They consider themselves to be superior to
anyone who is not part of their organisation.
It is standard practice for members of
various groups to be told that they are superior to outsiders. This helps to
enforce solidarity and institute an 'us and them' mentality.
This is something that acquaintances, friends
and family of members of cults and cultlike organisations often have to deal
with. All they can usually do is try to understand why the members believe it:
trying to discuss the superiority syndrome or telling them a few home truths is
useless if not counter-productive.
The Superiority Syndrome
Sometimes cult members are told that they are
superior 'just because'; sometimes the stated reason is that they are part of
an elite group of people who have left the mass of humanity behind and devoted their
lives to a cause.
They are special because they have access to secret knowledge, knowledge that the herd would never be able to deserve, understand or make use of.
Sometimes members are told that they are
superior because of their godliness and righteousness, which makes them the
only people who will be saved from Hell. Everyone else is a lost soul.
Perhaps they think that they are superior
because of what they sacrifice and what they endure.
It may also be that they are told that
outsiders are inferior, tainted and unenlightened; outsiders live in the outer
darkness while members reside in the inner light. The members have gone where
the under-privileged outsiders are unable, unwilling and unworthy to follow.
