Religious Cults Being Manipulative, Abusive And Exploitative Exploitive

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

Next, the two groups celebrate customs that are often blindly followed. Finally, the dominant world religions and smaller cults pursue a lifestyle that is accepted by their group. By analyzing the recognized beliefs, the different customs, and the controlled lifestyle of the widespread religion and cult followers, it will become evident that the two are ultimately similar.

Not all cults fit into the previously aforementioned definition but become more of the nuanced dysfunctional definition. The media thrives off of featured stories such as a cult in which a man was married to dozens of women and yielded hundreds of children. Others are more menacing with groups breaking into homes and murdering families while others seemingly feel so dedicated to their cause that they kill themselves for the cult. This is the extremism that certain cults establish, however, these dangerous groups often have warning signs or what Hume (1996) described as significant danger markers.

It’s not unknown that The Church of Scientology has been a contentious subject of conversation for decades. The controversial religion was originally discovered by a gentleman named L. Ron Hubbard in 1954 through the establishment of ideas in which he believed would act as an antidote to mental health concerns called Dianetics. After an unsuccessful attempt resulting in bankruptcy, Hubbard branched his ideas into the basis of a new found religion called Scientology ("The Beliefs and Teachings of Scientology”). To Hubbard’s advantage, Scientology expeditiously accelerated in growth, becoming one of the fastest expanding religions in the 20th century. Scientology pledged a “light at the end of the tunnel” to those wandering through dark times, and created a pathway to a faultless understanding of one’s true spiritual fulfillment through a system of self-knowledge in relation to one’s own life, community, and mankind. Due to the Scientology’s controversial beliefs, abnormal practices, and aberrant church-member relationships, the religion poses as a superlative model of church rebelling against society’s social norms.

its members watching to see who falls behind or gets too far ahead of thinking for the group (Ragas 8).” They also use mystical manipulation. In the cults, their supreme being is present in the group. Therefore, if an individual

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines cult as: "a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also: its body of adherents." Indeed, any religion involving unconditional worship and unquestioning obedience to God could be labeled as a cult (using the derogatory suggestion of the word), since such a religion would have that high level of dependency, obedience, and unwavering compliance ascribed to cults by definition. Many mainstream religions still require their members to believe in God unquestioningly, to have faith that he is good and that what he does is good, to consider one's own wants and needs as unimportant while accepting the will of God as paramount. All of these are certainly characteristics commonly attributed to cults, but while it would not be unreasonable to apply this definition of a cult to any dogmatic religion that requires strict compliance with God's word and will as a condition of membership, the notion of applying the word "cult" to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, or any other major world religion today is considered absurd. There are those who make this very claim: that those who worship God fit the classic depiction of cult members in their dogmatism, unswerving

It is estimated that there are between 2,000 to 5,000 cults in the United States. Many do not gain national attention until something implodes with violence, gets extremely costly or has a sensational side. For the purpose of this exploratory, cult will be defined as, “a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object” (Merriam Webster). Cults are deemed as mind-control systems, and have religious practices typically known as sinister. Jim Jones of the Jonestown massacre and the Peoples Temple leader, Charles Manson leader of the Manson Family, and David Koresh of the Branch Davidians are just a few of the notorious cult leaders in history. These individuals have a common characteristic of pathological

When someone hears the word cult they quickly think of the many mass murders or they scare children by telling them not to “drink the red koolaid”. Today, there are thousands of cults and cult leaders worldwide. For many years, the leaders of clut have had a powerful psychological hold onto their followers minds. Some cult leaders have brainwash their followers by using fear, guilt and violence as a weapon to control the minds. However , in other cases cult leaders leave behind those methods and use spiritual and persuasive speeches making their followers believe in what they are doing is the right thing.

“Did you know there are roughly five to seven million people who are in a cult or cult like group in America? As of July 31, 2013 there were an estimated 316,330,350 people in America alone." One way cults attract there members is by using psychological techniques to make young people in America want to join them in their holy journey. But are the leaders really insane? Some would argue yes others not so much, but how could someone who thought they knew everything there is to know about a book, written thousands of years ago, not be questioned on their sanity. Cults can affect many people as a society or individually, the effects cults have on certain people can be a great one due to they take away all your rights and give you certain rules to follow. The reason cults are shameful to society is because they control individuals and manipulate them into what they see as beneficial for a whole group not individually.

People generally seek comfort in cults when that comfort cannot be found elsewhere- within their family, friends or community- thus those who join tend to be vulnerable, seeking a place where they feel safe and secure. But as they become more involved, cults often force people to cut ties with their outside life to force full reliance, giving more and more time and money, thus increasing the cult’s power (Zimbardo). These actions are often present in church-like organizations as well, begging the question of determining the difference between a church and cult. Both can provide comfort and security to a person who feels vulnerable, with the possibility of becoming overly extremist, leading to religious fanaticism- utter devotion and strict adherence to a religion with little to no regard for anything outside beliefs set around that religion and its subsequent ruling laws. Religious fanaticism is widely regarded as dangerous become of its extreme nature, often leading to lack of free will. At that point, a religion would likely be classified as a cult. Devotion to the cult or religion results in a person taking on characteristics of the organization, like their moral sense, which is often not in alignment with society’s moral

In the documentary Join Us from award winning director, Ondi Timoner, some of the members from the cult Mountain Rock Church broke off and sought counseling. At The Wellspring Resort- the only rehab center for ex-cult members in the US- they opened up about their experiences and desire to recover from the abuse they endured (Join Us). Some of the members were there for about ten to fifteen years and didn’t know how to function without someone telling them exactly what to do (Join Us). Deborah Melz, the first one to speak up on her desire to leave, details times when The Reverend would corner the kids and beat them just for being loud. Watching her kids become terrified and depressed she sought help for her family (Join Us). Although her husband, who’d been with

Throughout history, there have been a number of recorded cults. One version of a cult is the Mormons. According to Mormons of Nature of God; he gradually disintegrates over a period of time. But they do see God as the Supreme Being of our universe. Christians will argue otherwise. In our faith, God is the alpha and omega and there is no end or disintegration approaching him. Second. Mormons see the nature of man

The sacred manifests itself as a reality diverse from ordinary realities. Humans become mindful of the sacred when it appears itself as something distinctive from the norm. It is a matter that each person must examine for himself. In Scientologists man is more than just a mind and body and that he, himself, the soul, who is in control of his mind and body. Scientologists are to be Clear and achieve the status of being an Operating Thetan who has dominance over “life, thought, matter, vitality, space and time.” Scientology in specific is built on the numerous works of its originator, L. Ron Hubbard, starting with the first book portraying his disclosures around the human intellect called “ Dianetics: the Unique Thesis”, Scientology's "sacred

Cults are often seen as an alternative religion. “A cult is defined as a religious or secular group that employs unethical and extreme measures of manipulation to recruit, control and retain its members” (Study Resources). Most cults are started because someone doesn’t like the way the world is and want to create what they feel the perfect world is. Then this person strives to make others believe as they do so they will join. There are somewhere around 3,000 to 5,000 of these cults throughout the United States, but only 75 to 100 are documented (Study Resources). The most commonly known cults are Reverend Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, Heavens Gate, and Charles Manson and the Family; these cults were able to drag people in and

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