Sneak peek at my script

I thought I'd give you guys a cool little thing. This doesn't happen very often because commonly I start recording as soon as I finish the script, but I just so happen to have finished it a few minutes ago and I won't be recording until tomorrow so you guys get to see it early. it's kind of a living document so I change it as I record. it probably isn't FINAL final but it's as close as you're going to get up to the moment I read it into the mic. this is 2,788 words, which will yield a roughly 17 minute video. enjoy. if that's your kind of thing.

Telltale

Cult Reassessment: Are Jehovahs Witnesses A Cult? Bite Extremism Scale

Got some new fan art for you guys. A couple of quick announcements. I’ll be putting up a part one of a jonestown video on professor stick’s channel on saturday, and ill be uploading part 2 on my channel on sunday. So watch out for that. Also, I added my podcast to Soundcloud and im applying for it to go to the iTunes Store so keep a lookout for that too. Also also, im going to the secular student alliance conference in Ohio from June 29th to July 1st. So come meet me there. Ill be there with objectively dan and genetically modified skeptic. I put links in the description. So I created a new cult extremism scale I call the bite extremism scale, so naturally I have to try it out on a bunch of religions I’ve already done. So let’s compare jehovahs witnesses, mormons, and scientology to the bite extremism scale. Let’s get into it.

Ok, I’ve spent plenty of time talking about these religions, so we’re just going to jump right into it. For those of you who don’t know what the bite model is, it’s a model presented by Stephen Hassan and it’s used to determine if something is a cult or not. I came up with this new scale I use to assign them a point value on a scale. I measure their level of extremism on different issues, and I assign one of the fibonacci numbers to each. So that’s 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, or 34. As I said in my westboro baptist church video, 0 means they don’t exhibit this quality in any way. The question doesn’t even apply to them. 1 means they do it but in a very minimalistic way. so, if we’re asking the question “do they change your personality to fit with the group”, I would give a 1 to basically every religion on the planet because they basically all do that. It isn’t always very much but it happens. At least a little bit. I’d give jehovahs witnesses a 13 because they change your personality to a very high degree. And id give heavens gate a 21 because they completely break you down and remake you in their image. The scale doesn’t really max out anywhere but 21 is probably the highest I’ve seen in any US based religions. I might go higher on some things for certain islamic cults, like wahabism and threatening friends and family, because they’ll outright throw people off roofs for questioning. I’d give Wahhabism a 34 for that one. I’m basically comparing them to the most extreme examples ive seen of these criteria. So first let’s assess jehovahs witnesses.

JEHOVAHS WITNESSES

 67 BEHAVIOR CONTROL

13 Promote dependence and obedience - im giving them a high score for this one. They don’t want you to go to college. And usually you end up working for other members of the congregation, who run window cleaning businesses or whatever else, they even split up families and stuff sometimes when they rearrange congregations. So they get a 13 for this one.

8 modify behavior with rewards and punishments - they have a number of different disciplinary actions they take, including but not limited to reproval and disfellowshipping. And if somebody does something questionable they send the elders out to ask questions, called a shepherding call. I’m actually saying 8 for this one instead of 13 because I’ve definitely seen more extreme. But they’re pretty bad about it.

3 dictate where and with whom you live - im giving them a really low score for this one because they DO do this but it’s a much lower level than other religions. So I’ll say a 3. Because you aren’t allowed to live with disfellowshipped people, for example. But they really don’t regulate it much more than that.

8  restrict or control sexuality - I was going to give them a lower score on this because they tell people you cant have sex before marriage, and what religion DOESN’T do that, right? Except they also regulate what you’re allowed to do with your husband or wife. Pretty heavily, from what I understand. So they get an 8 for this.

13  control clothing and hairstyle - they actually control this to a high degree. I’ve definitely seen worse, like with heaven’s gate, or even certain islamic cults, but you aren’t allowed to have a beard, you have to have short hair if you’re a man, and you’re supposed to dress well because you represent the company. I mean god. So they get a 13 for this, where heaven’s gate would get a 21 and islam would get a 34.

1 regulate what and how much you eat and drink - they don’t really regulate this at all. So im giving them a 1 because they regulate how much alcohol you’re allowed to drink.

3 deprive you of seven to nine hours of sleep - I’d put them just a little higher than you’d think because they push people to go in service, go to meetings, and study constantly. They aren’t trying to practice sleep deprivation techniques like some cults so their number is pretty low here. I’d say 3.

