Destructive Cults Research Paper

This paper explores the lifestyle of the different groups of people that follow a religion or a cult and the similarities that exist between the latter two. Everywhere in the world, religion has a strong influence on people’s beliefs and leads them to perceive cult followers in a negative fashion. In particular, the word “cult” is often associated with evil; horrific rituals; and the opposition to religious beliefs. However, this is often not the case as cults in fact, tend to be not dangerous and even share customs with popular religions. Religious principles may directly be compared to those practiced by smaller cults today. That being said, this paper takes both religion and cult into consideration when examining religious practices; by

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

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

In OST, Di Mambro and Jouret were generally very forceful and powerful leaders and prominent authority figures within the cult, as they were the sources of the teachings the entire cult was centred around; while in the presence of such authoritative figures, followers would have been under great pressure to obey them. Jouret in particular had a strong air of credibility to his teachings, due to his doctor’s degree and his charismatic personality, which would have made it very easy to follow orders from him. The leaders managed to strip followers of all their money and force them to adhere to strict rules, and there is evidence of them ordering followers to stockpile weapons or even kill on their behalf. Another example of the cult’s obedience was Jouret’s obsession with sex, which caused his tendency to have intercourse with one of the female members before a ritual, saying that he needed it to have the “spiritual strength” required for the ceremony – the women involved always agreed without complaint to this arrangement. (Bizarrepedia, 2015) Di Mambro and Jouret sometimes even ordered married couples to separate on the basis of them not having any “cosmic

Kalle Lasn, in the his essay shows the stereotype of the bigger population being in a cult without even knowing. In, The Cult You’re In, Kalle says that all people want the same dreams, and that they are not unique by wanting this dream. The dream he entails that everyone wants is, “ wealth, power, fame, plenty of sex, and exciting recreational opportunities.” Another piece of evidence Lasn uses to show that the general public is in a cult is, “so you scaled down your hopes of embarrassing riches to reasonable expectations of adequate comfort— the modest condo downtown, the Visa card, the Braun shaver, the one good Armani suit.” The author’s use of you in this case and throughout the entire easy shows that to the typical person this does happen.

Since europeans have arrived in America women have been abused by various cults. Through the different cults women are abused and used in different ways. Cults are not only religious groups but are groups who have certain beliefs and dilemmas. Cults can rein from the religious groups like christianity to certain groups like the pueblos. Multiple cases have been found where history has proven that women have been abused in cults from the 1500’s all the way till today. This is a problem that we want to discuss and come up with a solution.

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).

Just another day at the office, sipping my hot coffee when my desk shakes and my coffee gets all over my new suit.

Throughout history, there have been many instances of cults, many of which share the common characteristic of having corrupt leaders. For instance, Charles Manson led his cult in a homicidal spree, and David Koresh and Jim Jones convinced their followers to commit mass suicide. It is apparent that in cult history, leaders are the main cause of the tragedies that ensue.

Additionally, Tammy represents another portion of the class division, the leader of a cult, both of religion and personality, standing over her followers and giving them orders to lay down their lives while never sacrificing her own. Similar to the celebrities that influence their audience, the corrupt religious leaders that swindle their patrons, or the politicians that send young adults to war but never leave the safety of their own homes, Tammy is a symbol of the corrupt, the power-hungry, and the egomaniacs.

All across the world, many people rest their faith in some sort of higher presence. According The Washington Times, “There are 5.8 billion religiously affiliated adults and children around the globe, representing 84 percent of the 2010 world population of 6.9 billion [.]” We all put our faith in a religion and hope that we have chosen the right way to salvation. Now along with the announced religions that are out in the world, there are a couple of cults out there trying to sway people’s faith in believing in the same things that they believe in. Sometimes we tend to call these cults frauds and very harsh names, but an excellent question to /ask yourself is, “How do you know that their belief is fraud? What if their ‘cult’ is the correct

These people, like most people, are looking for a place to belong. They have been shunned by loved ones and are desperate and willing to cling to just about anything or anyone that will give that to them. But this just gets people in the door. Cult leaders tend to be very charmful and have a way with words. They make sure to make the members feel like they are loved by him and the cult, and that they will always love them, unlike anyone outside of the cult. The leaders tend to make sure each member feels special and that by being there, they were moving in a positive and productive direction in life. Leaders also tend to criticize the outside world, making sure to make the members believe anyone outside the cult is stupid, wrong, and

Most of our thoughts about cults today are often a misconception of ideas that derive from our imagination. Practices that resemble a strange ritual or ceremony would certainly be fitting. Most of our culture could potentially spot a religious cult if the anomalies, or strange behaviors were evident. This simply is not a good way to identify cults today though. These groups are no longer apparent to the naked eye. Their systems of religious veneration and highly devoted groups blend in with our everyday living. These members live in communities. Some shop at the same designer stores we shop in, and rally for the same home sports team. These members are relatable. They are intelligent. They have great careers and enjoy some of the same hobbies as you and I. They teach our children in public schools, sit on the board for our local and National governments, prescribe us medications when we are ill. They blend right in. We need to guard our hearts and minds from these groups and gracefully proclaim the solid foundations of God’s word. The only way to do this is to understand how these cults work and how to defend God’s word effectively.

destructive cult is a rigidly structured absolutist group usually under an authoritarian, charismatic leader which isolates itself from established societal

Because cultic behavior underlies more than extremist religious sects, many psychologists refer to these groups as charismatic groups. "A charismatic group consists of a dozen or more members, even hundreds or thousands. It is characterized by the following psychological elements: members (1) have a shared belief system, (2) sustain a high level of social cohesiveness, (3) are strongly influenced by the group's behavioral norms, and (4) impute charismatic