Write An Essay On American Cults

As I’ve said previously, the life of Charles Manson revolved around interpersonal violence. From an early age Manson was the victim of child neglect – his mother (Kathleen Maddox) would leave him with neighbors, “for an hour, then disappear for days or weeks,”

Charles manson is a terrible, deeply troubled man. In 1971 he was convicted of first degree murder. He was found guilty of directing members of the Manson “family” to kill the Tate/Labianca family. Because of these heinous crimes Mason was sentenced to death but it was later reduced to life in prison.

When people hear the name Charles Manson, people automatically think of the string of horrible murders this man was involved in during the summer of 1969. Charles Manson is infamous for creating “the Manson Family” and sought to create a war between races with his followers. The book Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi, the main prosecutor in the Manson trial, chronicled the murders carried out by Manson and his followers, the trial following the murders, as well as the psychological diseases that may affect Manson as a person. Manson is responsible for several murders, including that of the pregnant Sharon Tate and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. While Manson never took part in the physical murders, he was

Charles Manson was born on November 12, 1934, in Cincinnati, Ohio. In the late 1960’s, Manson founded a murderous cult named ‘The Manson Family’. The Manson Family of around 100 followers committed many horrifying acts of terror around San Francisco. By using the power of lies in influencing his followers to believe that he was Jesus and many other things, Manson controlled them criminally and spiritually. Some of the most significant murders taken place by the cult were the stabbing of Sharon Tate and the execution of Leno LaBianca and his wife.

Manson started his cult not only on his religious beliefs, but on his belief that society had given him a rough past and Manson wanted payback for the resentment he had gotten in his childhood. Therefore, he created a cult to kill.

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

Charles Manson was the leader and founder of the cult the Manson Family or The Family, a group of people well known for being serial killers in the late 1960’s. It was believed that they were associated with cult-quasi-religious groups, that came about in the 1960’s and they are still here today. They believe they know what the future of the planet is, when it will end, and how. In a biography of Charles Manson and the Manson Family it said this, “In August 1969 a series of Hollywood murders were to shock the world and tarnish the 60’s free love and peace legacy.”(Biography Channel 2013.) Charles Manson himself never committed any murders with his own hands, but the murders were committed under his order by several of his most obedient

In the 1960’s, Manson gathered hundreds of followers which he called “The Family.” They lived on a deserted ranch. Most of Manson’s followers were impressionable young females and he used LSD and amphetamines to help manipulate and convince them to act out his wishes. He slowly broke down his follower’s beliefs and made them believe that he was Jesus and that a race war was impending. Eventually Manson’s most loyal followers carried out his acts of violence and left seven people dead. In 1969, police raided the ranch on suspicions of vandalism, unaware of the murders committed until after the arrests. Charles Manson has been labeled “The Icon of Evil.” (Rosenberg, 2009)

Charles Manson became known worldwide after helping commit numerous gruesome murders near Hollywood, California. Although, Manson’s legal troubles did not start from that point, he had been in and out of institutions and prisons since the age of twelve, for many different reasons. “For, let out of prison in 1967, the year of ‘the summer of love,’ he became the most hated and vilified figure in America, a symbol of everything that had gone wrong in the ‘60s” (Smith). Even though his release from prison was short lived, he managed to do a lot of damage during his time of freedom. Manson received a life sentence in May of 1970 for the nine murders he helped execute (Baughman). Charles Manson is a well recognized name across the United States.

     For Charles Manson, religion was a strong force that he used to manipulate the minds of his followers. When Charles was 34 he decided he wanted a family. Charles started to attract a group of followers, many of whom were young women with troubled lives, rebelling against their parents and society. All of Charlie's followers were weak willed people who were naïve, gullible, and easy to lead. Manson used LSD and amphetamines to alter his followers personalities. (Manson) Manson's "family" referred to Charles as "God" or "Jesus Christ." The family traveled around California trying to find

Charles Manson is notoriously connected to the brutal border of Sharon Tate and other Hollywood residents. Born Charles Milles Maddox to sixteen year old Kathleen Maddox, Charles was born into mayhem. Kathleen was an alcoholic and a prostitute; she was not very accepting of her son and showed him no love. Kathleen married William Mason and quickly that marriage dissolved. Fighting for his mother’s attention Charles left his home and lived on the streets. Manson began to do petty crime to get by. Charles Manson spent about half of his life in prison; he was noted for being a model prisoner. In 1955 Charles got married to a seventeen year old and moved to California. She became pregnant and soon after Manson began his life of crime,

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).

Charles Manson had a way of picking up on people’s weaknesses and fears, and used it against them. He preyed on vulnerability and, as Linda James said, he offered them wealth and perfect relationships (Fennel, 1993). And, although his claims were extraordinary, he was able to attract a good amount of followers.

Because cults vary in type, they have different ways on how to change person. Usually, cults break a person in order to make the latter as one of them. They have a “sacred creed” which members must abide with. It is through constant confession and subordination that cults have control over their members. They also stimulate strong emotions such as fear, guilty and