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Background information on 7M Films's origin, leaders, and beliefs. 

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Background information on 7M Films's origin, leaders, and beliefs. 

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Robert Shinn is the leader of Shekinah Church in Los Angeles, California. 7M Films was established as a management company for social media influencers, especially TikTok dangers. It is closely linked to Shekinah Church. Robert's son was the videographer and friend of a lot of popular dancers in the area, and invited them all to attend one of his father's services, which is how the management company began. Robert Shinn is the founder and head of both Shekinah church and 7M, he combines religious authority with business control. The group emphasizes religious obedience to Shinn, prosperity gospel themes, and the idea that sucess on TikTok is a divine mission.

Netflix. 2024. Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult. Directed by Derek Doneen. Los Gatos, CA: Netflix. Retrieved July 18, 2025 (https://www.netflix.com/search?q=dancing%20for%20the%20devil&jbv=81638162).

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Robert Shinn exerted total control over members' spiritual lives, careers, finances, and personal relationships. He positioned himself as a prophet and claimed divine authority.

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The cult promoted extreme religious devition to Shinn and viewed TikTok fame as a divine calling. Practices included daily devotionals, confession sessions, and strict moral codes.

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Shinn targeted young dancers in Los Angeles through Shekinah Church and offered career opportunities through 7M Films. The promise of social media fame and the money that came with it was a major draw for these young artists.

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Members were encouraged and pressured to cut ties with family and friends that were outside of the Church and 7M. They lived in housing that was provided by Robert and operated in an insular bubble. Cutting off family ties is a typical practice of cults, former 7M members report being urged to "die to themselves," meaning they would "die to" their families and cut them off, in order to "save" them from going to Hell for not being religious.

Wallis, Roy. 1984. The Elementary Forms of the New Religious Life.

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The group used religious guilt, fear of hell, groupthink, and financial control (such as the cuts that Robert would take of these dancers' earnings) to maintain obedience. Prosperity gospel encourages belief in financial blessing via devotion, 7M dancers were promised fame and wealth, and Shinn financially exploited them, taking cuts of their earnings.

Premawardhana, Devaka. 2012. “Transformational Tithing: Sacrifice and Reciprocity in a Neo‑Pentecostal Church.” Nova Religio

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Many members suffered psychological trauma, psychological distress, depression, and identity crises and losses. Families reported drastic changes in their personalities and behaviors. This can be seen through Miranda's clear showing of sadness when she cried because Robert practically made her miss her grandfather's funeral.

Smith, James K. A. 2012. “The Effect of New Religious Movement Affiliation and Disaffiliation on Reflexivity and Sense of Self.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

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Former members said that they faced emotional distress, lack of income, estranged families, and threats of lawsuits from Robert, the rest of the 7M group, and the members of Shekinah Church, once they had decided to leave. Fear of retaliation and religious guilt kept many members from leaving.

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I think 7M films can fit into multiple kinds of NRMs. It fits into World-Rejecting NRMs because it separates members from mainstream society, demands high levels of devotion and elitism, enforces strict and doctrinal conformity, and seeks to control their behavior and reshape their entire worldview and identity.

I think that 7M films also fits into World-Affirming NRMs, as it encourages the use of urban society's technologies, such as TikTok.

Wallis, Roy. 1984. The Elementary Forms of the New Religious Life. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Barker, Eileen. 2015. “The Not‑So‑New Religious Movements: Changes in ‘the Cult Scene’ over the Past Forty Years.” e‑Prints LSE.

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The cult rose to prominence in the late 2010s and early 2020s, alongside the explosive growth of TikTok and influencer culture. Shekinah Church being located in Los Angeles, California, helped 7M's growth during this time because there was a wave of social media influencers that were moving to the area to find greater fame. Also, the specific demographic of influencers that were in this group, dancers, allowed for Robert to utilize the area's available shows and opportunities to convince members to join his management group.

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The COVID-19 pandemic increased online engagement and isolation, assisted Robert in his ability to control his members, while also being able to make money by the increased amount of people who spent their time online during this time period.

The growing intersection of religion and digital media also helped the cult grow, by making Shekinah Church and 7M's connection seem more normal.

The rise of prosperity gospel and charismatic leaders at the time also assisted the growth of this group, again normalizing this kind of behavior and situation.

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7M's members were mostly young, attractive TikTok dancers, often in their early 20s, many of whom had moved to LA to pursue fame. Many of these artists did not have a stable source of income, as previous members claimed that there were so many dancers in the area, and not a corresponding amount of opportunities. The instabilities and uncertainties that came with their lack of income, as well as moving to a new place, made these people very vulnerable.

