Glossary of Terms, Part 1: Coercive Control, Pseudodoxy, and Cult

The original Academic Report contains a Glossary of Terms to help clarify the language and vocabulary used to describe high-control groups. We believe it would be very helpful to our audience to give a more detailed explanation of the vocabulary used in the study of high-control groups in general, and GCC in particular, and to offer examples that could place them in a real-world context. This excerpt, the second post in a series to simplify and explain the original Academic Report, covers the definitions of “Coercive Control,” “Pseudodoxy,” and “Cult.” Future installments will cover other terms from the original list such as “Loading the Language,” the “Noetic Effect of Sin,” and “Thought-Terminating Cliché,” as the entire glossary list was a bit much for just one blog post.

Coercive Control

A pattern of controlling behaviors that create an unequal power dynamic in a relationship. These behaviors give the abuser power over their targets, making it difficult for them to leave. It is a pattern of behaviors that the abuser uses to gain control and power by stripping away the target’s independence, confidence, and freedom through acts of intimidation, threats, and humiliation. It often happens behind closed doors and can be invisible to outsiders. The abuser may appear charming, respectable, and caring in public, but privately uses fear, shame, and manipulation to gain control.

There is no definitive list of behaviors that are classed as coercively controlling. Rather, it is a pattern of behavior. The following list is not exhaustive.

Isolation — cutting off or discouraging interaction with non-conforming family, friends, or those outside of the group. Also, limiting and controlling access to information from outside of the group.

Threats — to harm the victim, their children or spouse, or their reputation, or to expose private information. (Threats can be subtle, indirect, or implied.)

Monitoring — tracking phones, location, social media, or having others in the church report actions, sins, or conversations to the leadership.

Gaslighting — making the victim doubt their own memory, sanity, or perception (“That never happened,” “I never said that,” “You’re too sensitive,” “You’re being divisive”).

Financial control — significant pressure to give beyond what they can afford, taking out loans/debt for the group, unpaid or underpaid labor, financial monitoring of congregants. 

Humiliation/intimidation — constant criticism, name-calling, “special mention” in a sermon, revealing unnecessary private information to the group, or creating rules the victim must follow out of fear. This can manifest as social pressure to conform, anxiety about perceived worthiness in the church community, or a dread of disappointing both members of the leadership and God Himself.

Denying autonomy — inappropriately influencing what the victim wears, eats, reads, watches, or believes; punishing independence of thought or behavior; controlling other relationships.

Coercive control is not defined by a single act. It is the overall attitude or intention of using fear, position, manipulation, abuse, or intimidation to exert power or control over someone.

Pseudodoxy

In the context of high-control groups, cults, or authoritarian environments, pseudodoxy refers to the unofficial, unwritten rules that everyone in the group is expected to follow, even though they are not part of the official teachings, doctrines, or written policies. They are the hidden “norms” and social pressures that shape how people act, dress, talk, think, and get information. They are learned gradually just by being around the group and watching what happens to others. You pick up the patterns through repeated examples and subtle cues over time.

Leadership doesn’t openly require these things. There is no rulebook saying what you must and must not do, but leaders quietly allow or encourage these unspoken rules because they often serve their own personal likes, comfort, power, or agenda. Common pseudodoxies might include how members should dress (such as being modest in a very specific way, certain hairstyles or jewelry, or conforming to their cultural image of proper “femininity” or “masculinity” according to the preferences of the leadership), how to communicate (such as never questioning the leaders directly, consistently using approved phrases, and avoiding “negative” topics), behavior expectations (such as always appearing appropriately pious or spiritual, attending as many church functions as humanly possible, avoiding certain friendships or media), and where to get information (trusting only group-approved sources because outside news, teachers, books, or people are suspect).

These unwritten rules are enforced socially, not officially. If you step outside of them, even slightly, you don’t get an official punishment like a stern correction from an elder or church discipline right away. Instead, people give you the cold shoulder, gossip, give disapproving looks, exclude you from social events, treat you like you’re less spiritual, less mature, or less committed, or make you feel like a second-class Christian. This creates strong peer pressure to conform, since fear of losing friends, status, or community keeps people in line.

In plain terms, it’s the “everyone knows you’re supposed to...” expectations that are never said out loud in the group, but are very real in daily life. It lets leaders control the group more tightly without looking too tyrannical from an outside view. They can deny responsibility (“We never said you had to do that!”) while the social machine does the enforcing for them. This tactic makes the group feel more uniform and loyal, and it creates a community identity. It also stifles individuality and questioning, and keeps members anxious about fitting in properly. It is sneaky because it is unofficial, so it’s harder to challenge without feeling like you are breaking some sacred but invisible code. Combined with official rules, it creates a very tight web of control.

Nerf wars, Ultimate Frisbee, and aligning with a particular brand of athletic adventure style as a metric for social standing in the youth.

Approved authors and approved media.

Approved preachers and worship music.

Approved necklines, hemlines, and clothing styles.

Kavu bags and Chacos, back in the day.

Friends should come from within the church.

Homeschooling is superior to public education.

Women should not have a job outside the home except possibly in certain fields, under certain conditions.

Only certain career fields are approved, especially for women.

Cult

A high-control group usually led by a charismatic, self-appointed leader who demands total, unquestioning loyalty and obedience from members. The group requires unwavering devotion to its specific set of beliefs and practices. These beliefs and practices are viewed as unusual, extreme, deviant, or outside of mainstream society’s norms, or even the norms of historic Christianity. The group typically has a charismatic leader who is often seen as specially gifted, prophetic, or infallible. The leader maintains tight control over the group through heavy rules on behavior, thoughts, relationships, finances, and information. Members must submit and conform to the rules, both written and unwritten.

There are separate classifications of cults which include, but are not limited to, the following:

Coercive cults emphasize coercive control, using manipulation, intimidation, fear, isolation, and threats to dominate members and make leaving very hard.

Theological cults focus on religious/heretical deviation. Their beliefs twist or contradict mainstream theology.

Destructive cults highlight harm to members causing psychological, physical, financial, or social damage. They are manipulative, sometimes leading to abuse and exploitation.

Cults of Personality are centered around worship/devotion to a single person, the leader, rather than just ideas. The leader is idolized as spiritually superior, especially knowledgeable or talented, infallible, or even messianic.  Loyalty to him/her is required above all else. Cults of personality can be political, religious, or secular.