Joe Rogan makes eye-opening observations about how cults are formed: "In the beginning it looks so fun"

On episode #2302 of The Joe Rogan Experience, he and fellow comedian Ron White shared their thoughts on the most prominent contributing factors behind cults. Throughout the years, Rogan has demonstrated a wide range of interests and topics he tackles on his podcast.

According to Rogan, cults are easily formed by preying on the desire to belong to a common people. By establishing a community, cults, he believes, are able to coax social outcasts and those looking for purpose to their ranks. He even brought up his comedy club, the Mothership, as an example of a community.

"That's how cults get started. They're also looking for community. Like, think of the positive aspects of the Mothership, right? Like, we're all having a good time. This is what everybody really wants."

The longtime UFC commentator even remarks upon how deceptive cults seem at the onset, luring unsuspecting people with a misrepresented premise.

"The crazy thing is in the beginning it looks so fun. He can't be wrong, he's got 20 Rolls Royces. There's so many of them [cults]."

Check out Joe Rogan's thoughts on cults (1:52:36 and 1:54:19):

Curiously, MMA is no stranger to concerning power dynamics. Many, for example, feared that legendary lightweight Diego Sanchez's relationship with controversial coach Joshua Fabia was dangerous and predatory. Ultimately, it ended with the two men going their separate ways in 2021.

However, for the duration of their partnership, the pairing was the subject of tremendous criticism, with many questioning Fabia's training methods and the amount of control he exerted over Sanchez's career.

---

Joe Rogan is spiritually complex

Despite his interest in cults and new age spirituality, Joe Rogan is not a religious man, having abandoned organized religion after growing up Roman Catholic. While he isn't an outright atheist, he is agnostic, holding that the existence of divine figures is unknowable.

However, Rogan does indulge in actions he believes to be healthy to his sense of spirituality. For example, he is a believer in using hallucinogenics to broaden his awareness, and is a well-known proponent of DMT and other recreational drugs, his use of which once sparked a debate with Neil deGrasse Tyson.