8 exploit you financially - it’s a pretty bad guilt trip with them. They push people to donate, donate, donate. But the most extreme example of this that I can think of is scientology so if im comparing them against scientology as a 21, id put jehovahs witnesses at an 8. They pester and guilt members, but they aren’t passing around a collection plate or saying they’re going to burn in hell or be kicked out of the new system if they don’t do it.

8  restrict leisure time and activities - I would say they’re fairly extreme on this scale because there’s a lot you aren’t allowed to do. You cant hang out with worldly people, you cant play certain games, you cant go to clubs, you cant do all kinds of stuff. And a lot of your time is spent studying. So im marking them down as an 8 on this one.

2  require you to seek permission for major decisions - I wouldn’t say this is terribly high. They don’t make you tell them when you’re buying a house or having a kid or something. It’s baseline bad, like getting clearance to get married in the kingdom hall and stuff. So im putting them down as a 2.

So the total for behavior control is 67. Let’s move on to information control.

110 INFORMATION CONTROL

13 deliberately withhold and distort information - im giving them a really high score on this one. Id say the most extreme example of this would be a religion who locks their members on a compound and completely removes internet access or access to the outside world. Jehovahs witnesses aren’t that bad but they’re bad. So I’m putting them at a 13 because they don’t go to that extreme but they’re pretty extreme with it. 

21 forbid you from speaking with ex-members and critics - this is the most extreme you can get, short of murdering somebody as a consequence of talking to ex-members and critics. So im putting them down as a 21 for this.

8 discourage access to non-cult sources of information - the key word here is “discourage”. And we’re talking about general information. So obviously you aren’t supposed to go looking for information on jehovahs witnesses outside of their own sources. You’ll be disfellowshipped for that. But just general information? If they talk about it they want you reading their website. But reading books and stuff isn’t discouraged. regulated, but not discouraged. So im putting them at an 8.

13 divide information into insider vs outsider doctrine - they’re pretty extreme about this. In fact they capitalize on it. They draw a dark black line between who’s right and who’s wrong. All other religions are christendom. They’re all wrong, and they’ll all die. We’re the only correct ones. I’ve seen more extreme cases but they’re pretty bad. 13.

21 generate and use propaganda extensively - they have a whole printing company. That’s how they started. They’re the most extreme example I’ve seen of this. So they get a 21.

13 use information gained in confession sessions against you - they definitely do this in judicial meetings and stuff. They say you have to admit your sins, and after you do, they judge whether or not to discipline you. im giving them a 13 because im sure there’s a more extreme case.

5 gaslight to make you doubt your own memory - they do this, but it’s on a level that I’ve seen other cults do it. It isn’t the MOST extreme case. So im giving them a much lower score for this one than I would otherwise. Im giving them a 5

8 require you to report thoughts, feelings, and activities to superiors - I would say the most extreme case of this would be catholicism’s confession. Or even more extreme might be where heaven’s gate members had to report sexual feelings at breakfast with everybody else around in an effort to shame them. Jehovahs witnesses definitely do this but I wouldn’t call it the MOST extreme, so im putting them at an 8, where catholic confession would be a 13 and the heaven’s gate practice would be at 21.

8 encourage you to spy and report on others “misconduct" - they’re pretty extreme with this one. Although I’ve seen worse cases with this, too. Like with westboro baptist, where they tell the children to report on their siblings. Or even north korea, convincing the people there to tell on the people around them. So im giving them an 8 for this one

So that was information control, and it gets an overall score of 110. Now for thought control.

73 THOUGHT CONTROL

21  instill black vs white, us vs them, good vs evil thinking - they’re really bad about this one. Everybody else is wrong and they’re going to die. I can conceivably see a worse case, but I think I’m justified in calling them a 21 on this one.

8  change your identity, possibly even your name - they don’t change your name but they definitely change your identity. They want to mould you into exactly who they want you to be. So im giving them a high number for this one, but not too high. 8.

8 use loaded language and cliches to stop complex thought - they definitely do this but I’ve seen more extreme cases. So im giving them an 8.

2 induce hypnotic or trance states to indoctrinate - they do this through prayer and singing and all that stuff but other churches do the same thing so im going to say 2.

5 teach thought-stopping techniques to prevent critical thoughts - they do this one too but it isn’t as extreme as some other cases I can think of so im putting them at a 5.

