A cult is relatively a small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister. The elements of a cult focus on four major factors of mind control such as Behavior Control, Information Control, Thought Control, and Emotional Control. According to the video uploaded by aperi mentis and written by Steven Hassan stated that: Behavior Control constant reminding of the authority of the leader, obedience is the most important teaching just believing but don’t question; Information Control deception is basic feature of recruitment it keeps potential members unaware of unusual group beliefs that would be distasteful at an earlier stage of indoctrination, important information which is available to the general …show more content…
In the video, the spokeswomen Benscoter stated that within a week she believed that the second coming of Christ had occurred and that it was Sun Myung Moon which she was specially chosen and prepared by god to be his disciple. Benscoter also talked about how her family was a deprogrammer, a deprogrammer is a person in a controversial belief system to change those beliefs and abandon allegiance to the religious, political, economic, or social group associated with the belief system (Wikipedia). When Benscoter was, a deprogrammer following behind her mother and father after five years Benscoter she was arrested for kidnapping and most of the cases she went on her and her cult members were called involuntary, an involuntary is done without the will or conscious control. Benscoter went on talking about how she couldn’t understand what was going on with brain during the time she was in the cult name Sun Myung Moon however after a long time being out of the cult she finally understood what was going on in her head long …show more content…
The cult Sun Myung Moon was something like a virus which attacked her brain and the other cult members, the cult infected their brain causing the most damage to them all because they had an almost compromised immune system. The reason why Benscoter was under the spell of Sun Myung Moon was because she was young and naïve which made me think about the cult episode in Monk. Amanda and the other cult members in Siblings of the Sun must have joined the cult when they were young believing that “Father” was their saver, they must had believed that “Father” was somewhat similar to a god which was the reason why they were so drawn to him. Even if “Father” told them to hand over all their life saving and told them to never listen to anyone but him none of them disobey his order. Benscoter just like many other cult followers never thought about disobeying their leader because they saw him as a God on
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
Jim Jones started as a reverend who started his own racially-mixed church whose main goal was to eradicate racism. This church became known as the people’s temple and was well known throughout Indianapolis for their work. The People’s Temple opened an orphanage and soup kitchen; they also provided assistance to disabled people in the area. In addition to his church’s good work, Jim Jones and his wife became the first couple in Indiana to adopt a black child (Wunrow, Rose). Everything seemed to be going well for the People’s Temple and Jim Jones; however, this seemingly wholesome church would eventually lead to as assassinated congressman and one of the largest mass suicide events in history.
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 ,
However, as some of the concepts in social psychology state, the seemingly unatural behaviours of the cult members are inevitable under the influence of various factors. Firstly, status of group members share a similarity towards each other which people with low-esteem are extremely likely to be found among the cult members. A great number of Jones’ followers were drug addicted, homeless or having terrible relationship with their family. While they were abandoned, ignored or even hated by the society and their loved ones, Jones gave every member unconditional love and protection.
One of the most common characteristics of cults is that they employ the foot and the door phenomenon to help achieve the leader of the cult’s
	Cult leaders and members use mind control to inundate their message into the minds of prospective and existing followers.Groups that demonstrate exaggerated devotion or commitment to some person, idea,
A cult, also known as a new religious movement, is defined as an exclusive group of individuals who come together to follow a leader's extreme ideas. A cult holds three general characteristics which include: being led by a charismatic leader, has radical beliefs and rituals compared to the norm, and isolates its members from their society to protect them from “evil”. The Unification Church, short for The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, is a cult that began in 1954 and was founded by Sun Myung Moon. Moon believed Jesus appeared to him when he was a teenager and told him he was carefully chosen to continue the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. He was told that Jesus himself had begun this mission before his death,
Cults are the groups that exhibit intense and unquestioning devotion to a single cause. All the group members have a same goal or mission, and the group thinking helps the group members to stick on the same goal. For the Heaven Gate, their goal is to enter the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom level above human. The documentary of “Heaven Gate Cult” perfectly shows the four ways for the cult to promote their group thinking.
As he grew up he began finding his interest in religion as he attended churches around town, eventually obtaining a friendship with a minister at the Pentecostal church (Biography.com Editors, 2014). This friendship truly marked the beginning of Jones’ religious fanaticism as it led to him preaching to/at his community and friends, even though he only could hold a few. His devout nature drove away many, but it was his view on other’s behaviors that really caused his lack of friendships. He regarded many behaviors to be sinful or wrong, which caused an anger towards the boys who portrayed them if not a hostility. In her research paper, Antoinette Pick-Jones (2007) provides the example “’…Jim was so upset with one of his friends for going home rather than going out and witnessing, that he ‘grabbed his father’s gun and shot at the boys…”’ which shows just how far Jones would go if he felt like someone was acting in a sinful manner.
Cults can be evil and mind controlling. They can also be extremely dangerous. According to Rick Ross, an expert consultant and intervention specialist, “there are several signs of a potentially unsafe group or leader.” These signs include: “absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability; there is no legitimate reason to leave, former followers are always wrong in leaving, negative or even evil; followers can never be good enough; and the group or leader is the exclusive means of knowing the truth or receiving validation, no other process or discovery is really acceptable or credible.” Cult leaders use mind control to control their group. This could be dangerous or life threatening. Leaders are
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).
The identities that each person possesses is influenced according to their attitudes, values and beliefs embedded in their culture. When people hear the word cult, the images of satan worshipping, animal sacrifices and evil, pagan rituals automatically come to mind. However, in reality, the majority of cults do not involve these things and are in fact simply a religious system with alternate beliefs. The word though refers to an unorthodox sect whose members distort the original doctrines of the religion. Heaven’s Gate is a cult that is centred in California, founded by Marshall Herff Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles in 1993. They are a UFO based ‘destructive doomsday’ cult who believed that evil space aliens called ‘Luciferians’ had kept
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
While individual cultic groups may vary in discipline (political, religious, social/philosophical), they often operate with a similar premise: the world is bad, we are good, become a part of us (Salande & Perkins, 2011). Viewing the world in this way is not, in and of itself, destructive; and many mainstream religious and political movements embrace similar philosophies (2011). However, cult leaders often reinforce these ideas in frightening ways. By making their members use hallucinogens, sleep deprivation, group sex, strict prayer rituals, and deprogramming. Deprogrammers usually used “facts” about their religious group to shake up the person’s faith, this confrontation would often transpire in intense, emotionally charged situations (Donald & Robbins, 1982). The point of this was to rid the cult member of their ego, and past beliefs. The goal was for the member to have a blank slate, they could then me made to believe whatever the cult leader wanted them to.
North America was a region in the world that was new to many especially the settlers who’d later live there. For thousands of years this region was unknown until men from other countries began traveling from sea to see this part of the world they never knew about. These people who came to what is now known as the United States of America sought to establish a new life. Before the English, Spanish and French colonies stepped foot on North America there were already Indian tribes who inhabited the land. Soon after reaching this land colonist began to settle in and began working and living. Each colony struck an alliance with the native tribes who lived near them. At the same time the colonists weren’t on good terms. The primary role of the Indians