51社区

Abstract

This qualitative study examined the effects of being raised in a cult or closed, high-demand community on an individual鈥檚 innate sense of purpose, character, and calling. The exploration was guided metaphorically by the ancient Greek concept of the daimon鈥攔eferred to by James Hillman (1996) as a 鈥渟oul-companion鈥� or 鈥渃arrier of [one鈥檚] destiny.鈥� Second-generation former cult members are individuals who are raised from birth or childhood within restrictive and dogmatic, often religious, communities. These individuals are the children of parents or caregivers who chose to join a high-demand group and to raise their families within the constraints of its philosophies and practices. Using phenomenological hermeneutics, this dissertation engaged the perspectives of depth and, in particular, archetypal psychology to investigate and compare narratives, images, myths, affects, dreams, patterns, and other phenomenal forms interpreted to have had a 鈥渄aimonic鈥� role in these individuals鈥� decisions to leave their communities. The study investigated ways in which the daimon was seen to respond to a person鈥檚 cultural conditioning in oppressive situations, as well as how it operated within the realm of extreme psychological and social pressures. The final chapter extended the research findings to oppressive or 鈥渃ultic鈥� behaviors found in the wider contexts of our modern Western culture.