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The group exploited ambition, desire for belonging, and disconnection from family that they encouraged. Members were often isolated and vulnerable due to their career aspirations.

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Influencer culture, hustle culture, and prosperity gospel ideals helped to create an environment in which success was seen as a divine favor in the 7M Films group.

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7M films positioned itself as being separate from "worldly" influences. The church taught that secular opinions were ungodly, which helped to isolate members from alternative viewpoints or concerns about manipulation.

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The group is tied to the Shekinah Church led by Robert Shinn, whose teachings frame the leader as spiritually authoritative and demand loyalty under the guise of serving God. Members experience commercial exploitation as they are managed as social media influencers through 7M Films, with their earnings and public personas controlled by the leadership. Members also face isolation from family, strict rules, and manipulative tactics such as love bombing, thought-terminating clichés, and financial dependence.

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Research & Background - America First Policy Institute (AFPI)

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Research & Background - America First Policy Institute (AFPI)

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Cult’s Origins: Brooke Rollins, Linda McMahon, Larry Kudlow, and other key Trump Administration leaders and officials founded America First Policy in April of 2021 after Donald Trump had lost the 2020 presidential election. AFPI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and non-partisan research institute that exists to advance policies that put the American people first.

Cult's Leaders:

Brooke Rollins is originally from Glen Rose, Texas and currently serves as the United States Secretary of Agriculture and previously served as deputy general counsel, ethics advisor, and policy director to Texas governor Rick Perry. During President Trump’s first administration, she was the Director of the Domestic Policy Council and Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives in the White House. She has also served as Director of the Office of American Innovation. Rollins was the Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of the America First Policy Institute.

Linda McMahon was born in North Carolina and currently serves as the United States Secretary of Education. McMahon was the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and she also served as Administration of the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) during President Trump’s first term. McMahon chaired the America First Policy Institute before joining the Trump Administration again for his second term.

Larry Kudlow serves as Vice Chair of the Board for America First Policy Institute and as Chair of the Center for American Prosperity. He is also the host of “Kudlow” on Fox Business and “The Larry Kudlow Show” on WABC Talk Radio. He has previously served as Director of the National Economic Council under President Donald Trump.

Cult's Beliefs: The America First Agenda for AFPI states that “America deserves a better and brighter future. American citizens need policies that put them first instead of policies that stand in their way. AFPI now presents the America First Agenda. On these pages, you will see a plan for establishing policies that keep America first, always.”

Pillar I: “Make the greatest economy in the world work for all Americans.”

Pillar II: “Put patients and doctors back in charge of healthcare.”

Pillar III: “ Restore America’s historic commitment to freedom, equality, and self-governance.”

Pillar IV: “Give parents more control over the education of their children.”

Pillar V: “Secure the border, end human trafficking, and defeat the drug cartels.”

Pillar VI: “deliver peace through strength and American leadership."

Pillar VII: “Make America energy independent.”

Pillar VIII: “Make it easy to vote and hard to cheat.”

Pillar IX: “Provide safe and secure communities so all Americans can live their lives in peace.”

Pillar X: “Fight government corruption by draining the swamp.”

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Leadership: The current leaders of AFPI are Larry Kudlow, who’s the Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Center for American Prosperity, and Greg Sindelar, who’s the Interim President and Chief Executive Officer. Larry Kudlow is very blunt, straightforward, and secure in his beliefs. Kudlow exerts his power over his followers with humor, as he is mostly known as a cable news personality. While I do not know much about Greg Sindelar, as I was not a member of the organization anymore when he came into his leadership role, I can speak a bit on McMahon and Rollins. Both of these women are very charismatic leaders, and know how to talk to people. Both of them having been very close to Trump during my time at AFPI, the summer of 2023, it was almost intimidating that they were so close to the individual that we were all essentially working for. While I wouldn’t necessarily say that either of these women would classify as having Narcissistic Personality Disorder, they did appear to think very highly of themselves and definitely knew that everyone was on their best behavior when they were in town.

Beliefs and Practices: Contrary to the America First Agenda that I previously have talked about here, at its core, AFPI is a right-wing policy organization that is rooted in very conservative and Christian values. The group believed in banning abortions, and the other interns that I worked with attended a pro-life march in DC with signs that were made by AFPI that I declined their invitation for. AFPI’s employees also all went to a rally that Donald Trump had hosted in New Jersey one night after work, I also declined their invitation to this as well. The group also heavily focused on transgender individuals participating in sports, and were not fans of transgender women competing in women's sports. Along with this, some employees were worried about the women’s bathroom in the office having transgender men in it, even though we were the only company on that floor.

