Cults, Authoritarian Control, and the Fight for Democracy with Sociologist Dr. Stephen A. Kent

Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan

Dr. Steven Hassan

Self-improvement, Society & Culture, Education

4.8 • 684 Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2025

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Cult influence can be found everywhere online, including the political sphere we see when we scroll on social media. Understanding how authoritarian control operates is critical in preserving our autonomy and individuality. In this new episode of The Influence Continuum, I talk with Dr. Stephen Kent, professor emeritus of sociology, who taught courses on alternative and sectarian religions. His research concentrates on issues related to harm caused by groups to individuals and society. It would be a mistake to call sounding the alarms reactionary. Yale scholars like Jason Stanley, Timothy Snyder, and Marci Shore, experts on fascism and propaganda, have left Yale to teach at the University of Toronto in Canada. They cite the rise of authoritarian structures in the United States as their reason for doing so. Our conversation draws lines between our collective decades of research into high-control groups and today’s authoritarian movements, disinformation wars, and the dangerous erosion of democratic norms. While these subjects once felt primarily like niche academic work, terms like “cults” and “authoritarian control” have become central to understanding our political world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello, I'm Dr. Stephen Hassan with another episode of my podcast, cult conversations,
0:10.4	the influence continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan.
0:13.3	I have an old, not meaning chronologically, but a long-term, oh, maybe, but a long-term colleague of many decades,
0:24.1	a scholar of sociology and religion, and in particular destructive cults, someone who is
0:32.7	a meritorist sociology professor at the University of Alberta in Canada, where Steve A. Kent, you taught
0:42.0	courses on alternative sectarian religions. You've researched all kinds of groups, including
0:49.6	Scientology, Children of God, Fundamentalist Mormonism, the People's Temple in Jonestown, the 12 tribes,
0:58.2	the Mooneys, the Unification Church is their technical name, but they go by hundreds of other
1:04.2	names, as we all know. And you've done over 35 expert legal testimonies and reports, everywhere from Canada, Ireland, the UK, and the United States.
1:16.7	We've done a ton of media in 15 countries.
1:20.7	Your 2001 book from slogans to mantras, social protests and religious conversion in the late Vietnam War era was selected by choice.
1:31.7	Current reviews for academic libraries as an outstanding academic title.
1:37.9	And your research is going into personality disorders amongst numerous religious and cult leaders.
1:46.1	And thank you.
1:47.0	You just published one this year on my former cult leader entitled,
1:52.8	The Narcissistic Messiah, Personality Disorder, Sun Myung Moon, and its legacy in the Unification
1:59.8	Church.
2:01.3	You did that with a co-author Robin Willie in the International Journal of Coercion, Abuse,
2:08.2	and Manipulation, which is Volume 8, 2025.
2:12.5	And, you know, Steve, when I was doing my doctoral lit review, I was shocked as how many articles by cult
2:21.4	apologists, people who said, oh, we've researched these groups and there's nothing wrong with
2:27.2	Scientology or Moon. There's no brainwashing doesn't exist, you know, and I was just shocked at how much they just filled it.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 20 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dr. Steven Hassan, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Dr. Steven Hassan and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.