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Recommended: social psychology of cults
“Wipe them out”! “We do not associate ourselves with your kind”. These are some of the basic quotes that were used to discriminate people and separate others from society back in certain time periods. Many people were associated with terrible, discriminating groups. These groups harassed certain people because of their race, ethnicity, or religious beliefs. These groups were classified by the name of cults. Cults use fear and terror tactics to install fear and pain within people. Cults have also been known to intimidate people into not doing or partaking in certain actions. People involved in cults believed that certain kinds of people did not fit in with society or caused disorganization within a community. There were very many notorious cults throughout history. Some of them include: The KKK, The Nazi Party, Heaven’s Gate, and the people of Jonestown. All the people who were in these cults looked to a leader for guidance, or even in some cases, people believed that this leader was a god or a savior. They followed after their leaders, and each leader was a very dominating and ruthless person. These people wanted their way and would do almost absolutely anything to get what they want. Today I am here to talk about one certain cult: The Nazi Party. I will also be discussing what a cult is and the history of cults. After learning about different cults and the qualities of cults in class, I am here to discuss the history of the Nazi party along with actions that they did and the consequences that they suffered when they were later charged with their crimes. These people participated in horrifying events and were under the rule of one man by the name of Adolf Hitler. At the end of this essay, I hope I will have better informed you abo...
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...cults provide more sanctuary and can provide reasons as to why all cults may not be bad. They provide hope to others, and can overshadow incidents that many people may not be proud of.
Works Cited
Henslin, J.M. (2013). Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach (tenth edition). Allyn and Bacon. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
Jewish Virtual Library. (2013). Adolf Hitler. Retrieved December 5, 2013, from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/hitler.html
BBC. (2013). History Adolf Hitler.Retrieved December 5, 2013, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/adolf_hitler
The History Channel. (2013). Nazi Party. Retrieved December 5, 2013, from http://www.history.com/topics/nazi-party
A Teacher’s Guide To The Holocaust. (2013). The Rise of the Nazi Party. Retrieved December 5, 2013, from http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/timeline/nazirise.htm
The members in a cult most usually follow the leader and not the ideas of the leader. They are there to make the leader happy and to make them happy they become a follower and practice the same beliefs as the leader. “Cults often originate with a charismatic leader, an individual who inspires people because he or she seems to have extraordinary gifts, qualities, or abilities.” (Henslin 2013:405) The leader of the group is usually seen as something more than human to the followers, such as a God or that they are connected to God in some way. The leader possesses the ability to give them salvation and save them from damnation. “People feel drawn to both the person and the message because they find something highly appealing about the individual-in some instances, almost a magnetic charm.” (Henslin 2013:405) Without the leader the members feel like there is no way they can be saved. They use conflict theory ...
Henslin, James M.. "The Sociological Perspective." Essentials of sociology: a down-to-earth approach. 8th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2008. . Print.
A cult may be defined as a group of people centred about one person’s religious, social or political ideology (Martin, 2003). It is a movement that venerates a specific person, and uses manipulative techniques to recruit members and raise funds. Cults demand complete obedience from the members and use them to work, provide money and provide sexual favours for the benefit of the leaders. Most cults engage in criminal activities such as child marriages, sexual abuse, kidnapping, assault, arson and even murder (Snow, 2003). Over the years, there has been a brisk rise in the number of people starting up cults and those joining them. Individuals are in a bid to discover their significance through passionate and spiritual experiences, which are provided by cults. Reasons why people turn to cults include loneliness, lack of personal identity and alienation (Martin, 2003). There have been many cults in the course of American history. One of the most infamous cults is the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). This paper will give a brief history of the cult, its methods of action, the toxic effects of its beliefs and the methods of treatment used for survivors.
One aspect of this control is intimidation and threats. Cults will threaten members and their families to make sure they remain in control and make their leaders seem larger than life. A new recruit to the Church of Wells met with her family, after she left to join the group without any warning, and throughout the meeting she would always look to the church leader before saying anything (Smith 86). Cults also use isolation to manipulate members. One family described their daughter’s behavior when she first join the Church of Wells, “She seemed to withdraw from the world, dropping out of choir and quitting her job” (Smith 85). Cults have more control when their new recruits and other members are isolated from the rest of the world. If the members’ only source of information is the cult, they are less likely to question it. One cult that uses these harmful methods is The Children of God. This religious sect grew out of the 60’s counter culture and was founded in 1968 by David Berg (Zuckerman 108). Zuckerman states that “the children were kept very separate from the parents” and used to control the parents (Zuckerman 106). There is also a constant social pressure that comes with being in a cult. An escapee from The Children of God described the pressure, stating “you weren’t allowed to have imperfection. I had a little wart on my thumb, and I remember walking down this hallway-- a
Kendall, D. (2012). Sociology in Our Times, 9th Edition [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781285309682
..., to note that there seems to be no adverse effects while a person is in a cult, as their levels of stress goes down and they seem happier. Overall, the cult mentality is one that continues to be an enigma to society today.
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.
...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. Cult leaders used various ways of molding a follower's mind and brainwashing them to do things for them. Some cult leaders used punishments as a way of breaking the follower's that were resistant to their demands. Others used and perfected the art of persuasion. Either way, the mind of their followers or 'family' are in total control of the leader.
Kendall, Diana. 2012. Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials, Edited by M. Kerr. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Cults entice people whom by nature want to belong to a group and make it hard for them to leave by altering their thought processes. Those in the psychology field have defined what makes up a cult, have determined what draws individuals in and have recognized the effects that a cult can have on
Cults are dangerous institutions that have existed for many years, corrupting and reforming the minds of innocent people into believing outrageous doctrines that eventually result in disaster. Horrifying cases involving men such as Charles Manson, Jim Jones and David Koresh have bewildered people and raise the question: how could individuals be easily susceptible to the teachings of these men, so influenced that masses go as far as to commit the unthinkable? Individuals who are in a vulnerable position in search for an identity are attracted to cults because they offer a sense of belonging. In addition, isolation from society contributes to the functioning of a cult for it creates an atmosphere where submissiveness and obedience runs high. These two factors seem to hold true for one of the most notorious cults currently established in the United States and Canada. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or, FLDS, is an international polygamist sect that incorporates belonging and isolation along with a dangerous mentality that have resulted in the abuse of women and children in the name of God.
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).
[10] Kendall, Diana, et al. Sociology in Our Times. ITP Nelson and Co. Toronto, 1997. 126.
Throughout our history, cults have become a prevalent part of our society. More and more cults are forming every day. Although not all of them are dangerous, some can perform practices that are toxic to their members. Cults use fear and control to gain more and more members. Once members join a cult, they are forced to perform the practices that the cult leaders require. It is through these practices that cult leaders convince their members to stay in the cult. Through mind control and scare tactics, cults have become a very powerful and dangerous part of our society.