I read recently about a doomsday cult in the 50s. The cult leader prophesied that the world would end on a specific day. She predicted that an alien spaceship would rescue cult members at the last minute. A social psychologist named Leon Festinger infiltrated the cult to study it. Festinger told a prophecy of his own. He predicted that, when confronted with reality, some members would lose faith quietly and others would deepen their commitment to the cult.
Doomsday came and went, and the cult leader changed her story: The world had been saved because of the faith of their community! Huzzah! True to Festinger’s prediction, those who had already invested a lot deepened their commitment to the cult. Those who had invested less left quietly.
The lesson Festinger learned about human behavior was profound: When faced with the discomfort of cognitive dissonance, people make a comfortable place for themselves either by doubling down on their old beliefs or by quietly finding a new path. Festinger’s research was the beginning of the idea and study of cognitive dissonance, and it up-ended many assumptions about human behavior and motives.
My first thought when I read that story was, Holy shit! That explains so much about the last few years of American life, about how people deal with cognitive dissonance! My second thought was, Why did the people who left go quietly? What would have happened if they had made some noise? I’m not a social psychologist, but I suspect that leaving loudly would have angered the most vocal cult members and maybe—just maybe—it would have empowered others to leave.
Why do I even care? I grew up as a conservative American evangelical. In the last few years, I’ve watched churches and friendships and family divide. There are people who are quietly exiting the faith and the Republican Party. There are people who double down on the toxic beliefs they think are working for them.
I also know that there’s a silent third group. There are people who stay, not because they don’t have questions, but because they are uncertain and afraid. The unknown represents social ostracization and even damnation. A lifetime of self-subjugation to the moral judgment of bad-faith “leaders” has crippled their moral and spiritual self-leadership. They suspect woke culture isn’t out to get them, but they follow the loudest voices on known pathways.
I want to inspire people who feel stuck. I want us to encourage each other to find a better way. I believe the real stories of the people who have already ventured into spiritual and moral self-leadership are a great way to do that. Off the Map is about people who left their inherited spiritual, moral, and political territory to follow their hearts’ values more authentically. I want to show the love and deep community that comes with authenticity. I want to show that the inevitable backlash is less scary than it seems. Above all, I want to remind you that you’re worth it.