I think the dysfunction in families is one of the reasons why people join cults, and why cults can serve people, as individuals, as long as those people are able to move on through and out of the cults in time. We talk a lot here about why we left the BKs, and it has been said that many of our stories of why we left are very similar.ex-l wrote:ONE HELL of a lot more abuse goes on in families, especially orthodox or conservative families, than it will EVER do in cults. They want to protect the myth of happy nuclear families which just is not true either ... I meant abuse in families generally. They uphold "the family" as a paragon of virtue and goodness, which it may not be. There is a balance between protecting the fabric of a society based on families groups and encourage individuals.
- • Why did we join? I expect those stories will be similar too.
The reason why I felt there was something missing from my self, which led to me joining the BKs, is probably due to my having been raised in a dysfunctional family. It was not terrible, and I do not feel sorry for myself. I never suffered sexual abuse. I rarely got hit, no more than was usual for those times in the UK. I did feel that my birth family was an unhappy environment, and I got out of it as soon as I could by getting married, as did my three siblings. Somehow I must have thought that there was another family somewhere that was not dysfunctional, a soul family that I could join. I never found one, I do not believe it exists, but it was an illusion I fostered for decades.
I wonder if any other people on the forum would like to share their reasons for joining the BKs?