Sunk Costs Fallacy + Cognitive Dissonance = Stronger Belief What you describe goes beyond cults to popular religions as well. When you've sacrificed much of yo

Sunk Costs Fallacy + Cognitive Dissonance = Stronger Belief What you describe goes beyond cults to popular religions as well. When you've sacrificed much of your life being good to get into heaven, the cognitive dissonance of new evidence that should shake your belief actually leads you to seek out new equivocations justifying the effort you've sunk into your faith.