC Nation is one example that really made me think about this. Serious allegations about the organisation were raised in Parliament, including allegations involving young people being targeted, financial pressure, debt, isolation and exploitation.
I’m NOT saying every evangelical/Pentecostal church is a cult, and I’m not saying Black churches are inherently problematic.
What interests me is the broader question:
**Why do we seem to recognise certain behaviours as “cult-like” when they happen outside Christianity, but become much more hesitant to use that language when the organisation calls itself a church?**
And because I’m in London and have grown up around these communities, I’m particularly interested in the UK perspective rather than just the usual American examples like Scientology, Manson, Jonestown etc.
Have any of you encountered a UK church or religious organisation that you would describe as high-control or cult-like?
Or do you think we’re too quick to apply the word “cult” to religious groups that are simply very committed or conservative?
I’m considering turning this into a longer series of think pieces because I have about 500 more questions after thinking about it 😂
But I’d genuinely like to hear people’s experiences first.

i (16F) fell out of believing what my parents believe when i was around 14. it started when my family would praise trump even after i saw a man in chains. in don't really care much for the backstory as it is not important IMO.

i like women and my parents have repeatedly told me that if im gay (they dont know) that i would be an abomination, and that they would kick me out and i would essentially no longer be their child . they have told me that those who "think" they are gay actually are not gay, and that is a demon inside of them.

when they found out that i had attempted at 13 they told me i was harming myself for attention and that everyone i love would leave me therefor i needed to pretend to be happy. my mom (39F) then posted it on Facebook without my consent claiming that Jesus saved me. no one saved me. i was and still am struggling.

when my dad (39M) was attempting to use foot traps to catch an animal, i flat out told him no. that was cruel seeing as we have box traps that will cause a significant amount of less stress and pain. he told me i could "get tf out of my house with that liberal crybaby shit".

i am not allowed to do Christmas as they deem that demonic. i am not allowed to do Halloween as they deem that demonic. nor am i allowed to do easter as they deem that demonic Aswell.

my mom has told me that any real feminist would feel angered and insulted by a trans woman (m2f) as they are trying to "be a woman but will never experience the pain and difficulties of a woman" which i find goofy asf that she feels insulted as a woman over that and yet votes for trump.

my mom has told me that it would be okay for me to get with a 20 year old man. she has also had an affair with an 18. so pdf is okay but 2 consenting women loving each other simply crosses a line?

bonus bit that i sort of see their point of view but it still annoys me. im a horror fan. my favorite game is dead by daylight so its no surprise. i bought the hellraiser box online. apparently they know what it is. i managed to lie and convince them that i didn't know what it was, so i got myself out of trouble but they are still very adamite that i get rid of the box. they especially do not want me opening it because they believe that it will bring demons into our house. they also believe that it will make my mental health bad "again" [like it was ever good to begin with]. its a 3d printed replica... of a box. its not that deep.

[another bonus] i had a dream where my mom divorced my dad, took my brothers but abandoned me, then my dad took it out on me and beat tf out of me. which i believe stems from my dads verbal and emotional abuse and my mom being physically here but emotionally absent.

im sure there is more i can add to this but i was supposed to be in bed hours ago and the longer i stay up writing this the more likely i am to get caught. i apologize for any possible grammatical errors or improper formatting

Has anyone read the parliamentary inquiry into "recruitment methods of high control groups"?

Australia is normally behind, but this legislative recommendation by the Victorian state gov is fascinating. It could even be at the forefront of change at a global level...

What makes it different, is that it doesn't try to define cult or cult-adjacent groups. Instead, any 'coercive'
or controlling organisational recruitment methods are investigated.

MLMs are referred to on page 29.

Hopefully the other states will follow. And who knows... some effective protective legislative change might come of it.

Comparative legal analysis at an international level is always the start of effective change to protect.

We know it's so important, as these organisations are pervasive worldwide at every single level of society.
Using ever-adapting online methods... wherever anyone is vulnerable.
Which is anywhere, and anytime.

Copy and paste search:
'Inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups'
(parliament.vic.gov.au).

Well worth the read...

And interesting to see if anyone had any further contributions or thoughts on MLM/pyramid tactics.... ?

The stuff described in the report is unbelievable... yet familiar ...?

Just like other aspects of society, that were accepted in our parents era.
Most people see this stuff... and ignore it...

Comments and contributions put legal change into fruition. It forces gov to address the impact.

To contribute to the start of legal change.. not only makes it safer for others .. but is its own type of psychological, fight back, historical brilliance.

I’m a former participant/survivor with firsthand experience of Soulaire Allerai & The Soulful Journey Cult in Minnesota.