Recruitment Strategies: Now, as I’m sure you can tell at this point, I was in fact employed at AFPI and worked as a Policy Intern during the summer of 2022. AFPI’s recruitment strategies for interns was definitely unlike anything I have ever seen before. During my interview process, I was asked about my beliefs, to which I said that my views are moderate and still developing, as I was only 18 years old at the time. I told the interviewer that I appreciated how AFPI was bipartisan (little did I know what the truth was) and how I wanted to gain knowledge and work on American policy with a firm who brought both sides together. The interviewer completely went along with everything that I was saying, and reaffirmed my statements about AFPI being non-partisan, completely lying about what the group really believed in. When I started my internship, I worked alongside around 20 other interns, and we were all being paid well below minimum wage. The other interns and I all had our respective tasks from our own teams and managers that we worked under, but we all came together to complete operational tasks such as running events, restocking the office fridge and snack areas, getting the mail, cleaning out and reorganizing storage closets, and other similar tasks. While these jobs are very much “intern duties,” I always found it strange that they had so many of us working these jobs for very little money. Of course we all voluntarily signed up for this job, but it rubbed me the wrong way that they lied about their mission during my interview, and then had a group of 20 college students running around the office delivering mail and making sure that there were always granola bars in the kitchen. When I was ending my time at AFPI, I had asked a trusted coworker about the payment situation to which she replied that they tried to mimic the pay that members of Congress gave their interns. This statement was wild to me because this is not a government organization in any capacity, and did not give employees the same kind of credibility and experience that working for the government would.

Isolation: This is a company, so they did not exactly “isolate” their employees from mainstream society, but they did enforce a few tactics and behaviors that I found to be unconventional. When I would be researching policy, I was only allowed to reference certain sources and news sites that aligned with the group’s beliefs. I was also not allowed to disagree with any of the beliefs that AFPI held, nor was I allowed to question any ideas that the organization had.

Control and Manipulation: There was one time where I was talking to one of the other interns about Trump, and I said something that wasn’t exactly positive about him. She immediately told me to be quiet and that I cannot speak poorly about Trump in the office. I was not fully aware at the time that this was a very MAGA group, and was taken aback by how serious she was about me not being allowed to say anything about Trump that wasn’t praising him. Going back to the pro-life march and the Trump rally that I didn’t attend with the rest of my intern group, I was very much judged and questioned for not going to either of these events during my free time, and was asked about my personal feelings towards these topics as well. On top of this, when I accidentally mentioned my religious views to another one of the interns, she proceeded to read the Bible to me every morning, even though I clearly did not want her to. The other interns and I were also required to dress in business professional attire every day, we weren’t allowed to wear open toed shoes, and we were not allowed to go on our phones during the work day in any capacity, as our managers claimed that it would not “look good” if any of our donors were visiting and saw.

Impact on Members: Of course, I can really only speak to my own experiences on this. Throughout the summer that I was working for AFPI, I was truly miserable. Not only was I working for an organization that I did not agree with, but I spent Monday through Friday commuting over an hour each way to the office, and then was there from 9 am until 6 pm every day. While most of my friends were able to hang more laid back jobs during the summer after our freshmen year, I was stuck in an office with people that I did not morally align with. While this is obviously the choice that I had made for myself, and I had agreed to absolutely everything that came with this job, I never was able to get over how they hired me after I blatantly said that I did not align with their views, and how the interviewer had lied to me. The way that the other interns and employees tried pressuring me to conform to their beliefs mentally exhausted me, and made me absolutely despise anyone who was like them afterwards. During my free time during that summer, I mostly spent it doing activities that I would never do today. I turned away from politics entirely, which was a topic that I used to love researching and working on, and now I am absolutely disgusted by it.

Exit Challenges: In this day and age where America’s political environment is very polarized and divided, leaving a company like AFPI is scary because you don’t know how other potential employers are going to view you based on AFPI’s presence on your resume.

