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Social psychology of cults
Religious cults and their role in society
Social psychology of cults
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“I can lead you into that kingdom level above human. That can’t happen unless you leave the human world that you’re in and come and follow me. Time is short. Last chance.” A chilling narration spoken by Marshall Herff Applewhite, a previous seminarian and preacher’s son. A man who conceived a religion in which propaganda was used to lead it’s followers down the wrong path. In March of 1997, a tragic event took place. Applewhite as well as thirty eight members of a cult known as the Heaven’s Gate Cult committed collective suicide. Mass suicide is a waste and a tragedy, and causes mankind to wonder what attractions cults hold for it’s members. What could separate people from their families and responsibilities in order to follow radical leaders, …show more content…
Names such as Guinea and Pig, Bo and Peep, and lastly Ti and Do. Do is pronounced as Doe. Nettles took the name of Ti and Applewhite called himself Do. Their religion was a unique blend of UFOlogy and biblical apocalyptic, in which they offered their followers a transformation to the next evolutionary level above human. Moreover, whoever accepted this message would be appropriated by the spacecraft. They explained that human bodies were nothing more than containers that they could relinquish in order to have a higher physical existance. When the spaceship never arrived the followers of Heaven’s Gate began to …show more content…
In October of 1996, the group rented a large mansion in Santa Fe, on the periphery of San Diego, California. Applewhite explained to the owner that his group were made up of angels, based on Christian theologies. Applewhite encouraged sexual abstinence, and many of the male cult members followed his lead and underwent castration operations. In addition, in that same year the Hale-Bopp comet was seen. Members of Heaven’s Gate believed, with great certainty, that another object was hidden from human detection behind the comet. They affirmed that the object was a spacecraft, with which they could
Some say that cults are all religious and work together, in fact the definition of a cult is “a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object”, yet this can vary. Cults are not all religious or trying to reach a spiritual goal and in a lot of cases it is mostly all about one goal that is completely derived off his followers. Most cult leaders are so infatuated with their goals that they truly believe the psychological damage they are causing is good for the world (Cults). As seen in Jonestown and Heaven’s Gate, cults tend to use psychological skills to torment, manipulate and brainwash their members to grow stronger and reach the leader’s ultimate goal.
“The White Rose: Why are some people willing to die for their beliefs?” unitarian-stcatharines.org Web. 24 March 2014.
Another well-known cult leader is Marshall Applewhite, one of the founders of Heaven’s Gate. Applewhite was born on May 17, 1931 in Texas. He was a music teacher who was also well known for having good public speaking skills. He moved to Huston in the 1960’s to take over as head of the university’s music department. Shortly after moving, Marshall began to experience a mental decline. He and his wife divorced, he quit his job, and left his children. In the midst of a nervous breakdown and near-death experience, he met a nurse at a hospital named Bonnie Nettles. Nettles played a main role in Applewhite’s turn toward religion, as she is the one who recruited him to join the group, of which they would become co-leaders. She told him that his declining
Strong beliefs, a sense of community, and a specific way of life. These are some of the characteristics described in The Atlantic’s article, “The Seven Signs You’re in a Cult” written by Boze Herrington. This article was intended for the people who may not realize that cult-like groups do still exist, it also explains some characteristics for those who may not recognize that they are in one of these extreme groups. This article was also a way for Herrington to tell his story and remember his best friend.
Mystery cults greatly influenced the development of Pythagoreanism as Pythagoreans adopted many of their traditions, behaviors and beliefs. Pythagoras, the founder of the Pythagoreans, established a school in which he developed and taught these adopted cultural behaviors and beliefs. "The nature of daily living in the school, both its moral and its intellectual disciplines, can perhaps best be understood as an intellectualized development from earlier mystery cults such as the Eleusinian" (Wheelwright 201). The Pythagoreans and the mystery cults were not identical, but they shared many similar beliefs on subjects such as the soul, transmigration and reincarnation, and they practiced many of the traditions of initiation, ritual and secrecy. Pythagoreans combined the mystery cults' views on these subjects with philosophical thought as a foundation to develop their own unique beliefs.
