The religious drive and desire for spiritual attainment can be exploited if one doesn’t know how to distinguish between the pursuit of Truth and the pursuit of experiencing a high. In this episode, the issue of pledging allegiance to a shaykh and a tariqa is discussed within the context of psychology and Islamic learning.
Articles discussed in this episode:
1996 Davis – Joining a “Cult”: Religious Choice or Psychological Aberration?
2007 Buxant et al – Cognitive and emotional characteristics of new religious movement members
2009 Crowley and Jenkinson – Pathological Spirituality
Healthy and potentially harmful spiritual groups, comparison (adapted from Haworth, 2001)
