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 …show more content…
Margaret T. Singer professor of Psychology at the University of California Berkeley who studied 700 cult members, and mind control techniques states, “the techniques of many cults fall under the general rubric of brainwashing… cult leaders and their trainers exert a systematic social influence that can produce great behavioral changes” (“The Psychology of the Cult Experience”). A cult is a group of people joined together by a common ideological system fostered by a “charismatic” leader. The expectation is that they can transcend the imperfections and finitude of life. It is important to note that not all cults are destructive; many of those who join and remain in cults do so out of a sincere quest for religious connection. Whether a cult is or is not destructive is dependent on the morality of the cult leader. Cults are complex systems of control that are alleged to manipulate their members. There are warning signs that can be identified for those that may have joined a cult, there are detrimental effects for those that become members, and it is important to identify the warning signs, and seek help through …show more content…
Those that leave cults often do so with symptoms one does not normally see, and are typically internal, but can be external. The damage of the cults can occur both during cult involvement, and months or even years after separation from the group. Among the common negative characteristics exhibited by the former cult members studied by Dr. John Clark assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the Harvard University Medical School, are “depression guilt, fear, paranoia, slow speech, rigidity of facial expression and body posture, indifference to physical appearance, passivity and memory impairment” (“The Psychology of the Cult Experience”). Although researchers say it is possible for those who have left cults to integrate their experience into their lives in healthy ways, many are unable to. A study done of six former cult members over two clinical observations over many years by David J. Ward, professor of psychiatry at the University of Queensland, shows that spiritual abuse caused by manipulation was prevalent during time in the cult. What was experienced during these former member’s time in the cult caused them to become increasingly dependent on the leader, which caused “forced immaturity” and caused the members to increase their obedience to the leader because of learned helplessness (Ward 909). According to the article Aftermath of a Cult the trance like state is caused by
The Church Of Scientology claims to offer a path of self-betterment and spiritual enlightenment through a precise protocol that heals the body and spirit. In reality, Scientology is an opportunistic organization that methodically targets, recruits, and exploits people, particularly highly vulnerable individuals. The Church of Scientology reaches out to these potential members through a robust collection of programs designed to help the general population. Though these programs have been defended as social programs that have little to no religious content, they are “front” programs for things such as drug abuse, self-help programs, psychiatry and mental health initiatives, and educational outreach. These front programs are touted as “salves for people’s emotional wounds,” but these same persons are recruited for the churches financial gain (Spohrer pg. 108). WikiLeaks has reported dozens of front companies attached to Scientology with topics ranging anywhere from office management to homeschool training programs. Three of the more well-known organizations are Narconon, Citizens Commission on Human Rights, and Practice Manage Consulting. Each one of these has its own way of preying on weakness and gaining both money and membership.
The history surrounding cults is not as simple as one might think. Cults raise a
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.
Although many may think that cult members may not be sound of mind, “only 5 to 6 percent of cult members suffer from major psychological problems prior
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 ,
Cults influence society in many ways. They shape people’s behaviors and emotions to get them to align with the cult’s beliefs and thoughts. The people that join cults are usually very insecure about themselves and want to be accepted by then group. Cults offer people acceptance, friendship, community, and family. These qualities often appeal to someone who feels the need to be accepted by others. Cults are groups that use tactics such as the foot in the door phenomenon, entrapment, and obedience to achieve the leader's ultimate desires as seen through the cults of Jonestown and Family International.
The church of Scientology has been the subject of controversy since its inception. Its methods and beliefs have attracted the attention of scholars from around the world. The church has been under government investigation and has endured a countless amount of lawsuits (Reitman 14). It is also a hot topic by the media with several endorsements by some of the most recognized Hollywood celebrities. However, the main topic of debate regarding the Church of Scientology is its status as a religion. Some members claim that the church has helped them overcome their struggles and that they are happier people, while others condemn it as a dangerous cult (Sweeney). The church of Scientology is a religious group whose purpose is to retain their
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,
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
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).
Most historians use the more neutral term ‘new religious movement’ instead of the cult, because there is no one definition of cults, their number and membership cannot be accurately measured even today (Sarah Pike, 2016). New religious groups are regularly developed from another, more accepted religion. An example of this is Christianity, which first began as a cult extending from Judaism (Sarah Pike, 2016). While this was regularly the case, many cults did not begin as religious groups. A famous example of this is the movement called Synanon, which was originally organised to rehabilitate drug addicts, but then later changed into a commune and won legal recognition as a religion (Sarah Pike, 2016). A theory among UFO groups, there is a widespread belief that extraterrestrials have no vocal cords, an atrophied digestive system and no sexual organs (B.A. Robinson, 2009). This is symbolic of three common religious disciplines: silence, fasting and celibacy. These attitudes may have somewhat shaped what the UFO group Heaven’s Gate believed in.
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.