What drives an individual to form a cult? Even more puzzling, what motivates an individual to join a cult? The term cult is difficult to define, as they can take many different forms. However, they generally have a few distinctive characteristics. These may include exclusive allegiance to a specific leader, dependency on the cult, manipulation, exploitation, deception, and control of life decisions (Melton, 1986, p. 5). One type of cult is a religious cult. These groups are based around a religious foundation. They are defined as, “a group that follows a dominant leader who claims to be or is regarded by followers as infallible or divine” (Committee on Psychiatry and Religion, 1992, p. 2). The members of a religious cult swear their allegiance …show more content…
Narcissist personality disorder consists of the following components: grandiosity, require excessive attention and admiration, belief that they are superior to others, fragile self esteem, and lack of empathy for others (Oldenburg, 2015). Their sense of superiority and need for admiration explains why these individuals seek out a large following of people. Having a group of followers allows them to satisfy their constant desire for admiration. It also allows them to boost their self-esteem and defend their “superiority” over others. Because they have no empathy for other people, this also demonstrates why the followers of a cult are often mistreated. The leaders of a cult only have their own best interest at heart, and do not care how it affects their …show more content…
He obtained an area of land in 1974 under the premise of an “agricultural mission” (Lewis, 1998, p. 101). In 1977 he established a commune in Guyana, which he called Jonestown. One thousand of Jones’s followers made the journey with him, expecting a utopian-like society free of the intolerance they had experienced in California. Instead, they received harsh treatment from Jones, who now operated like a dictator. Upon arrival to Jonestown their passports, medications, and money were taken from them. They were expected to work long hours in the fields located in the compound and were given few meals. There was no escaping, as Jones had loyal, armed guards who patrolled the area and would threaten the people with beatings. Meanwhile, Jones metal state and paranoia had only gotten worse since the move. His was very distrusting of his followers and often conducted “suicide drills” at night. He would wake followers up and hand them a cup of what they were led to believe was poison. Then, he would command them to drink the contents of the cup in order to test their loyalty to him. After they drank the cup, they were told that it was not poisonous and that it was just a test (“Jim Jones Biography”,
Though he started out as not a very rich man, Jones became a naval commander for both America and Russia. He was very charming, but he had a horrible temper that tended to get him in trouble. At one point he was in such deep trouble that he was charged with murder, but then acquitted soon after. This is just one of the murders Jones was [allegedly, for the previous one, on account of his acquittal] involved in. The second murder he committed happened on the ship Betsy in the West Indies, where he killed the ringleader of a mutiny with his sword in a dispute over wages.
While dealing with Jonestown it could be perceived as both a cult and a conspiracy theory. The way it fits into being a conspiracy is that many do not believe what was reported and feel that the government, especially the CIA had involvement and made efforts to alter peoples minds for uses of a social experiment. Jonestown also could be considered a cult because in 1955 roughly 1000 citizens formed “The Peoples Temple” in Indiana. It was later progressed to California then finally in 1974 they made there final stop in Guyana. These members usually large in diversity would have mass gatherings and preach
First, people slowly started to realize this may not be what they want yet have no option, leading to psychological torture. It was said to be that if anyone was caught running away Jim Jones and his guards would use tactical skills to torment the people into staying, basically scaring them into any other idea. Also, Jones convinced his people that they were under attack by the government and that the US wanted to shut them down, using brainwash. After hundreds of nights practicing the suicide he finally called the actual drinking of the cyanide-laced kool aid (Jonestown and peoples temple, chidster). The people of Jonestown were manipulated and brainwashed into thinking that the life they were living was a hell and that suicide would bring them to peace. Jim Jones had implanted false thoughts in their heads causing emotional distress and ultimately leading to the mental break down of killing their children and themselves. The people of Jonestown were taken to the level of abnormal living and held high reliance on Jim. It was because of all these adaptions that Jim forced on these people that they became a cult (Cult, Gallagher). Jim Jones is one of the main and biggest examples of the difference between a religious leader and a cult leader. Another key example of a cult that used psychological techniques to persuade people
There are numerous different kinds of social groups in the world, but clearly not all of them are cults. So what makes a cult a cult? [So where is the distinction?] Where is the metaphorical line drawn and what has to be done to cross it? Cult psychological experts Joseph Salande and David Perkins say the differences between a cult and a group are the methods of control and the negative effects on its members (Salande and Perkins 382). They define cults as “groups that often exploit members psychologically
Annie Moore one of the people who died in Jonestown said these last haunting words: “We died because you would not let us live”. That chilling sentence says so much about the grip Jim Jones had on his followers. Once he had them under his control they weren’t even allowed to think for themselves let alone do anything else freely. Jim Jones started to lose it when the congressman, the relatives, and the media began to question what was going on in Jonestown.