13 allow only positive thoughts - they definitely do this to a high degree. They have this fake persona they put on. What’s funny is when I wrote this bit for the video, I wrote “fake persona I put on”. They create this all-encompassing personality that you have to wear. This mask. Im giving them a really high number for this one. 13.

8 Use excessive meditation, singing, prayer, and chanting to block thoughts - I would call constantly studying and underlining and reading propaganda “excessive meditation”. Constant prayer too. But I don’t know that they sing or chant more than other typical churches. Catholics would get a really high number for this. They’re the most extreme case I can think of right now. So if catholics got a 21, id put jehovahs witnesses at an 8 because of the amount of work it takes to keep up with it, but also because it’s possible to not keep up with it. You’ll be looked down upon and shamed a little bit but you wont be disfellowshipped.

8 reject rational analysis, critical thinking, and doubt - they do this constantly. I’d put them at a pretty high number here. Probably an 8.

ok. That was thought control, with a grand total of 73. Now on to our last category, emotional control.

94 EMOTIONAL CONTROL

13 instill irrational fears of questioning or leaving the group - they’re pretty extreme with this one, but I can think of more extreme cases. I would put them at 13. I’d consider the most extreme case convincing somebody that their skin will melt off if they leave or something.

13 label some emotions as evil, worldly, sinful, or wrong - they do this to a high degree. But i’d still just put them at a 13 instead of a 21. The most extreme case of this might be banning and heavily punishing emotions like love with shunning, and maybe making them report it like heavens gate did. So 13 for this one.

5 teach emotion-stopping techniques to prevent anger or homesickness - they do some of this but I wouldn’t say they’re the worst about it. Except when it comes to shunning. So im putting them at an 8 for that alone. But I’ve definitely seen worse in things like scientology and heaven’s gate.

13 promote feelings of guilt, shame, and unworthiness - they definitely do this. They’re pretty serious about it. Nobody is perfect. But you have to try to be who jehovah wants you to be. They get a high number for this. Im going to say a low 13 for this one.

13 shower you with praise and attention, or "love bomb" you - they do this pretty heavily. They try to pull new people in by using this exact technique. But ive definitely seen more extreme versions. So im putting them down as a 13 for this one.

3 threaten your friends and family - this one is a low level threat. Not physical. It’s an emotional threat, but it does happen. So im marking them down as a 3.

21 shun you if you disobey or disbelieve - they’re the most extreme you can get with this one without outright killing you or something so im going to say they’re a 21 for this.

13 teach that there is no happiness or peace outside the group - they do this, yes, but id say the westboro baptist church is one of the more extreme examples of it. They said gays aren’t happy. Nobody’s happy except for the members of their church. So I’ll put jehovahs witnesses down as a 13.

And emotional control gets a grand total of 94. That’s pretty high. So what do we have here?

Behavior control: 67

Information control: 110

Thought control: 73

Emotion control: 94

For an aggregate score of 344 and an average score between the 4 categories of 86. Holy shit. That’s way higher than I expected it to be. The westboro baptist church got a 249. The reason jehovahs witnesses got a higher aggregate score is because they’re slightly less extreme but in a lot more areas than the westboro baptist church. I’m interested to do some other religions to see what they get. I’m gonna do some that I don’t consider to be cults in the future, too. To get a good baseline and see where they fall. I’m gonna say if any religion goes over 100 in any single category they’re automatically a cult by default. If they’re extremist enough about shunning or information control or shaping members personalities or threatening family to get a score as high as 100 in one area then they’re a cult. That number might even be a little high but im still forming out the scale. I’ll have more specific milestones as time goes on and I have more time to think about it. But the thing is I have to analyze very unified systems. I cant just analyze something like the catholic church as a whole because it’s too broad and includes churches of varying levels of extremism. however, I CAN compare common practices between churches and see how extremist it is. so I might do one on catholicism generally to see where it falls, bypassing the fact that they’re not as unified as groups like jehovahs witnesses in favor of shared practices and beliefs. We’ll see.

Anyways that’s all I’ve got for you. Follow me on discord. Check out my patreon. Meet me at the secular student alliance conference from June 29th to July 1st. Check out my podcast stuff on Soundcloud and the iTunes store too, soon. Check out my video on professor sticks channel on Saturday. Thanks for watching, guys.