4 Signs of a Cult

"four basic behaviors found in extreme form in [destructive] cults: compliance with the group, dependence on a leader, devaluing the outsider, and avoiding dissent. These behaviors are not distinct and independent but interrelated. In my view, they arise in part from what I refer to as the dependency dream, the regressive wish for security that uses the family as a model, creating an authoritarian leadership structure (the parent) and a close-knit, exclusive group (the children).... A continuum of [cultic] behavior exists, from the People’s Temple... to rigid religious groups, corporate cultures, professional societies, [and certain political parties and nations!] and ordinary us/them categories." [1]

http://www.enlightened-spirituality.org/Warning_signs_of_dysfunctional_cults.html