Culture of Cults: Lifting The Veil On Cults

Penelope (Penny) Cheang
Dec 4, 2025
5 min read

If you think you'd never join a cult, you're already thinking like a perfect recruit.

You’ve already believed things far stranger than what most cults teach. You drink water out of durian skins to stave off the smell. You dry your hair before bed to avoid headaches. You ask your friends to study at cafes, thinking the new environment will get you to lock in.

All a cult really needs to do is catch you on a lonely day and tell you “We understand. We care. We are here for you.”

And that’s the message UNM’s Conspiracy Society guided us through with Culture of Cults: Language, Media & Power of Belief, a 3-hour education-filled session on what cults are, how they operate, and how to recognise the signs so we can protect ourselves from them.

To lead us through the night, the society invited three luminaries in their own fields: Dr. Mimi Hanida Abdul Mutalib, a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Research in Development, Social and Environment (SEEDS), Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM); Mr Kam Raslan, a Malaysian writer and broadcaster with two shows on BFM Radio, several published books, and a wealth of experience writing for publications like The Economist, Mekong Review and even a long-running column in The Edge Malaysia; and Mr Iskandar Fareez, the National Vice Chief of the Democratic Action Party Socialist Youth (DAPSY) who holds a strong background in public policy and government, having worked as a Special Functions Officer to Deputy Ministers in the Ministries of\ Plantation and Commodities, and Agriculture and Food Security.

With their knowledge and experience, they wove a haunting image of how cults lure the loneliest of minds, old or young, rich or poor, beginning with a keynote speech from Dr. Mimi Hanida on what cults are.

What are Cults?

When you think of a cult, what images spring to mind?

Most likely, you thought of robes, candles, and people gathered in blind devotion to a deity or spirit of some sort. In actuality, cults come in all shapes, sizes and forms.

Something as innocuous as a group of people moved by the same idea or person can be considered a cult from the right perspective—think Swifties, the Dead Poets Society, or even that one group of guys that’s always trailing behind the most popular-looking one. — Penelope (Penny) Cheang

Cults, as explained by Dr. Mimi, can be identified through four main characteristics: The presence of a charismatic leader; exclusive “benefits” to its membership; strong group norms and control; and a high-demand lifestyle, requiring high commitment. Members usually show intense loyalty and distance themselves from wider social values, separating themself from external parties—and as such, creating the isolating atmosphere cults are synonymous with.

She then went on to detail the reasons why some may feel inclined to join a cult—and they’re surprisingly more relatable than you think. From a sociological lens, people join cults because they promise identity, belonging, and answers during crises or times of uncertainty, often not by strangers but rather through the word of trusted friends and family. Anthropologically, cults attract recruits with fanciful mythologies and ritual practices that entice those looking for something to believe in. They also lure people in with promises of meaning and structure, as exemplified by a story Dr. Mimi shared on a Malaysian incident involving students being drawn in via apps like Telegram, enticed by promises of friends and structure.

Dr. Iskandar further spoke on the topic, appearing to us via a pre-recorded video wherein he spoke on the algorithm and its role in polarising society; saturating discovery pages with so much targeted content that it virtually separates individuals into echo chambers which render them vulnerable to indoctrination. When your feed is a mirror of what you already believe or fear, the reels calling you to action feel less like indoctrination and more like recognition. For the lonely, this recognition is far warmer than the isolation of society—of course, they would bite the bait.

Cults in Modernity

Cults continue to flourish even in modernity not because society is more naive, but because they have shifted and evolved with the changing social values; softening their teachings, or even rebranding entirely. As Dr. Mimi explained in her opening of the panel, the modern cult is a much prettier picture—think wellness groups, self-improvement programmes, and any other run of the mill art class you’d sign up for after a particularly hard week. This framing is intentional; cults want you to feel welcomed and unpressured.

And most times, this welcoming works!

Cults don’t work to make you believe; they work to make you feel you belong. — Penelope (Penny) Cheang

Their marketing tactic is providing you an identity. Large political movements are some of the guiltiest of this strategy; political movements like Maoism and MAGA have been known to proclaim promises of purpose and belonging to their victims. This can even be seen in musical fandoms—such as The Beatles, One Direction, BTS, Swifties, the list goes on—which Mr Kam Raslan thinks appeals to the same areas of human desire as cults do: community and meaning. Fans join fandoms and devote hours, money, and emotional labour to their faves, finding community and even purpose to their lives through it—and yet devoting such attention to this world that they end up neglecting and isolating themselves.

What the panel made strikingly clear is that cults today are not any less effective than they were before. They’ve simply shifted the veil, allowing the sun to hit it differently.

From The Doodles in The Margins

I'll be blunt: I had a great time at the event. From start to end, it was obvious how much thought and care were put into Culture of Cults: Language, Media & Power of Belief, not just by the committee who organised it, but also by the audience who posed question after question, and the guests who patiently answered every query. As intimidating as it was to sit in my old raggedy torn jeans next to club members clothed in fanciful cloaks and jewelry, I found myself quickly sucked into the discussion, reeling at all the connections I had never made before.

Our society is one that tends to think we know it all. That we’re smarter than the previous generations, that we would never fall for the same mirror trick twice.

But the panel reminded me that cults don’t follow a script. They mold themselves to target your most human sides. It reminded me that I am vulnerable. And then it passed me the armor to move past that. — Penelope (Penny) Cheang

That's what made the event linger in my mind long after I left the room. It wasn’t your everyday campus talk; it woke us up to the situation, showed us the proof, then invited us to join the conversation and what we could do about it.

Definitely more stimulating than any video essay I’ve left running while I shower.

Writer's Biography

Hello hello! I’m Penny, a second-year Education major who loves overthinking my every conversation, thought and purchase ✨ I’m especially interested in ethics and social commentary, and I love unpacking the hidden social, political, and economic forces behind the interests and opinions we often take at face value.

Contributing Writer: Penelope (Penny) Cheang

Featured Photographer: Rusul Raeed

Internal Editor: Emma Gerard

External Reviewer: Yau Bi Jue (CONSOC)