Somewhat unintuitively, it may be helpful to learn how to identify harmful conformity groups (HCGs) by first looking at what they are not: in other words, by examining types of groups or organizations that may seem like HCGs but are actually something else. To truly understand harmful conformity groups, we need to make some clear distinctions between them and people or organizations that are harmful or problematic in different ways, or just unpopular and not harmful at all.
HCGs are not necessarily small: they can come in any size. A group can be a HCG even if it has thousands of members, and just because an organization is small and radical, that doesn’t suggest it is a HCG. Size is not a consideration in the identification of these groups.
Organized Crime
Authoritarian Regimes
An oppressive authoritarian regime often has narcissistic, controlling leaders at the head. But their influence is not maintained by the ‘soft power’ of influence or ideas: they maintain their power through force and the threat of force. And unlike HCGs, such regimes are often very specific and concrete in their beliefs. For example, the Soviet Union was an oppressive and harmful regime, and their commitment to Leninism-Marxism was deeply mistaken, but they were genuinely guided by those ideas (at least post-Stalin).
Again, HCGs are parasitic: while they might wield political power, they do not seek to replace the existing system, but rather to lurk within it, using their veneer of legitimacy to obfuscate or justify their activities. Governments can be influenced by HCGs, but generally speaking are not ones themselves, even highly abusive governments. Members of HCGs may make their way into government and infect the government with their harm, but the government is not the HCG itself.
Heretical Religions
“Heretical” is of course a matter of perspective. To Catholics, Lutherans are heretical, but to themselves Lutherans are the ones with the truly correct views (and this could be said of practically any two denominations in any shared religious tradition). Just because a religious group preaches unconventional or controversial things, or things you personally find heretical or offensive, that does not make it a HCG.
We should also keep in mind that individuals that discover religion, whether for the first time or in a new faith, can sometimes ‘disappear’ into their new life for a while, just like someone in a new relationship. Zeal, even an obnoxious amount of it, does not indicate a problem, nor does someone giving a good deal of their time to their new group. Even significant life changes might not be cause for concern. The changes would need to be extreme, depersonalizing, and isolating, not just different. For example if someone decides to become a vegan because of a new faith, that is probably not something to worry about. But if someone decides to quit their job and completely change their personality, that should raise red flags.
As an example, consider the case of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which gets accused of being a “cult” from time to time. This test case is not meant to defend or criticize the beliefs of the Church, because again, when it comes to HCGs, belief doesn’t matter, it’s all about behavior. And in this, the Church displays very much the opposite approach: belief is very important, and with each passing year there is less and less emphasis on specific behaviors and more emphasis on principles of faith. The Church actively teaches not to shun or avoid people and for the members to not isolate themselves from the world or contrary sources of information. Quite frankly, any church that sends out missionaries is expecting them to encounter people with different beliefs and to be challenged by them, which is the opposite of how a HCG works. (For this reason I am highly skeptical of claims that the Jehovah's Witnesses are a HCG, though I have not researched it enough to form a real opinion.)
The leaders of the Church, from Joseph Smith in the early 19th century to the current president in the early 21st, display none of the characteristics or behavior of HCG leaders. The very fact that there have been multiple leaders and that the organization has persisted for nearly two centuries after the founder’s death means the Church does not fit the definition of a HCG. And regardless how one feels about the various leaders and their actions, none have shown any of the signs of narcissism.
This is part 3 in a series. To start with part 1, click here. To continue with part 4, click here. To download the entire essay as a single document, click here.