A Little Bit Culty My Toxic Father and Bahai: Jared Van Driessche’s Survival Story (Part 1)
Jan 12, 2026
Jared Van Driessche, a former cult kid turned executive protection specialist, shares his harrowing childhood in a Baha'i offshoot under his father's authoritarian rule. He contrasts the religion's ideals of unity with the abuses he faced at home, detailing how he navigated a toxic environment of secrecy and fear. Jared opens up about the severe impacts of childhood trauma, including forced rituals and grooming, and reflects on the complexities of his parental relationships. His journey highlights the need to break intergenerational cycles of abuse.
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Episode notes
Unity Can Mask Centralized Control
- The episode frames Baha'i's public unity and peace teachings as a veneer that can coexist with centralized authority and information control.
- That dynamic can make dissent feel dangerous and create cult-like social pressure.
Ideals Can Be Turned Into Control
- Jared describes how Baha'i ideals like 'independent investigation of truth' can be weaponized to silence dissent.
- Obedience and threat of spiritual exclusion enforce conformity despite moral contradictions.
Home As A Troubled Youth Boot Camp
- Jared describes his father taking in troubled Baha'i youth and running a boot-camp style household with dozens of kids living there.
- He says that while his father helped some kids sober up and graduate, he simultaneously raped, molested, and tortured people behind the scenes.
