{"id":2095,"date":"2025-06-28T09:57:35","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T09:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/?p=2095"},"modified":"2025-06-28T09:57:40","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T09:57:40","slug":"the-grand-design-how-secular-cults-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/the-grand-design-how-secular-cults-form\/","title":{"rendered":"The Grand Design: How secular cults form"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How Modern Cults Form: Groupthink and Meritocracy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/G2ESZQNC1B8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-afa4665c-00ac-4a16-a7e6-7dfc1264a68a\">Reality of things are often ironic. After Renaissance, the Reformation and finally Modernism and Postmodernism, we have an impression that humans have come to become much less religious. However, what has been taken up is a godless religion, where people act the same way with the same religious zeal, only that it is not about propagating a god, but a secular legalistic religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-d4aacc0b-bcae-4bcd-a567-bd728f0578ff\">Cults are no longer religious. Cults are formed everywhere to make people band together for some kind of pursuits, while these pursuits are nothing more than glorified coalitions against common enemies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-d7fc86ae-a27d-46a5-bafc-817084ae5d69\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-split-image.-On-one-side-talented-individuals-are-collaborating-on-a-complex-proje-245239-1-1024x796.jpg\" alt=\"This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Firefly_A-split-image.-On-one-side-talented-individuals-are-collaborating-on-a-complex-proje-245239-1-1024x796.jpg\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-4e1b08e5-0a72-4253-8932-95e273a68105\">People do not form into a band because they think alike. People form into bands because they need something to validate their talentless self.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-82c29dff-8f7b-442c-bf50-9e66599054c9\">Cults and sects are no longer formed out of differences in views, but out of some kind of emotional bonding within a group of mediocre people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-77e16015-5045-4ff1-8377-887034544702\">In a meritocratic world, when talented people join up with others, they would seek to contribute to the group with his knowledge, skills and experiences. Even friends try to improve each other by sharing insights and tips on various aspects of life. Simply sharing of knowledge is already a very rewarding experience that no outside validation is required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-7d9ed5aa-550d-427e-8f45-e759845179a9\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-dark-image-with-a-white-light-illuminating-a-story-being-told-entirely-with-emojis_-477564-1-1024x796.jpg\" alt=\"This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Firefly_A-dark-image-with-a-white-light-illuminating-a-story-being-told-entirely-with-emojis_-477564-1-1024x796.jpg\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-b8d58a34-b71b-41f1-9c3a-a48a26a41db2\">When talentless people join up into groups, they often do not have mucb to contribute in ideas or whatsoever. It becomes a big driving factor to seek validations among peers. Without substantial contributions made, the only thing left to do is to draw emotional supports by creating a sense of belonging using tribal or cultic symbols. Symbolism, secret handshakes or certain specific ways of acting and speaking become commonplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-cadec1e2-1f9c-41fe-ae78-00af1636d691\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-single-hand-adorned-with-ornate-rings-controlling-a-group-of-marionettes.-The-mar-245239-1-1024x796.jpg\" alt=\"This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Firefly_A-single-hand-adorned-with-ornate-rings-controlling-a-group-of-marionettes.-The-mar-245239-1-1024x796.jpg\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-abf48236-fa76-4e9f-bdcc-d9c1d6318e3b\">Cults and tribes are formed with such an environment in mind: that a member does not need to contribute anything but is still welcomed by others as he performs the occasional ceremonials acts or speaks in a certain slang, standing out against the background culture, forming a subculture for the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-b46c665d-5136-40e8-aae5-8a727bda03c3\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-split-image.-On-one-side-talented-individuals-are-collaborating-on-a-complex-proje-245239-2-1024x796.jpg\" alt=\"This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Firefly_A-split-image.-On-one-side-talented-individuals-are-collaborating-on-a-complex-proje-245239-2-1024x796.jpg\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-3dfe14c5-fd9b-47e5-8e94-5810473e5f28\">We do not know the depth and occult significance of severed heads, black goo, goat horns, half-naked androgynous persons and drinking of blood or eating of human flesh. Yet it can be assumed that the people responsible for creating these ceremonies belong to a cult which they are trying to impress by enacting weird behaviours without actually contributing to the greater whole of their group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-dbc69b40-29fc-456f-8b94-3bdeba497053\">Learnt powerlessness is applied to the whole human race. We have grown up to be discouraged from making changes to existing systems or contributing to the greater groups. Cults are formed among peers to create a centripetal force to maintain herdedness of a flock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-e5e4643f-0589-413f-81fa-da710540d9cb\">And thus meritocracy is the greatest enemy of the deep secret puppet masters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-f02d8dcf-0fb8-4099-9aee-7f6c92bd7284\">It is not human nature at fault here. It is simply that most common people who do not have the experience of being recognised for contributions still need some form of validations by acting strange alongside other people who act the same strange. It is the ultimate sign of weakness that we have been conditioned with since schools and workplaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-f9ca5897-9c94-450a-99f4-0c6c9d3d0a03\">And in the grand scheme of things, the puppet masters have their way with the people and societies, when over 99% of the population is contained by groups formed out of meaningless talentless cultic behaviours.