Merriam Webster’s Collegiate dictionary defines cult as: 1 : formal religious veneration : Worship. 2 : a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents. 3 : a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents. 4 : a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <health cults>. 5 a : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion.
Jim Jones and his infamous cult entitled, “The People’s Temple,” holds an interesting value to social psychology. Jonestown is a topic that can relate back to many sociology terms and ideas. Jonestown can be related to social deviance, the effect of American culture on social groups, labelling theory, charismatic authority, and even shows how societal history often repeats itself. American society during the late 60’s-70’s is what led to the creation of Jonestown. Jonestowns downfall provided a lot of insight to the American public of how society needed to change, proving that the deaths of about 900 people weren’t for nothing.
According to dictionaries a cult is 1) a system of religious worship or ritual. 2) A religion or sect considered extremist of false. 3) Obsessive devotion to a person or principle. It is believed that every cult ties into some kind of religion, and religions all have a common basis of “a leap of faith”. Whether this so-called leap of faith is going to heaven or being reincarnated, or moving on to some other planet, depends on the beliefs of the cult itself.
Cult is a “system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.” (Sopko). There are different cults all across the world. Cults have distinctly different beliefs and devotions. For instance, some cults that are formed to follow a particular real life figure, and other cults are formed to follow (or worship) a spiritual being that might be part of a certain organized religion. One example of a cult would be the KKK (Ivan).
Furthermore, the film is highly inclusive, giving the viewer thorough detail not only about the religious organization, but also Jones himself. To start off, the film gives detail of Jones’ upbringing, how he behaved as a child, and certain psychological traits that could potentially explain why the incident happened. For instance, it was stated within the film that Jones grew up in a very poor family. His father, James Jones was an alcoholic, leaving his mother to provide for the family alone. As a result of his dysfunctional home-life, Jones grew to be
Two decades ago a strange series of events ended in the deaths of more than 900 people in the middle of a South American jungle. Though thought of as a "massacre," what occurred at Jonestown on November 18, 1978, was to some extent done willingly. This made the mass suicide more disturbing. The Jonestown cult which was officially named “The People's Temple" was founded by a reverend named James Warren Jones, also known as Jim Jones, from Indianapolis in 1955. Jones, who didn’t have medical training, based his liberal ministry as a combination of religious and socialist viewpoints.
Society strives to feel a sense of belonging. We want to be a part of something that shares the same beliefs as us. We spend our time trying to place ourselves in a group to satisfy these needs, whether it is in a hobby club, a group of friends, or religion. Some people go to more extreme measures and find this in what we call a cult. According to Henslin, a cult is a new or different religion whose teachings and practices put it at odds with the dominant culture and religion. (2013:405) Cults are often identified with the ideas of mass murder, deviant behaviors, unusual beliefs, and extremely devoted members. Cults are also highly known for their leaders. The leaders of cults usually are the ones that portray the image for the entire group. Successful cults take a strong-minded and, according to Max Weber, charismatic leader.
A cult is a structured group, most of whose members demonstrate unquestionable loyalty to a dynamic leader. The cult leader governs most, if not all, aspects of the lives o...
of the reality of the world. Secondly, by means of psychological and social control techniques, it makes its members virtually unable to resist its influence and authority. Cults are often isolationists, to gain and maintain control over members physically. intellectually, financially, and emotionally. Deprivation in the form of sleep or food is often used, and is sometimes combined with constant indoctrination.