Essay on Why People Join Cults

Sometimes it is far easier to do what is best for oneself rather than what is best for the group. This decision is usually motivated by fear. Fear is generally a destructive force in society, allowing the strong to take advantage of the weak.

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.

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

In the essay, The Cult You’re In, Kalle Lasn not only used rhetoric devices and imagery to allow readers to come to a better understanding of who ‘you’ are and the role you play through the reality of the detrimental reality of life. Kalle used these devices to almost scare readers into a reality check insinuating that not everything is perfect or how we image them to be. Reality is described as only being a figment of one’s mind, by being a meager front. From birth to teenage year’s life was almost picture perfect being a “This is your life moment.” You would be living the life of a diligent and optimistic child, but you quickly realize like Lasn said, “Those big dreams of youth didn’t quite plan out.”

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.

Instead, Manson was able to manipulate his followers, known as The Manson Family, to murder on his behalf. While Manson is “a notorious inmate and arguably an American icon of evil but, according to experts, the aging convict is not a serial killer or a mass murderer, as he is typically described” (Lohr, 2012, para. 1). Nevertheless, Manson maintains a large cult following, with the appeal and fascination with both his life and crimes lingering on into modern American culture. What was it about Charles Manson’s personality that attracted so many of his followers? And what is it about his personality that maintains the public interest after all these years? While both psychologists and sociologists argue that the socio-political climate at the time was opportunistic for a person like Charles Manson to emerge (Hickey, 2003), it’s also probable that Manson’s magnetic personality was more to blame for his intuitive yet powerful persuasion over his followers, across both decades and

A murderer is normally defined by the psychological attributes that define him or her. These killers often suffer from a psychotic delusion that forces them to commit their horrific crimes. However, those who are pronounced sane and rational have a moral conviction that drives them to kill. It is this principle that separates the average murder from the psychotic sadists that believes in what he or she does. Charles Manson, leader of the Manson Family, believed in the apocalyptic war of Helter Skelter, the uprising of blacks and the mass genocide of whites (Whitehead). Manson’s firm conviction about Helter Skelter separates him from other criminals who commit their crimes out of insanity. In Travels in New-England and New-York, author

In Manson´s early years, he was a convicted car thief and pimp. Manson was inprisioned in 1960, and granted parole in 1967. Soon after he had been released he moved in with Mary Bronner in Berkeley, CA. Not long after he moves in with Bronner, he convinces her to let other women move in with them. After awhile he dubbed the group “The Family”. During the summer of 1967, Manson and his ‘family’ moved to San Francisco. Their, Manson was exposed to a virarity of beliefs

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.

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

     For many years, cult leaders always had a psychological hold on their followers' minds. Whether it was to kill other people or to kill themselves, they did it without question. Some cult leaders used fear, violence and guilt as a means of a weapon to control the minds of their followers. Other cult leaders used persuasive and spiritual speeches that made their followers believe they were doing good and fulfilling God's plan. Because cult leaders are powerful through psychological offenses, the people that belong to their cults are brainwashed into doing things they wouldn't normally do in their right state of mind.

The second factor is the outcome. People in cults often come out of the group in a worse position than when they first joined the cult. They could be worse off financially, psychologically, or relationally to give a few examples. More times than not, people in groups that are not considered cults do not produce the effects listed above. Instead, members of these groups report that they improve as a person in some way (Salande, and Perkins 382, 383). Cults can be differentiated from other groups because of the methods that cults use, and the effect that cults can have on its members.

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

wanting to be envied by others because of what we have or can do. The need to do better, have prestige and more power than anyone else is a

Nathan DeWall, a Psychologist at the University of Kentucky says that “Humans have a fundamental need to belong. Just as we have needs for food and water, we also have needs for positive and lasting relationships.” The need to belong can be so strong that we are willing to change who we are just to belong to a group. Most times it is small changes. For people who are people pleasers, we will go out of our way to help others, even if that means we are neglecting ourselves, just to get their approval.