Isolation should not be thought of as only physical. Indeed, the most ardent of followers to a cause are empowered by Immersive Isolation, which could also be called mental isolation but differs because the individual is not forbidden to go out into society and may even be encouraged. The difference though-where the isolation comes in-is that the individual is indoctrinated into a mindset that convinces them that the world is a vile, sinful place. This creates in them a type of arrogance and self-certainty, as well as a proclivity to believe the doctrine, that convinces them that they are set apart in some way.
Clothing as well can influence this isolation, as they are visibly set apart, and the group gets the reputation of being a little "off" of the norm. Be it bizarre clothing or merely something mild, the idea is that something visible is worn to distinguish at a glance that the individual is a follower of the group. Of course, when it comes to religion, there is always a god-willed reason for this, but the actual purpose is wholly of this world. Nevertheless, the cause-even if you believe it divine-has the affect of distinguishing them from society and therefore can act as much as a unifying agent as a means to isolate the follower from the non-follower.
The same is true of aggressive proselytizing and invoking scorn among non believers (see my earlier posts on the subjects). It serves to isolate them from the rest of society, even as they work with and along side us, there is always a type of barrier between two worlds that is put up.
Physical isolation is difficult, and when we often see cults using such methods it is often the matter that the followers choose to isolate themselves. Baghwan Shree Rajneesh, better known as "Osho" told his followers they could leave at any time-and they did. But he knew he didn't have to force them to stay, because they almost always came back.
So often, we allow the extremes to dictate our views on a subject, and this is also true of success and failure of cults as well. But so often, we read about Jonestown or the Branch Dividians and we let this mold our image of what a Cult should look like. But both of these cults, and many others like them that end in tragedy-are failures. We picture a cult as having several strong men with guns intimidating members to prevent them from staying, but the truth is that a cult leader who knows what he or she is doing relies more on the dependency of the followers to keep them in the cult.
And what do they see? They go out into the world and see that it is indeed vile and wicked, that the prophet/s was/were right. They find that in the cult they had acceptance, love and security. This Immersive Isolation is the main reason why they return to the cult they left-often as stronger believers than before they left.
