What Was
Assessed
370 active American organizations. 38 calibration anchors. Publicly available, openly documented, and ongoing.
Each organization in the dataset receives a complete assessment across all ten criteria. Every entry includes:
Per-criterion intensity scores (1–10 or N/A) with documented rationale
Evidence-based body text for each criterion with source citations
Confidence rating (High / Medium / Low) per criterion
Young's Original Score (0–10, binary checklist, independently derived)
Composite Cultiness Score (formula-based, 0–100%)
Composite tier classification
Trajectory assessment (Stable / Escalating / Declining / Defunct)
Political compass position (Economic axis and Authority axis, independent of cultiness scores)
One-paragraph summary assessment
Religious denominations
Evangelical, Catholic, mainline Protestant, high-control NRMs, and historical formations
Political movements & parties
Across the full ideological spectrum — assessed by identical criteria
Military formations
All US service branches, special operations formations, and historical military institutions
Federal agencies
Intelligence community, law enforcement, regulatory agencies, and cabinet departments
Corporate employers
Tech, finance, pharma, defense contractors, and retail
Media institutions
Broadcast, print, digital, and ideological media formations
Educational institutions
Universities, K-12 systems, and homeschool formations
Advocacy & civil society
Civil rights, labor, environmental, and ideological advocacy organizations
Historical calibration anchors
Domestic and international historical formations used to bracket the scoring spectrum
The dataset includes 38 calibration anchors — historical and international organizations used to bracket the scoring spectrum and ensure consistency across assessment sessions. Anchors span from organizations scoring at the Cult ceiling (100% composite, 10/10 Young's) to the Healthy Group floor (5% composite, 0/10 Young's). They are audited against current methodology after each versioned methodology update.
Calibration anchors include both extreme cases (Aum Shinrikyo, Peoples Temple, the Khmer Rouge) and reference floor cases (Costco, at 5% composite, serves as the Healthy Group anchor — demonstrating what high institutional loyalty and strong employee satisfaction look like in the complete absence of formation-system architecture).
The dataset is under active development. Every score change is recorded in an immutable audit log with timestamp, rationale, and the methodology version under which it was made. The analytical principles governing scoring are documented in a versioned methodology reference — currently at V4.0, reflecting refinements from systematic divergence review conducted in 2026.
Scores are analytical assessments anchored to publicly verifiable documented behaviors, not definitive determinations. Where evidence is limited or contested, this is noted explicitly in the entry.
Public Repository
The dataset, methodology documentation, scoring engine, and full audit trail are publicly available on GitHub.
View on GitHubThe dataset is not complete. Approximately 25% of entries currently have body texts that are thin, template-generated, or pending evidence-based revision. These are flagged in the repository and represent active work rather than finished assessments. Scores on entries with low-confidence body texts should be treated accordingly.
Evidence availability varies substantially across organizational types. High-profile religious movements, political organizations, and publicly traded corporations have extensive public documentation. Some smaller or more opaque organizations have limited public records, and their scores reflect that limitation.
The methodology has evolved over time. Earlier assessments were scored under less refined standards than the current V4.0 methodology. Systematic divergence review has corrected the most significant inconsistencies, but cross-batch variation remains a known limitation. A full rescore against current methodology is in progress.