BBC’s investigative documentary on TB Joshua is unhinged for many reasons, but one thing is crystal clear, the clergyman’s ministry ticks all the boxes of a cult.
A cult is a religious organisation with unusual spiritual and philosophical beliefs. Followers are often brainwashed to embrace extreme teachings and practices, and would often need external intervention to get separated from the institution.
We recently asked people who’ve found themselves in cults in the past, and if your church or mosque exhibits most or all of these signs, it might be time to pack it up and run for dear life.
The spiritual leader is called “Daddy, Mummy”
When you call a person who isn’t your parent “mum or dad”, it means you respect them a lot. In the case of a religious leader, you hold them in high reverence. They, in turn, see you as a child who needs guidance at all times. You’ve probably now been placed in this perpetual state of childhood, forever dependent on them.
The institution is heavily tied to the founder
On the websites, it’s quotes and pictures of the founder. You’re bombarded with posters and stickers of the founder often touted to offer some form of protection. Recommended texts are books written by the founder. Can you see the pattern at play? Please, dust your slippers and run away.
“We’re one big family”
We’ve already established this as a corporate workplace red flag, but if you didn’t know, you should also run if your church casually throws the statement around. The idea is to ostracise you from your actual loved ones to form new relationships with fellow brainwashed members.
Every call-to-action comes with an ultimatum
When you start getting messages like: “If you’ve not paid your tithe by XYZ, God won’t be happy with you or If you miss this vigil, you’re not ready for blessings.” If you go against their directives, you’ll be met with subtle hostility, and sometimes, ostracism.
Punishment for missing activities
A normal religious institution understands your spiritual activities are just one section of your life, and as such, there’ll be times when you’ll miss things. But if these lapses are greeted with penalties of any kind, there’s probably a huge problem that needs escaping from.
Donations that tie your worth to money
A religious institution is the one place that should be open to everyone regardless of social class or financial standing. If you’re constantly asked to donate, if rich members are given special treatment, if donations are ranked according to frequency and amount given, you really shouldn’t wait to find out the worst.
You must recruit new members
While it’s not bad to want to spread the gospel and get more people to join your cool church or mosque, it becomes a problem when this takes the form of an aggressive sales pitch. It gets more suspicious if the special department carved out for those saddled with this responsibility are given a monthly quota of new recruits.
Repetitive drills
This is probably the most important sign to look out for. Sometimes, you don’t know when you’re being brainwashed, and you’re far too gone when people around you find out. But try your best to look out for repeated drills that take the form of chanting or constant recitals. According to Anneka, one of the late TB Joshua’s victims featured in the BBC Africa documentary, they’re trying to make you lose cognitive clarity so you can obey and take orders without question.