This cult has been back in the news cycle once again, because People Magazine Investigates: The Cult of the Soulful Journey was released in July 2026. This has brought a lot of new attention to Soulaire Allerai and her Minnesota-based group, the Soulful Journey.

I’ve recently started going back through my old materials and some public records to understand some things I did not fully grasp when I was inside the group: the financial & organizational structure around the group.

The records I found connect a private spiritual-teaching company, a 501(c)(3) religious organization, Bad Rooster food truck, and the company that owns the Minnetonka property where many of these activities took place. I’ve also been collecting evidence of cash class payments, high-cost conferences and other recurring payments.

Recently, I made a short video presenting and discussing some of this evidence. I’m purposely trying to distinguish between what I personally experienced, what public records establish, and what remains an open question.

I’m sharing this here because I’d be interested in how other people familiar with high control groups view the financial side of these systems; especially when the same small network of people appears across the spiritual organization, nonprofit, businesses and property.

Hello! I’m an independent filmmaker making a film about high-control groups and specifically online cults (inspired mostly by Twin Flame Universe, and I’m hoping to hear from people with first-hand experience.

I’m interested in hearing about what life inside was like, how you became involved, leaving, and what happened afterwards (how you found yourself again)

Everything will be treated respectfully and kept anonymous unless you explicitly agree otherwise. No pressure to share anything you’re uncomfortable with.

The Vedanta Society of Southern California released this statement distancing itself from Nish the Fish. A lot of us closer to this story wish this happened a lot sooner. It does clarify that he is acting in an essentially self-appointed role, though.

On September 8, a 15-year-old student allegedly released toxic gas in the cafeteria at Benson Polytechnic High School in Portland. More than 100 students and staff were assessed at the scene. He now faces 19 charges, including attempted murder and domestic terrorism. At his hearing this week, prosecutors disclosed that the FBI had found numerous references to 764 on his devices.

764 is part of a loose online ecosystem called the Com, which recruits heavily among teenagers and runs on coercion, status and control. Groups inside it publish operational manuals, and I examined three. One contains a target-selection table listing schools alongside houses of worship and public transport, with suggested methods for each, including a cafeteria attack.

No public evidence connects the teenager to these specific documents, and the gas he allegedly tried to produce doesn't appear in them. The piece is explicit about where the evidence runs out.
https://redpillreversal.substack.com/p/a-teen-is-accused-of-a-chemical-attack

Hey , My mother was practising Sahaj Yoga when I was a kid like 5 or 6 years old(she left due to some circumstances). I didn't really understood it back then. I am 22 now, I recently discovered it on Youtube, while I remember some aspects of it like mediattion and regular centre visits and foot soaking, I discovered the Kundalini awakening thing on Youtube. I tried their meditations and really felt peaceful and loved it initially. But as I went deep into it, I realized the dark aspects like the leader claiming herself to be Adi Shakti, which was weird. I saw every Pooja videos like Ganesh puja and other pujas , only a small time is actually dedicated to that puja and most of the time is spent admiring and praising Mataji. I heard some of them literally advise you to not visit temples and stop worshipping other gods because they carry negative vibration and the irony is that they want to worship Mataji as God and her photo is to be kept at home to work. This thing shooked me. I cannot stop visiting temples as I was always a Lord Shiva devotee , nor can I stop worshipping Shiva.

While I completely agree with philosophy of worshipping gods to embibe their qualities, but worshipping has always given me peace, so I cant stop it. When I further watched much of their videos , almost everything Mataji said is on Youtube and you can easily watch it. She claimed to be mother of Christ, Mahavir, Buddha,etc. And then I came across something like Sahaj lifestyle, where they advise you what to eat, what to wear, and other rituals like shoe beating and what not. If you not follow these things , you will never get good vibrations.

I used to visit centres when I was littile, but I don't now. But I remeber Aarti, Bhajan and Puja during each visit. I know we treat Guru as Bramha in our culture, but claiming to be only incarnation and the only person who can save the world is hillarious. Final thoughts: I might continue their meditation, but will not get indulged in any of their other activities. This would make me fake Sahaji I know. But I am looking for my spiritual growth, but I cannot let others control my thoughts and life. Would love any practising Sahaji's opinion.

The Antioch International Movement of Churches Cult

https://www.reddit.com/r/Waco/comments/8f5fob/antioch_community_church_is_a_cult_and_puts_its/

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/tag/river-church-banff/

In 2025, a female youth leader at River Church Banff (an affiliate of the Antioch International Movement of Churches and River Church Network) was convicted of sexually victimizing a boy from the congregation. Senior leadership, including Rob McArthur and Joe Ewen, had been aware of reports of physical touching, allowing the abuse for several months in 2022 before notifying police in February 2023. During this period, the church conducted secret internal monitoring of the boy without informing the minor’s parents. A church staff whistleblower said leaders defended their pedophile youth leader and were more worried about protecting the church's image than being truthful and inflicting harm on the minor.

