Religious cults

Blind Obedience to Authority Millions of people were killed in Nazi Germany in concentration camps however, Hitler wouldn’t have been able to kill them all, nor could just a handful of people. Obedience is when society influences where/ when an individual acts in response to a direct order from another individual, who is usually the authority figure. It is assumed that without such an order the person would not have acted in this way. In order to obey authority, the obeying person has to accept

it. The story is split into three chapters that introduces us to Thurston and Angell who learned of Cthulhu and starts researching about it, then in chapter two it gives us more detail about the fanatic cult and then in the third chapter, we learn a horrible truth behind the monster and the cult. The story shows how anyone who knows or anyone who even conceives the idea of Cthulhu becomes crazy or even dies. This fate has happened to the great uncle Angell, the narrator Thurston, and even possibly

Jim Jones The mass suicides, that took place under the influence of Reverend Jim Jones, can be explained from a sociological perspective. By looking at how the group dynamics played into the outcome one gets a better idea of the whys? of the massacre. The sociological explanation is but one way to explain this horrific event. It is , however, the only one explored in this essay for reasons of concision. At one level, the deaths at Jonestown can be viewed as the product of obedience, of

Life is what you make it On the ceiling of my father’s room wall hung Albert Einstein's frame which had the inscription, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” Those words greatly inspired me as a teenager. Even in the most difficult moments, those words scream in my head not to give up. I grew up at a time or period in Nigeria when the military junta overthrew the civilian government. The political environment so tensed that it drove away investors. Consequently

In North Korea it took one influential person with their own views to influence a whole Country; also, everyone there is as of one unit thinking their superior is a god. Well societies can become like that today where no one is different and everyone is blind to a single following leader and has conformed. There are other things that do this too like the Standford Prison Experiment, they had two groups guards and inmates, the inmates were brutally abused by the guards after one became sadistic and

A cult is defined as a social group or a social movement under one charismatic leader. It maintains a belief system, which includes a transformation of a group member. Members of the group have a high level of commitment to the leader, members, and beliefs (Lalich). An additional definition to consider is from the American Journal of Psychotherapy: …groups that often exploit members psychologically and/or financially, typically by making members comply with leadership’s demands through certain types

“Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) – George Miller Clip: ‘He looked at me’ Genre subverting “Mad Max: Fury Road”, directed by George Miller explores themes of objectification, the cult of the V8’s and Norse Mythology through the material body of the film. This 2015 film is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where Miller relies on practical effects rather than CGI, in order to keep the action onscreen authentic, according to Casey creating an intuitive masterpiece. (Casey, 2015) Known for its fast paced

THE JONESTOWN CULT Mass suicides are infrequent yet notable events that have occurred throughout the course of human history. The forty-nine Japanese Ronan, or Russian villagers burning themselves during the Russian Church’s Great Schism, are terrible reminders of the lengths humans will go to in order to remain faithful to a deeply held ideology (Coleman 46). Notably, in both of these examples and in the case of the Jonestown massacre, the suicides occurred within the context of a culture, sub-culture

As E.M. Forster once said, “One person with passion is better than forty merely interested people.” The quote indicates that while many may care, or at least seem to care, one with a burning passion is highly sought after. This especially rings true in leadership, as everyone has the ability to lead, but the ones who are passionate make the best and most efficient leaders. Since passionate leaders make the best leaders, a leader should gain their power by such means as opposed to through a thirst

Bloody rituals and moonlit sacrifices define a cult. As long as religion exists there are cults. Initiation involves feats of courage and skill and often results in fatality. Once their initiation is complete they are an official member. Members advance in rank by following the regulations and being faithful to their deity. New recruits rank lowest and the highest ranking member is the priest or prophet, climbing through the ranks takes years. Judith Lorber the author of “Believing Is Seeing: Biology