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New Religious Movement Classification: New Religious Movement Classification: For me, I think that AFPI isn’t necessarily a NRM at all, given the fact that it’s a “non-profit” think tank. However, if I were to classify it as an NRM, I’d say that it’s a World Rejecting New Religious Movement. The company clearly has a conception of God and what they think God demands of humanity, and with the stances that they take on abortion and transgender rights, they definitely think that the current social order has substantially departed from God’s plan. While AFPI’s office was in DC, meaning they didn't condemn industrial society and call for a return to a rural life, they did condemn the values of many Americans and argued for a return of conservative and religious values in America. Now, apart from God, I think it’s safe to say that this group does see Donald Trump as some sort of “guru/prophet,” and most employees did devote their time to “serving” him. One of the most prominent beliefs throughout the office was that Donald Trump was going to win the 2024 Presidential Election, and that it would be a “major transformation of the world.” AFPI did expect to “become advisors to…presidents” and most of them did end up achieving that goal. Also, there undoubtedly was a “close link between religious and political aspirations” in AFPI, and one of their main goals was to “restore” American government and society “to their ‘original’ religious character.” While AFPI did not separate themselves “from the world in order to preserve their spiritual integrity,” nor did they completely “break…from their worldly life,” AFPI’s movement did occasionally “regulate…members activities and programs” for their entire day. Overall, AFPI doesn’t exactly fit the mold of World Rejecting New Religious Movements, but there are some key characteristics of the group that aligns them with the overarching themes of this kind of NRM.

Cult Classification: AFPI is without a doubt, a Political Cult. The group pretty much sees Donald Trump as God, and only accepts far-right and conservative political views. Trump is definitely this organization’s authoritarian character, who had and still has complete control over all of the employees, donors, and members of AFPI. The leaders of this group definitely utilized deception to recruit new employees, like what happened to me during my interview, and they influence employees to be obedient and follow all of Donald Trump’s views. While this group did not necessarily advocate for an overthrow of the government, violence, or a revolution, they did fully believe that Trump won the 2020 Presidential Election, and that there was no way that he wouldn’t win the 2024 one.

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AFPI emerged in the spring of 2021, while Joe Biden was the President of the United States. Donald Trump had lost the 2020 Presidential election to Biden, which caused a lot of Republicans to theorize that the Democratic Party somehow “cheated” in order for Biden to win the election. On January 6th, 2021, an estimated 2,000 people stormed the US Capitol with the goal of overturning the 2020 Presidential Election results, with thousands more supporting from outside the building, and from elsewhere in the country. I believe that the political environment at the time, along with the radical beliefs that some members of the Republican Party held regarding Biden’s Presidency and policies, influenced the emergence of AFPI and the support that the group gained. Along with this, the COVID-19 pandemic was still hitting Americans across the country, causing further unrest and distrust in the government. Society was still required to wear masks in public, schools across the country were still navigating how to educate children with the situation at hand, and Americans’ businesses and lives were still struggling and impacted by the pandemic. Many Republicans resented the Biden administration for how they were handling the pandemic, and started becoming more uncertain about their policies. Right-wing media outlets were encouraging and egging on these doubts that humanity had about the government in general, which caused a rise in conspiracy theories and distrust in the government. The COVID-19 pandemic truly amplified the divide between Republicans and Democrats in America, and I believe that this helped develop and grow the “America First” movement.

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The followers, members, donors, and employees of AFPI were mostly all members of the Republican Party, with an overwhelming majority holding more radical conservative and far-right political beliefs. The demographics of this group really varied in age and gender from my perspective, but I’d say that the members of AFPI were mostly white, Christian, and came from a higher socioeconomic status. People joined this group for their love of Trump (or in my case, a love of politics and a lack of background research), and because of their hatred and distrust towards the Biden administration. These people needed to be a part of a group that shared their beliefs in politics and moral values, during a time where the current Presidential Administration did not cater to their views.

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During the time that AFPI was founded, the Biden Administration valued more liberal-minded policies and values, which did not align with many Republicans’ views and outlook on the world. The Biden Administration addressed and focused on legislation such as pro-choice and transgender rights, the far-right movement was enraged and sought out people who wanted to return to conservative and, for lack of better words, outdated policies. When the current administration passed legislation that appeared to be more liberal, AFPI pushed back harder with more right-wing policy ideas. AFPI really valued “American” dominance, and utilized marketing strategies such as utilizing the colors red, white, and blue, and the American flag in their press releases and social media accounts. While the social media trend of being a “tradwife” was not really prevalent in 2021, the recent emergence of this movement of women on TikTok and Instagram preaching about and romanticizing the idea of being a 1950s American housewife can be linked to the values that AFPI promotes. The social media movement back to traditional gender roles, rejecting modern feminism, and essentially women living lives serving their husbands and families highlights the prominence of far-right values in American society today. This, along with other social media trends that focus on more “natural” ways of living illustrate how modern-day culture has influenced many members of American society to almost move to a more “rural” way of life, allowing for groups like AFPI to hold authority in Americans’ minds.