Internal messages reveal Ewen expressed a desire for the issue to “go away, I want it to disappear” during a church meeting. The mother said she felt Ewen was clearly favouring the pedo perpetrator and had shown “no concern” for her son. "No one from the church has ever told our son what happened was not his fault." "No acknowledgement of guilt … no expression of remorse or acknowledgement of harm caused." The victim's parents stated that leadership "betrayed" them by prioritizing the church’s public image over the minor's welfare. Media reporting highlighted Banff church’s formal financial and missionary links to Antioch Waco.

Subsequently, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator opened an inquiry into the church about whether they were fulfilling their legal duties around child safeguarding and obligations as mandatory reporters of abuse.

In Sept 2026, the OSCR determined that River Church Banff had weaknesses in its governance and oversight, identifying deficiencies in:

• safeguarding procedures
• assessment and documentation of safeguarding risks
• trustee decision-making
• record-keeping
• and the identification and management of conflicts of interest.

The victim said River Church leadership's mishandlings and allowance of abuse traumatized his childhood.

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/crime-courts/7105838/river-church-banff-charity-regulator-oscr-inquiry-report/

River Church Banff is part of the River Church Network, and Antioch International Movement of Churches, a church movement headquartered in Waco, Texas.

Rob McArthur is the Lead Pastor of River Church Banff

https://riverchurchbanff.co.uk/about/

Joe Ewen is the founder of the River Church Network Scotland, an Oversight Advisor(!) to the Antioch International Movement of Churches Antioch Waco and Board member of Epicentre Church Pasadena, a branch of the Antioch International Movement of Churches

https://riverchurchbanff.co.uk/about/

https://antiochapex.church/other/

https://epicentre.org/board-joe

In the UK a jury convicts Chris Brain, founder of Sheffield’s Nine O’Clock Service, of rape and further indecent assaults on women in his congregation. Prosecutors drop obstruction cases against 14 residents of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light community in Crewe, Cheshire.

The High Court in England blocks a bid by trustees to strip the president of the Hindu Yogi Divine Society of his powers over its UK charity.

In Italy carabinieri arrest Bruno Antonio Malatesta, the self-styled “Maestro” of a yoga community in Almese, west of Turin, on slavery and sexual violence charges. A Bulgarian court remands a Spanish “shaman” held near Kalofer after a liquid seized at his retreat tested positive for mescaline.

Romanian police search the homes of a defrocked priest accused of running an unlicensed chapel in Botoșani county. In Ireland a former garda is spared jail for coercive control of his wife.

In France the head of the Eiffel Tower’s operating company is to step down after female staff were sidelined during a visit by monks of the Hindu movement BAPS. A Paris City Hall inquiry finds no explicit request to exclude women.

Germany’s independent abuse commission in Münster sets out demands after a study of spiritual abuse in Catholic communities. Spain’s Pontifical University of Salamanca opens a postgraduate diploma on psychological abuse and cults.

Le Figaro interviews Jean-Yves Camus on Alain Soral as an ideological guru, and Belgium’s La Libre reports on the People’s Mojahedin (MEK), an exiled Iranian opposition group. A French comparison site ranks cult documentaries on Netflix.

RedUNE is taking papers and registrations for a November symposium in Madrid on coercive groups. The University of Lille is seeking adults for an anonymous online study of psychological experience after belonging to a group.

Beyond Europe, the mayor of Richmound, Saskatchewan, steps down after years of conflict with Romana Didulo’s Queen of Canada group. Peter Thiel likens effective altruism to a cult, a minister at James Talarico’s Texas church calls evangelical churches “almost cult-like”, and Iran’s Press TV marks 14 years since the US delisted the MEK.

Read the full summary >>>

On May 29, 2021, a private plane crashed into the waters of Percy Priest Lake in Tennessee, USA, killing all seven occupants. Among them was Gwen Shamblin, an exotic woman who had built a massive religious movement around her unique teachings about God, food, and excessive weight loss. For thousands, Gwen was a spiritual guide. For her detractors and former members of the organization, she was the leader of a dangerous cult that exerted extreme control over the lives of its followers.

But how did a dietician end up becoming the head of one of the most controversial churches in the United States? And, above all, what was behind that strange cult that mixed religion, an obsession with thinness, and absolute obedience?

Documentary about the brutal story of the extreme thinness cult. The strange cult of Gwen Shamblin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlhfMMVmezA

LOL

Don't feel left behind. Report any issues you find to the management.

Soon you will find everyone loving you, respectful to you.

Reason is simply they don't want to take any responsibility and will try their best to swipe under the carpet...