Why do some people gravitate to a cult.

[dilettante]

I am not pretending. I don't know what you mean by hate speech. Who is this "we" that's pretending?

If you know perfectly well what is meant by hate speech, you should be able to define it.

Don't play dumb.

You know that the word was meant as a hateful slur against a particular group of people.

 

[caramel]

You know that the word was meant as a hateful slur against a particular group of people.

Since you can't define what you mean by hate speech, I can't know what another poster meant.

I'm beginning to wonder if you know what you mean by the term hate speech.

 

[Jules]

The Oneida Community was a very successful ‘cult’ or commune in my area.

You may have some of their descendants cutlery in your home.

Oneida Community - Wikipedia

Wow. That’ll make me look at my cutlery differently.

 

[OneEyedDiva]

I think those who join cults need to feel they belong or fit in. Cult leaders have a way of providing that, no matter how sinister their reasons may be. Maybe those who become cult members never felt love or needed by others and cult members are welcoming so as to recruit more members. Some cults may not be immediately recognizable. Some organizations may be erroneously labeled cults.

 

[Fyrefox]

I think that many, perhaps most cult members are aimless or uprooted people, many suffering from physical and/or psychological deficiencies in their lives that makes them susceptible to the group-think mentality of a cult that functions as a surrogate family, and defines life for them, requiring surrender to a charismatic, controlling leader who is all too happy to provide them with all answers and a codified standard of behavior, outlook, and life. They are initially showered with love, and not allowed to be alone…and then the confiscations of self and assets begins…

Intelligence is not necessarily protective against this. I had an accomplished friend in college who became a “Moonie,” and wrote me a disturbing letter about having “perfect brothers and sisters…”

 

[bobcat]

The Oneida Community was a very successful ‘cult’ or commune in my area.

You may have some of their descendants cutlery in your home.

Oneida Community - Wikipedia

Wow, I had never heard of them before, but I would say it definitely was a cult.
There is much to be disturbed about in that article. This is just one of them.

"Their parents were allowed to visit, but the children's department held jurisdiction over raising the offspring. If the department suspected a parent and child were bonding too closely, the community would enforce a period of separation because the group wanted to stop the affection between parents and children."

 

[bobcat]

I think that many, perhaps most cult members are aimless or uprooted people, many suffering from physical and/or psychological deficiencies in their lives that makes them susceptible to the group-think mentality of a cult that functions as a surrogate family, and defines life for them, requiring surrender to a charismatic, controlling leader who is all too happy to provide them with all answers and a codified standard of behavior, outlook, and life. They are initially showered with love, and not allowed to be alone…and then the confiscations of self and assets begins…

Intelligence is not necessarily protective against this. I had an accomplished friend in college who became a “Moonie,” and wrote me a disturbing letter about having “perfect brothers and sisters…”

I think you provided an excellent description of what happens in most cases, and I think you're right that intelligence doesn't necessarily protect when other factors override that intelligence.