Cults Are Defined Within Society

The history surrounding cults is not as simple as one might think. Cults raise a

Cultic activity has taken place since the practice of religion was established thousands of years ago. Since then, literally thousands of denominations have been inoculated throughout the world, especially in the United States. A cult, according to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is a system of religious beliefs and rituals. By definition, this includes organizations such as Baptists, Catholics as well as Satanists and Witches. While this maybe true, cults have been popularly perceived as Separatists who are consumed by the belief of apocalyptic events, and the leader is someone who believes he or she is chosen by God or some other deity to lead those who are to follow him or her. One group that fits this description is the

Ever since we were little, our parents, guardians, or even ourselves grew up to know the difference in between was would be considered peversive and what isn’t. Many people find it difficult to understand how people can be so devoted to a religion or something that can’t be scientifically proven, but the real question is how can a normal resident be allured by cults. A religious cult may be well known to us as a religious imposter who claims to lead the way to salvation and a lifespan of well being filled with blessings and free of the damnation a disease may bring, only because he or maybe even she may claim that he was sent from the heavens to the filthy earth. People who are believers in a omipitent kind believe this to be a ludicrous idea ,

Many people feel that cults are nothing more than a nontraditional religion, because of beliefs, organization, and interest. Cults are much more than just little religions. They are a dangerous, and in the United States there is little we can do about it.

A cult is a group of people with similar interests, and lead usually by a trusted leader. This leader will have to convince others into believing or provide a place where they can worship

A cult is a group of people that may follow a figure of authority, a god, or an object in an extreme, typically secretive, and radicalized way. Followers of cults are usually subject to groupthink in that they irrationally and unconditionally follow the thoughts and interpretations of one or many figures of authority, with most pledging complete loyalty and obedience to the cult through persuasive coercion. Cults differ to religious sects, as followers of cults are forced into the belief system of the cult, whereas religions are far more open, do not have a leader, and are quite often inherited. One such cult, Heaven’s Gate, was an American doomsday cult based in California, and consisted of at least 41 members. It was founded in 1974 by Marshall “Ti” Applewhite, who had convinced his followers that he was the second-coming of Jesus.

Cults are just simply new religions or as Donald Stone reports in the text, “emergent religions”. They offer friendship and a social connection of like –minded people and offer people a place to make this connection. As older religions grow and change, new sects may break off in either disagreement or as a way to return the religions to its roots. Members of these new religious groups come from very different walks of life, countries or just different regions but they have a new purpose, restoring the traditions or returning back to the fundamentals of the religion. Many of these new religions are centered on college campuses and about 10 % of the population join the cult and remain in it for about two years. (Diem p16) An interesting note is that many of the new members

Cults have existed throughout history since the beginning of time. A cult is defined in Webster’s dictionary as a “system of religious worship with a devoted attachment to a person, principle, etc.” Over the past thirty years numerous religious cults have caused “ tens of thousands to abandon their families, friends, education’s, and careers to follow the teaching of a leader they will never meet”(Beck 78).

Cults are a small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister. Cults are portrayed to the people as dangerous and strange because of what they often do. For example, one cult that is well known is the Ku Klux Klan also knows as the KKK. They targeted African Americans, the criminal acts they did were very violent. All cults should be illegal because they choose violent methods to put out their message.

     The word cult is defined as an alternative religion. Most cults are started because someone doesn’t like the way the world is, and feels that his/her church isn’t doing anything to make it better, so they leave and create what they believe to be the perfect religion. Then this person strives to make others believe as they do so they will join (Miller, 1991, p. 15). There are somewhere around 3,000 to 5,000 of these cults throughout the United States, but only 75 to 100 are documented (Miller, 1991, p. 15-16). Satanism is the oldest form of such cults. A few other commonly known cults are Reverend Jim Jones and the People Temple, Heavens Gate, and Charles Manson and the Family.

Cults can be classified as destructive, considering the methods used and how membership affects individuals. According to the International Cultic Studies Association or ICSA, cults can be considered destructive to its members. Reports form former cult member’s reveals that they have trouble trusting others, problems forming and maintaining relationships, and feel disconnected with the world. In addition, former cult members report being diagnosed with depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD often having flashbacks of events that occurred while they were in the cult. Finally, it is important to mention that cults also cause injuries or death. Considering these reports cults can be classified as destructive because members may have a difficult time adjusting to life outside the cult, difficulties in living life

By definition religions can be considered cults. “Great devotion to a person, idea, object or work” (Merriam-Webster). But regardless of definitions, the media has made the word “cult” become surrounded by a negative connotation. A few famous examples of cults that have made headlines in America, especially in the 1980’s and 90’s include The Manson Family, Heaven’s Gate, and Scientology. Only Scientology is still active today and they have 25,000 followers in the US (Metzger). The former was made famous for the killing of Sharon Tate and four other people in 1969. It sparked instant media attention due to Tate’s popularity as an actress. Present day, Charles Manson is in jail serving life and

Since from the beginning and as far as the eye can see, cults have been and will continue to be part of human life. These small religious groups can happen anywhere and have been the cause of much debate and interest. For humans have an innate need to know why things are the way they are. Cults for one have done some rather unmoral things that lead the people to ask, "Why did they do it?" The People 's Temple, Aum Shinrikyo, and Ku Klux Klan are extraordinary examples of wicked cults that begged the question "Why?"

Sociologists view cult behavior as a deviance from society’s norm. There are many theories as to why a cult leader forms a cult and how they garner such complete blind devotion from their members. While researching Jim Jones and The Peoples Temple I discovered that this particular cult adhered to several of the proven theories. Jones had few societal bonds and used fear and intimidation to control his members. He was an extreme socialist turned communist; when his original goals were met with resistance, he chose the path of rebellion, which was to reject society’s goals and seek to provide his own goals and means to accomplish them (Henslin, 2015).

The word “Cult” has not always had such a negative connotation attached to it. Many religions would’ve been considered cults when they first began. By the end of the 19th century many visionaries had revealed radically new religious systems, claiming immunity to the impurities of the old ones (Powers, 1997). These were no more than a group of people organizing themselves in worship and devotion for a person, object, or movement. They practiced rituals different to other “mainstream” religions, and were therefore considered cults.