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America First Policy Institute. n.d. Agenda. Washington, DC: America First Policy Institute. Retrieved August 13, 2025 (https://agenda.americafirstpolicy.com/).

America First Policy Institute. n.d. “Fact Sheet: Protect Women and Women’s Sports.” Washington, DC: America First Policy Institute. Retrieved August 13, 2025 (https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/issues/fact-sheet-protect-women-and-womens-sports).

America First Policy Institute. n.d. “Launch of the America First Policy Institute.” Washington, DC: America First Policy Institute. Retrieved August 13, 2025 (https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/issues/mcmahon-kudlow-rollins-launch-america-first-policy-institute).

America First Policy Institute. n.d. “Pro-Life Movement Is Pro-Woman.” Washington, DC: America First Policy Institute. Retrieved August 13, 2025 (https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/issues/pro-life-movement-is-pro-woman).

America First Policy Institute. n.d. “Team.” Washington, DC: America First Policy Institute. Retrieved August 13, 2025 (https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/team).

America First Policy Institute. n.d. “Larry Kudlow.” Washington, DC: America First Policy Institute. Retrieved August 13, 2025 (https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/team/larrykudlow).

America First Policy Institute. n.d. “About.” Washington, DC: America First Policy Institute. Retrieved August 13, 2025 (https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/about).

Cambridge University Press. 2024. “The Political Geography of the January 6 Insurrectionists.” PS: Political Science & Politics. Retrieved August 13, 2025 (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ps-political-science-and-politics/article/political-geography-of-the-january-6-insurrectionists/3C59F4E94F90B63F0E80A86DFB487D01).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2024. “CDC Museum COVID-19 Timeline.” Atlanta, GA: CDC. Retrieved August 13, 2025 (https://www.cdc.gov/museum/timeline/covid19.html).

McDade, Piper. 2025. “Personal Interview.” Fairfax, VA. Retrieved August 13, 2025

McMahon, Linda E. n.d. “Meet the Secretary of Education.” Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved August 13, 2025 (https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-organization/meet-secretary-of-education/linda-e-mcmahon).

U.S. Department of Agriculture. n.d. “Our Secretary.” Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. Retrieved August 13, 2025 (https://www.usda.gov/our-agency/about-usda/our-secretary).

Wallis, Roy. 1984. The Elementary Forms of the New Religious Life. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, pp. 9–39.

Semantic Scholar. n.d. “Political Cults as a New Phenomenon of Religious Studies.” Retrieved August 13, 2025 (https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a0ff/1bcacc10969b7f930363e122686c4020de4e.pdf?utm).

The New Yorker. 2023. “The Rise and Fall of the Trad Wife.” The New Yorker. Retrieved August 13, 2025 (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-trad-wife).

University of San Francisco. n.d. “Nursing Faculty Publications – Article 1027.” San Francisco, CA: University of San Francisco. Retrieved August 13, 2025 (https://repository.usfca.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&context=nursing_fac).

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I wanted to address the fact that I'm proposing a cult that I was an intern for in the summer of 2023, since I was able to provide more detailed information with the help of my personal experience in this more unknown group. I was in the second semester of my freshman year at VT, and my mom was encouraging me to try and get an internship for the summer. Most of my friends were not even looking for, let alone attempting to get, a summer internship as that's not really common for college students to have after their freshman year. I kindly got connected with a few individuals in the political world of Washington, DC, and applied for a few positions under their guidance. I did not really know what I wanted to do with my life at the moment, but I have always been interested in politics and public policy. I was immature and naive, and therefore did not do much background research on this group and their mission, as I ironically just did for this project. I am deeply shameful of my participation in AFPI and how ignorant I was before and during this time. My experience did teach me a lot about myself, and the current administration, and I wanted to reiterate that I have never and will never align with the views of AFPI that I've listed here. I've grown a lot as a person, and I vowed to never be in the employment position that my 18 year old self was in. I'm so happy that I got the chance to discuss the cultish aspects of this organization, as I've always told my friends and family that I worked for a cult, haha. I appreciate that you took the time to read through this monstrosity of an organization, and get to see a look into the situation that I was in a couple of years ago!