Toxic Faith
Unhealthy Faith
Spiritual Abuse
Religious Legalism
Toxic Faith:
Religious Legalism
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Toxic Faith |
Self Quiz
A group starts with two people. And two individuals can find themselves embroiled in many of the same fundamental destructive group dynamics that large organizations fall prey to.
Are you
"UNDER THE INFLUENCE"
of a destructive group or belief system?
Find out with this
SELF QUIZ:
- Does your group discourage doubts,
criticism or ideas that differ from their belief system?
Yes____No____ - Do you tend to rationalize whatever the
group does even when it goes against your sense of right and wrong?
Yes___ No___ - Do you often feel exhausted from lengthy
group activities, meetings and projects?
Yes___ No___ - Does your group have its own unique
words, cliches, slogans, chants, prayers and doctrinal phrases that
reinforce the group viewpoint?
Yes___ No___ - Are doubts viewed as a lack of faith,
dedication, commitment or disloyalty?
Yes___ No___ - Have "your thoughts" become
"the enemy?"
Yes___ No___ - Do you often find yourself doing more
and more things in the group or because of group peer pressure that
you would not have done on your own?
Yes___ No___ - Does your group publicly humiliate or
criticize members?
Yes___ No___ - Does your group have a system of
punishments and rewards for behavior?
Yes___ No___ - Group paranoia: Does your group
obsessively think other groups or people with different beliefs are
out to get them?
Yes___ No___ - Does the prospect of leaving your group
seem scary, difficult?
Yes___ No___ - Do you feel the need to leave in secret?
Yes___ No___ - Have you been told something bad might
happen if you leave?
Yes___ No___ - Does your group/belief system think they
have/are the only or highest truth, or have the solution for the
world’s problems?
Yes___ No___ - Are your leader’s ideas or belief
system considered beyond reproach or sacred?
Yes___ No___ - Do you follow a particular individual or
belief system that requires unquestioning obedience and loyalty?
Yes___ No___ - ) Do members of your group feel
specially chosen, superior, exclusive, elite?
Yes___ No___ - Do you feel the need to save or convert
others to your belief system or ideology?
Yes___ No___ - Is your group secretive to outsiders
about its inner workings, teachings, activities or beliefs?
Yes___ No___ - Does your group equate purity and
goodness to being in your group, and impurity or evil to those outside
your group?
Yes___ No___ - Do you place your group’s mission or
agenda above your own goals and ideals? Do group interests come before
your own interest
Yes___ No___ - Do you find yourself thinking in a
we-they, us-versus-them mind set?
Yes___ No___ - Does your group/system have a clear
outside enemy?
Yes___ No___ - Do you see less and less of your family
and friends who do not belong to your group or who do not subscribe to
your group’s belief system?
Yes___ No___ - Does your group use frequent public
testimonials, confessions, or sharings that reinforce the group’s
mission or agenda?
Yes___ No___ - Is communication within, into and out of
your group controlled or censored in any manner?
Yes___ No___ - Does your group criticize, shun, abandon
or demean individuals who leave the group?
Yes___ No___ - Do members seek approval or get
permission from group leader(s) for personal life choices?
Yes___ No___ - Do you feel pressured to attend
meetings, events, lectures, seminars? And do you feel guilty if you
don’t attend?
Yes___ No___ - Do you feel pressured to give a portion
of your income to the group, or spend money on courses, books or
special projects?
Yes___ No___ - Are the group’s financial needs more
important than your own economic well-being?
Yes___ No___ - Does your group discriminate against
anyone regarding race, gender, belief, or sexual orientation?
Yes___ No___ - Does your group have a totalitarian
structure: a strict, top-down centralized control?
Yes___ No___
Do you...
- ...have difficulty forming new
friendships and intimate relationships?
Yes___ No___ - ...have low self-esteem, poor self-image
or loss of identity?
Yes___ No___ - ...have difficulty making simple
decisions and choices?
Yes___ No___ - ...often feel depressed, anxious and
nervous?
Yes___ No___ - ...feel isolated, lonely, guilty,
cynical?
Yes___ No___ - ...feel like you are just now growing
up, becoming a mature adult?
Yes___ No___ - ...have short-term memory difficulties?
Yes___ No___ - ...feel you have nothing to believe in?
Yes___ No___ - ...often feel anger and rage towards the
group?
Yes___ No___ - ...have nightmares or unpleasant dreams?
Yes___ No___ - ...find it difficult or impossible to
stop mental or other group ritualistic practices?
Yes___ No___
All the documents on this site are copyright 1998 by John D. Goldhammer and Prometheus Books. You may freely save, distribute or re-post this information with full credit given to this site's URL - http://caic.org.au/biblebase/abuse/selfquiz.htm
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