<br><br>Back to the very topic of how cults form. There are usually a few common steps. First, a few talentless individuals get banded together. The central dogma is not even important. They would find some common emotional values, usually in the form of a common enemy, perhaps just someone who smells, or someone who looks ugly. It is oddly mundane and unsubstantial. Then the cult would create some forms of insider jokes, gestures or specific ways of making a username, or using specific colours in the profile picture, or using specific hashtags or pronouns, or even emoji. These acts would first look strange to outsiders but slowly it becomes clear that a few people are banded together using the same hand salutes. People who feel the same need of peer validations would join up by copying those cultic gestures. Finally, when the numbers start rolling high, a new enemy must be announced that they would act aggressively against certain weaker scapegoats to reinforce peer emotional values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-764d0d65-66cb-4ff3-bd3e-3c92d2b370b8\">And by understanding the same modus operandi over and over, dear readers, you can easily recognise patterns and see how common these formations are. And when every mediocre person is entitled to his own opinions even these opinions do not contribute to their corresponding groups, these non-contributional groups flourish and would form an ecology drowning out actual gentlemen&#8217;s bands who seek actual betterments of life, trades and ideas. And thus dismentling meritocracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-e8db7282-8377-4e9c-a56d-6a6c2e88ca0f\">And thus, real resistance does not exist. There are only controlled oppositions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-fed8e329-651b-45fa-ad0a-930e0cf20898\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_An-abstract-representation-of-a-godless-religion.-A-shattered-idol-is-surrounded-by-477564-1024x796.jpg\" alt=\"This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Firefly_An-abstract-representation-of-a-godless-religion.-A-shattered-idol-is-surrounded-by-477564-1024x796.jpg\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-6474eaad-b663-4b26-bb85-9a982d21b913\">\ud83d\udce2 Join the \u201cUK Life &amp; Current Affairs Channel\u201d (DOVC.co.uk) Community! \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-3468dca3-cda7-4db6-b2d6-2651d03f7dbf\">\ud83d\udc4b Want to stay up-to-date on the latest UK life information, news, current affairs, policy changes, or share experiences with fellow Brits? Welcome to join the UK Life &amp; Current Affairs Channel (DOVC.co.uk) to discuss and share useful information together!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-f65520b9-ae4e-4dc5-9417-15ad6bd2ab53\">\ud83d\udccc Community Features: \u2705 Real-time updates on UK current affairs and policies \u2705 Exchange of information on UK life, immigration, work, study, etc. \u2705 Mutual support with like-minded friends<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-72fefaa4-5ded-4e73-aca0-73e99d144af1\">\ud83d\udcf2 Join us now!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-a5390300-4e17-4c6e-bd0c-31b3f95f39b0\">\ud83d\udd39 WhatsApp Group \ud83d\udc49&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/BZ3AsOqVtF2BtQSqVFZ9ar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click here to join<\/a>&nbsp;\ud83d\udd39 Facebook Fan Page \ud83d\udc49&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dovcuk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Follow us<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-84dd20e7-0106-4304-a7b4-b7acfaf175e4\">Welcome to join us and explore UK life together! \ud83c\udf89<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reality of things are often ironic. After Renaissance, the Reformation and finally Modernism and Postmodernism, we have an<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":2099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-gilded-cage-ornate-and-attractive-from-the-outside.-Inside-a-group-of-people-hudd-245239.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[304,174,184,162,189,161],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-meritokratias","category-174","category-184","category-162","category-189","category-161"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-gilded-cage-ornate-and-attractive-from-the-outside.-Inside-a-group-of-people-hudd-245239.jpg?w=1920&resize=1920,1493&ssl=1",1920,1493,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-gilded-cage-ornate-and-attractive-from-the-outside.-Inside-a-group-of-people-hudd-245239.jpg?w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-gilded-cage-ornate-and-attractive-from-the-outside.-Inside-a-group-of-people-hudd-245239.jpg?w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-gilded-cage-ornate-and-attractive-from-the-outside.-Inside-a-group-of-people-hudd-245239.jpg?w=768&resize=768,0&ssl=1",768,0,true],"large":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-gilded-cage-ornate-and-attractive-from-the-outside.-Inside-a-group-of-people-hudd-245239.jpg?w=1024&resize=1024,1024&ssl=1",1024,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-gilded-cage-ornate-and-attractive-from-the-outside.-Inside-a-group-of-people-hudd-245239.jpg?w=1536&resize=1536,1536&ssl=1",1536,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-gilded-cage-ornate-and-attractive-from-the-outside.-Inside-a-group-of-people-hudd-245239.jpg?w=2048&resize=2048,2048&ssl=1",2048,2048,true],"authorship-box-avatar":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-gilded-cage-ornate-and-attractive-from-the-outside.-Inside-a-group-of-people-hudd-245239.jpg?w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"authorship-box-related":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-gilded-cage-ornate-and-attractive-from-the-outside.-Inside-a-group-of-people-hudd-245239.jpg?w=70&resize=70,70&ssl=1",70,70,true],"morenews-featured":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-gilded-cage-ornate-and-attractive-from-the-outside.-Inside-a-group-of-people-hudd-245239.jpg?w=1024&resize=1024,0&ssl=1",1024,0,true],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-gilded-cage-ornate-and-attractive-from-the-outside.-Inside-a-group-of-people-hudd-245239.jpg?w=825&resize=825,575&ssl=1",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-gilded-cage-ornate-and-attractive-from-the-outside.-Inside-a-group-of-people-hudd-245239.jpg?w=590&resize=590,410&ssl=1",590,410,true],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-gilded-cage-ornate-and-attractive-from-the-outside.-Inside-a-group-of-people-hudd-245239.jpg?w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1",300,300,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-gilded-cage-ornate-and-attractive-from-the-outside.-Inside-a-group-of-people-hudd-245239.jpg?w=600&resize=600,0&ssl=1",600,0,true],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Firefly_A-gilded-cage-ornate-and-attractive-from-the-outside.-Inside-a-group-of-people-hudd-245239.jpg?w=100&resize=100,100&ssl=1",100,100,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"Meritokratias","author_link":"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/profile\/meritokratias\/"},"category_info":"<a 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tag\">\u6587\u5316<\/a>","tag_info":"\u6587\u5316","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2095"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2098,"href":"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2095\/revisions\/2098"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dovc.co.uk\/hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}