Is a cult, a cult, if everyone in it, wants to be in it, and is not coerced to be in it?
If you are free to leave, but are denied everything you would need to survive outside, are you free?
When you enter, the things you are carrying on your back were yours, how long until they are not yours? And also, how long with your contribution to the commune, is the community's stuff yours?
If the commune all believes in Flying Spaghetti Monster, should you have to too, before you join?
These are really weird questions.
No, really.
We just haven't gotten to a level of community forming, where we can see that these questions are indeed weird.
In fact, we haven't gotten to a place yet, where we know how to defend our community from actual destructive forces.
This shtupid lie is making the rounds, and has gotten many good people to let the enemies in through the front gate. The enemies will be expelled, but we really need to comprehend what is strength, and which diversity can make us stronger.
Obviously if you are a tribe and never marry/have children with other tribes, you will become inbred. On the opposite end, if you intermarry with everyone, you will lose what made you special. You will lose your tribe's identity.
This is not much of concern now, because the new tribes, "families" will be based on finding your peeps, not upon blood. When a person gets to the age where they can make the choice for themselves, they may choose to join another tribe. There will be people continually moving around.
The other way diversity is important is in thought. If everyone starts thinking the exact same way, then there is no growth. However, if there is nothing but diversity, then there is no cohesion. And cohesion is most important. You MUST have more cohesion than the forces driving your group apart.
You also must share a level of morality. If your morality is "the strongest is in charge" and you go to a land where "the wisest is in charge", you will not get along. If it is ok to share wives, and you go to a place where fidelity in relationships is important, you will not get along. And when i say, not get along, the new person HAS TO accept the laws of the group they are trying to join. There is no diversity allowed when talking about morals. One thief in a group of honest people, destroy the group.
It used to be, that ones morality and ones religion went hand in hand. And with people who haven't worked out to follow their own morality, working on their own virtues by themselves, then they really do still need a religion to guide their morality.
But, we will find that many people have transcended their need for religion. They are good and honest of their own accord. And they work on their own relationship with the divine. These people no longer need a religion. They need the freedom to follow their own spirituality.
Further, going back to the original question, if the person does not follow your religion already, then all you are doing is indoctrinating them into a cult. They will say they believe in whatever "religion" the cult offers. The person wants to belong to the group, not the religion. And so, it is the way that all members get stuck in the cult.
(including children of Catholics and children of Islamists)
We will transcend the need for religions, BUT!!! you must determine the level of the people in the group. If they are not up to the level where they can create and follow their own moral code, then they must be in a religion. And you must already be in that religion if you wish to join them.
Work on your own relationship with the divine. Increase your levels, and have discernment for the people you will be with.
So, today, if you want to leave somewhere, and move somewhere else, you need money. If the group controls your money, you don't have much ability to leave. You would have to use your own feat, and rely on the good nature of strangers. Or rely on your skills to catch/find food.
It is not easy to leave a group that you have come to depend on. It is even worse when the "group" decides it is best for you not to leave.
And this is where we differentiate a commune and a cult. A group that you want to be a part of will make sure you fit before you are allowed in, also they will be strong enough, and structured enough that they will send you on your way, with enough to get by, if you should choose to depart.
Of course, this only works if you actually have skills that helped the group. If you made the group better by your joining. And did not make more work for everybody, or worse dragged the entire group down by becoming a burden. In the future, you will need actual skills. At least you should be able to garden. Your MBA nor your GenderStudies Degree will help you. You need to be able to fix things, make them better, grow food and store it for winter.
A good group will vet you, and acknowledge your help to the group. The will welcome you, if you will make their lives better. And they will cheer your departure when it is time to leave. They will make sure you have a backpack of food when you leave.
The "families"/tribes of the future will not be like warlords we see in apocalypse movies. It will not be a group deciding things by might. We will grow beyond that. Defense technologies will outpace offense technologies. Our ideas of association will be entry hard, leaving easy. We will not let millions of other nationalities into our country. We will not let one person enter our group without serious inspection, and trial periods.
We will not be nice to people trying to enter. We will be polite to other groups. They can do what they want, over there, in their tribe/"family". But they cannot hurt the environment in which we all live. That will not be tolerated.
War will be a thing of the past. Not just because it is shtupid, but also because power will not be automatically given to the "higher level", the top of the pyramid. Power will only be given to friends. Fellow tribes. They idea of following orders, just because someone is over you, will seem childish, at best.
Because, again entry is difficult, leaving is easy. This will be the same with all structures, including armies. And real negotiation, from people who really want a win-win solution, will be the first on the scene of disputes.
Go and find your "family". It will be the most important thing you do this next decade.