In 1993 Dr. Perry was asked to consult with the agencies that were taking care of the Waco children. These children had lived in Texas inside the David Koresh's Branch Davidian cult, where 25 of them perished along with their parents when the cult's complex went up in flames. The one-time consultation turned into a six-week experience, from which Dr. Perry learned much about traumatized children. Based on his follow-up interviews over a period of 14 years, Dr.Perry believed that the experience had left its mark on all of them. However, the ones who had done their best were those who were eventually raised in loving homes; they had gone on to college, careers, and have families of their own. Others did not have that luck and had lived their
Cults are becoming more and more of an issue for Jews every day. Many cults are beginning to target Jews. They say you can believe in Jesus yet remain a Jew, or many other things like that. It is important for people to educate themselves of these cults and their recruiting techniques so that they will not be taken advantage of by these cults. Cults now are very different than they were in ancient times though. The Jews, rather than being targeted by cults, were themselves a cult. In fact they were one of the first documented cults.
Heaven’s Gate was a cult founded in 1972 by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. The beliefs behind the Heaven’s Gate cult was based around unidentified foreign objects (UFO). Members of this cult believed the Earth was about to be “recycled” and that the only way to survive was to leave Earth. The members commit suicide with the belief it was the only way they could make it to the “Next Level”.
As men fought their wars against one another, the Angels, unknown of by man, were fighting in their own war above them, in the vast sky the Angels refer to as Heaven. The Angels fought with weapons unknown to man, as they had to be powerful enough to kill an angel of Heaven. The Angels who fought for freedom, known as The Brotherhood of Angel Steel, fought against those who wanted control in Heaven, known as The Overseers. The Overseers wanted to take control of Heaven ever since God had left, while the Brotherhood wanted to keep the order of Heaven as God had left it. The Overseers were very powerful, but The Brotherhood had ways of getting around them. For centuries, the Angels fought against one another, for as long as the Overseers lived, Heaven would not be safe. Then one fateful day a new angel was born. This newborn, named Cassander, would turn out to be the most important angel in Heaven.
The sexual cult of Dionysus/ Bacchus created festivals for the people; supplying an unending rivalry for the underlying evil spiritual forces to use; these cults or festivals, (leading into orgies), evolved as an immense part of Pan’s creation. Mysteriously, this cult predates Greek civilization and its origination persists of unknown beginnings; dating longer than the Mycenaean culture early development that transpired on the mainland of Greece during 1600-1100 B.C.
Susie speaks to us from her own personal heaven as she watches the people who touched her in life and death. Susie witnesses the growth within her family and a small circle of friends. Her story is not one about death, but about loss and confirming life in its face, about moving on not only for those she left behind but for herself. As the story progresses the readers witness the family and friends of Susie investigating, pondering, and even moving on from what had happened to her.
November 18,1978, 913 members found dead in a mass suicide/ killing in Guyana South Africa. All were members of The Peoples Temple a cult that fled the US four years prior. There are many different cults around the world that have an impact on our society. A cult is defined as “a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious, also : its body of adherents. ”Some cult leaders are known to have Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) and some members are known to have Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD).
Within the text, the author uses a conversational tone in an attempt to lure readers in with the acknowledgement of similar experiences and influences. To elaborate, a significant comparison to be acknowledged would be between Marjane's struggle with death, as well as the testing of her faith as compared to my own struggles with death and religion . These factors have contributed to the development of our mental and emotional growth, the choosing of our occupations and our overall ability to express our opinions. It is subsequently clear within the first few pages of the book, that religion is a significant factor concerning the overall development of the theme. In basic interpretations, everything within the books revolves around or relates in some way to a religious objective.
Cults have always been associated with mental and psychological manipulation of members in what is commonly referred to as “brainwashing” (Ex-cult.org, 2016). Cult leaders strive to achieve mind control of members by promoting a system of beliefs that completely disorient the personal thoughts of an individual. According to Coon and Mitterer (2008), most victims of psychological manipulation may not even be aware of what may be happening and strictly follow what their leaders tell them. The followers have to conform to the cultish new belief system by reforming their personalities and training their minds to adapt to the new way of thinking (MacHovec, 2009). Cults are known for their utopian and idealist belief systems that are full of false
A cult can be roughly defined as a relatively small body of people having, often religious, beliefs and practices that are regarded by others as dark or menacing. Some more formally known as New Religious Movements (NRM), cults come in many various categories and extremes from religious, racist, and terrorist cults to mass transformational, new age, and commercial multi-marketing cults- but the list goes on. (Lalich, 2006). Cults deploy several methods to draw in potential members. They frequently target gullible individuals who are going through a major life change such as a divorce, the death of a family member, or loss of a job.