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    Beyond the Cultoid
    Beyond the Cultoid
    Beyond the Cultoid
    Ebook83 pages1 hour

    Beyond the Cultoid

    By Larry Christopher

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    Beyond the Cultoid is a look at the cult-like characteristics of major institutions and beliefs of mainstream society. The famous 20th century philosopher and “anti-guru” guru Krishnamurti said, “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”

    Some years later, psychedelics researcher Terrence McKenna said “Culture is not your friend.” What do you think this means? Could it be that most of what you are taught is not for your benefit, but to condition you and make you satisfied with the status quo?

    If these quotes resonate with you, you may be the perfect reader for Beyond the Cultoid. Both of those quotes are in the book, but quotes from famous people are only a very small portion of what's in here. The book is essentially a breakdown of how society is like a cult in so many different ways -nationalism, religion, pop culture, scientific materialism and even most alternatives.

    Then I explore some of the ways we can possibly create a “post cultoid” society -as an individual, through political and economic alternatives and through updated versions of spiritual traditions such as Taoism, Hermeticism and the "Middle Path" that is recognized by so many philosophers and spiritual teachers.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLarry Christopher
    Release dateFeb 25, 2015
    ISBN9781311458414
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      Book preview

      Beyond the Cultoid - Larry Christopher

      Beyond the Cultoid

      by Larry Christopher @2015

      Image (also appears on cover):

      City of Coinciding Perceptions, by Danielle Bohmir

      Cultoid simply means cultlike, or having the characteristics of a cult. This study is a rather idiosyncratic exploration of how the world, society, belief systems (such as political and religious) and popular culture tend to be cultoid in many different ways.

      This book has two main concerns. One is identifying the many ways that the cultoid appears in society. The other is exploring alternatives that can lay the foundation for a post cultoid society.

      A note about the many links in this book: my linking to a source in no way implies that I agree with or am in any way affiliated with that website or the point of view it espouses. Links are for research and reference purposes only! Also, the internet being what it is, there's a good chance than some of the links included here will not be valid by the time you click on them.

      1. Cultures, Subcultures and Cults

      Image by Chris Piascik

      "Culture is not your friend." -Terrance McKenna

      Living in a modern society, we presumably share a common culture. As an American, this places us in a pluralistic culture, and much of the world is rapidly moving in that direction. A culture is a tricky thing to pinpoint but it's generally identified with a nation, community, ethnic group, religion or tribe.

      A nation is said to have or possess a culture –which includes many different things, such as ethnicity, language, religion, political outlook and the arts. Yet within many cultures are an array of subcultures. In smaller nations or tribal societies this may not be the case, or at least is significantly less the case than in modern Western nations, which are becoming increasingly pluralistic.

      To further complicate matters, some of the subcultures within the main culture may not approve of the very pluralistic rubric that allows ''alternative'' subcultures to flourish. Religious fundamentalists, for instance, may be fervently opposed to concepts such as liberalism and multiculturalism. Similarly, a multiracial society may contain subcultures which believe in racial separatism.

      Virtually any group of people may be called a ''subculture'' –chess players, bird watchers, collectors of antique clocks, etc. – but this is stretching the notion beyond its usefulness. A subculture is more meaningfully defined as a group of people who share certain values rather than merely behaviors. If, on the other hand, the actions of a group are time-consuming, extreme or otherwise remarkable enough to distinguish them in some basic way, the group may be called a subculture.

      People who occasionally attend a certain club where people dress in black and listen to certain kinds of music don’t necessarily belong to a subculture. Yet if they constantly dress in this fashion and interact mainly with others like themselves, they may be said to be participating in the Goth subculture. This, in turn, may overlap with people who take the Goth lifestyle to a more drastic extreme, and identify with the vampire subculture.

      A cult, meanwhile, is basically a subculture whose values and/or actions are deemed odd, irrational, extreme or immoral by the majority. A cult usually refers to a specific group rather than simply a lifestyle shared by disconnected people. On the other hand, if the group ever becomes large enough, it becomes a bona fide subculture and perhaps, eventually, even a culture. Christianity is the most famous example of this; over the course of a few centuries it went from a cult, to a persecuted subculture to becoming part of the dominant culture. Now, of course, it is arguably in decline and might be regaining some of its cultoid status.

      The fact that the same belief system can pass through these stages strongly suggests that the criteria separating cultures, subcultures and cults are subjective rather than objective. The characteristics attributed to cults –strangeness, irrationality, blindly following a leader among others—are based more on the cult’s minority status and/or unpopularity than to any objective facts about the cult.

      Among modern day Christians, for example, Jehova’s Witnesses, Mormons and others are considered at least borderline cults by mainstream (i.e. Catholics and Protestants) Christians. Similarly, certain fundamentalist Christian groups argue that Catholics are not real Christians and, hence, a kind of cult.

      Yet, if we focus strictly on religious dogmas themselves, we would be hard pressed to show how one religion is intrinsically more of a cult than another. It would seem to be mainly a matter of public opinion. Many people nowadays, such as atheists, argue that all religions are cults.

      Of course, the designation of cult always applies to others. People who consider themselves educated, enlightened and/or sophisticated feel that they have some sort of handle on ''normality.'' We may have our problems, neuroses, superstitions and so forth, but we basically consider ourselves to be normal. They, on the other hand, those others who belong to odd subcultures and outright cults are strange critters, maybe even dangerous.

      Is it too glib, too much of a postmodern liberal assumption to simply dismiss the idea of one kind of behavior being objectively more normal? In the next chapter,

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