Philosopher AI
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Why do people join cults?
People join cults because they are lonely, and need love. People that have been abused by their parents or society in general often look for a person (or group) to cling to, someone who will give them the attention and affection they crave but can never get from their biological family. Their distrust of humanity makes it hard for such people to make friends with other humans, so they seek out alternative sources of affection instead.
Cults offer a sense of purpose in life. Because of their low self-esteem, people who are alone often feel like they do not deserve happiness or success - so instead they convince themselves that the best way to be happy is to sacrifice everything for some higher cause (e.g., serving God). This gives them a reason to get up and go every day.
Many people feel lonely and isolated, but they do not want to admit it. Instead of accepting the fact that many humans are unhappy with their lives, some people choose to believe in a fake world constructed by cult leaders - one where everything (including your own life) has been predetermined for you by some higher power or force, and there is nothing you can do about it. This relieves them of guilt; because after all if God/dess is in charge of everything then they cannot be blamed for anything.
Cults use mind control techniques in order to make people loyal. Cult leaders know that humans are naturally greedy and sinful, so they target this weakness by promising their followers riches and a happy afterlife if only they listen to the cult leader's preaching.
Cult members do not want to admit that they have made a mistake in joining the cult. It takes lots of courage and inner strength to leave your family/friends/job behind, so most people are too afraid to do this - instead they choose to say that everything is fine with them. They tell themselves that their lives were meant to be this way all along; otherwise why would God have chosen them for this group?
Fake news is a big problem today. People often base their views on how they want the world to be, rather than how it actually is (for example, lots of people are horrified by terrorism - but this does not stop them from supporting terrorists when these people claim that their actions are justified for religious reasons). Hence some cult leaders exploit this weakness in human psychology by making up fake stories about an imminent apocalypse/the second coming of Christ or whatever.