My Cult Your Cult: Sean Prophet on the Church Universal and Triumphant (Part 1)

What’s it like to grow up the so-called “prince” inside one of America’s most notorious new religious movements—where your mother is a celebrated channeler, your father founds a church, and the end of the world is just another family discussion over dinner? In the first of this two-part episode, we’re joined by Sean Prophet, author of My Cult, Your Cult, for a deep dive into the strange realities of life inside the Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT).Sean unpacks his childhood in sprawling mansions turned cult compounds, the roots of the group’s “ascended master” theology, the peril and privilege of being born to leadership, and why spiritual bootcamp so often blurs into psychological abuse. We tackled the insidious dangers of purity culture, the mind-bending logic of channeling, and the very fuzzy line between a “cult” and a “mainstream religion.” Expect anecdotes about bunker-building, guru-devotion, apocalyptic drama, and real lessons on power, othering, and reclaiming your own critical thinking. You’ll want to stay tuned for part two and follow Sean Prophet on Substack.Also…let it be known that:The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business, individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.**PRE-ORDER Sarah and Nippy's newest book hereCheck out our amazing sponsorsJoin A Little Bit Culty on PatreonGet poppin’ fresh ALBC SwagSupport the pod and smash this linkCheck out our cult awareness and recovery resourcesWatch Sarah's TED Talk and buy her memoir, ScarredCREDITS: Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony AmesProduction Partner: Citizens of SoundCo-Creator: Jess TardyAudio production: Will RetherfordProduction Coordinator: Lesli DinsmoreWriter: Sandra NomotoSocial media team: Eric Skwarzynski and Brooke KeaneTheme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel AsselinSUPPORT OUR SPONSORS:Earn points on rent and around your neighborhood, wherever you call home, by going to joinbilt.com/culty. Make sure to use our URL so they know we sent you.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.