The "cult of confession" refers to the idea that by confessing your sins you will become a stronger (or more spiritual) person. By confessing it, all of the "badness" inside you will be released. If you are a leader, this confession becomes a delivered, well-rehearsed, and well-practiced speech designed specifically to make you more relate-able to your audience. You are not really sharing a "dirty secret," but the audience believes you are. The more you "confess," the more "human" you become to the audience. Soon the audience begins to believe that, since the leader was once a "lowly person" like them, they too can achieve his position. On the other hand, when a new person is first introduced to the group, his confession "can and will be used against him" later. He will be shown that there is only one way to achieve his dreams and goals: becoming an active member of the group. "After all," the members say, "how have you achieved your goals so far? Our way is so much better than what you have."
At every function, Diamond distributors tell stories about their hardships when they were building the business. When the Diamonds say "we drove for miles and miles for that meeting," the distributors in attendance believe that if they "drive the miles and miles," they too will become Diamonds. The Diamonds also repeat over and over that, by using the tools, they became successful. Therefore, the same tools will work for you as well. Obviously, this should not be the case. Since every person has a different personality, how can someone say that what worked for the Diamonds on stage will work for you? Adding to this is the fact that most of the speakers on the stage built their business to the Diamond level anywhere from 5 to 10 years ago. There have been a lot of changes in society (and in the Amway business) in the past 5 to 10 years.
When you are first shown the plan, you (and the distributor) talk about all the dreams and goals you want in life. You discuss the wealthy lifestyle, the exotic cars, the big house, the college education for your children, and of course, leaving your "9 to 5" job. Without your knowledge, these dreams and goals will be used against you later. If you start to slow down building the business (or even think about quitting), your upline will ask such 'pointed' questions like: "Were you really serious about wanting all those dreams? Did you really want to give your kids the best college education? Were serious about spending more time with your kids before they grow up? Or did I misunderstand what you wanted in life?" What do you say then? The upline practically calls you a liar by placing you in the position of saying, "No, I wasn't serious about sending my kids to a good college." The logic is: if you want your dreams, you'll build the Amway business; if you do not want those dreams, why did you tell him that you wanted them in the first place? The only "answer" to this situation is to realize that there a number of other methods to achieve these dreams than by building an Amway business. But when the upline is standing right there, it is not easy for a person to think about any other solutions.
The speakers also tell many stories about how they became distributors because of a "thin thread," or a small glimmer of hope from their sponsor. This statement is meant to imply that the people in the Amway business are somehow "lucky" to have been sponsored by that specific upline (which relates to the charismatic leadership criteria). When you take a look at the process of contacting people, this statement becomes either a complete lie or a complete fantasy. (Is this yet more deception or just a good story?). For a person to build the business, he first contact everyone he knows- family, friends, neighbors, etc. After that, he is to contact as many complete strangers as he can find (called "cold contacting"). The Diamond telling the story was simply the only person to say "Yes, I'll look at a business" and then build it to the Diamond level. There was absolutely no "thin thread of hope" or any other kind of "magic" whatsoever! In fact, the reverse can be argued: rather than a "thin thread of hope," keeping him in the business, it was psychological pressure and conditioning that kept him from quitting. On the other hand, the "thin thread of hope" story sounds much better than a story saying, "I stayed in the business because I was taught not to think about quitting. My upline conditioned me to believe that people who quit the business are losers."
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Politics and Religion
"Amway® doesn’t mind if someone mentions their religion in the process of telling their story of success....This is supposed to be a business, and I don't think it is being treated like one." - Crown Kenny StewartResource: http://www.amquix.info/probst/politics.htm
The Canadian Tax Fraud Scandal
http://www.cocs.com/jhoagland/canada.html
My Answer
Maybe it's not a cult, but I'd say it's a religion. It's utilizing Christian concepts such as confession, redemption and transgression in a way that looks Christian, but isn't. The company uses these concepts in a way to reach it's goal. So in effect it is a religion. I've been to an Amway presentation and from my experience they use church and programs to get their members emotionally involved in their work--to sell. Optimistic speakers motivate their colleagues (or pupils) by preaching prosperity and fulfillment of dreams. They share their success stories from rags to riches or the great lengths they went and the feeling they get from helping others. The organization has a course for marriage counselling. It's not mandatory but they give the impression to their fellow colleagues that they want it. All of this is surrounded by the idea that it is good and you want it; the nice house, education for their kids, spending more time with their loved ones, doing all the things they dream about doing in life like travelling, or even just buying what is in their needs. It's motivated by the perception that what you are doing at your 9-5 job is not what you want, it's not a way to live (those poor saps!), and this is the best plan for everyone. They will say not everyone is successful, but if you work hard enough you will be successful. You just have to want it enough!
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