Diana Alstad

Carefully-argued critique of what the authors see as manifestations of destructive authoritarianism, including religious fundamentalism and guru worship; they look carefully at the way in which concepts such as enlightenment, unconditional love and renunciation can function as destructive forces.

I found this book useful when I was attempting to understand how I had gotten myself involved in a cult-like group. The authors are very thorough in their deconstruction of the dynamics of authoritarian relationships both in spiritual groups and in society as a whole. In reading it, I gained a great deal of insight as to my own relationship to those tendencies.