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importance of religion in society pdf
importance of religion in society pdf
importance of religion in society pdf
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What’s the difference between a cult and a religion? This question is not easily answered. Is it the age, how old it is in relation to newness? How about the size, how many fellow believers does it have? Or what about its’ popularity does that differentiate a cult from religion? According to the online dictionary by Merriam-Webster the definition of a religion is “the belief in a god or in a group of gods: an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods: an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group” (“Religion”). This same dictionary defines a Cult as “a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous: a situation in which people admire and care about something or someone very much or too much: a small group of very devoted supporters or fans” (“Cult”). So when is a cult just a cult or when does this cult become classified as a religion?
The age old question of time. Throughout history evidence shows that there has always been some type of religious worship dating back thousands of years, to some of the first ever known ancient societies. When you look at two very well known ancient societies the Greeks and the Romans they both worshipped many Gods. The Greeks worshipped such known Gods as Zues, Poseidon, Hades and Apollo, just to name a few. These same Gods were known as Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, and Apollo to the Romans of old. Religion then is old by definition. What about today, what are some of the modern day religions? While there are many, some of the more popular ones are Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Muslim, and the most common western...
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... people to choose who or what, they worship and have faith in. So then these so called cults when new and unknown will grow and flourish becoming its own religion in due time. Be ready world I don’t think we have seen the end of new religions. The greatest thing about life itself the freedom to worship.
Works Citied
"Cults." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 187-189. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 Feb. 2014.
“Cults.” Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
"Religion." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
Watts, Jill. "Cults." Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 476-478. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 Feb. 2014.eb. 2014
Tobler, Douglas F., and Nelson B. Wadsworth. The History of the Mormons. New York, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989. Print.
-Religion has been around as long humans, no matter how you believe they were created
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
A cult society is an organization that basically disguises itself as a religion. In a cult, they normally perform rituals. There are usually many people in these societies. In Jim Jones’s cult, there were at least one thousand people in this community.
Perry, Seth. "An Outsider Looks In At Mormonism." Chronicle Of Higher Education 52.22 (2006): B9. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.
Bloody rituals and moonlit sacrifices define a cult. As long as religion exists, cults also exist. Initiation involves feats of courage and skill and often results in fatality. Once they complete their initiation they gain the status of an official member. Members advance in rank by following the regulations and being faithful to their deity. New recruits rank lowest and the priest or prophet are the highest ranking members; climbing through the ranks takes years. Judith Lorber, the author of “Believing Is Seeing: Biology as Ideology,” assists in understanding the ideas presented in Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber’s article “The Spread of the Cult of Thinness…” ; society gives “cult” members body expectations they must follow for them to secure their places in the “cult” of thinness, or society rejects them.
Cults consist mostly of middleclass Caucasian male youths, who are usually Christian or Jewish (Nelson 2006). Most are insecure people trying to find a sense of identity and security through the d...
For many years, cult leaders always had a psychological hold on their followers' minds. Whether it was to kill other people or to kill themselves, they did it without question. Some cult leaders used fear, violence and guilt as a means of a weapon to control the minds of their followers. Other cult leaders used persuasive and spiritual speeches that made their followers believe they were doing good and fulfilling God's plan. Because cult leaders are powerful through 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.
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).
Imagine living in a society where everything is uniform. Anything you wear, eat or think is controlled. Then you realize that your life is not actually yours. This sounds bizarre, but it’s true. Without knowing it, everyone dreams of the same things in life; the perfect job, the perfect family, or the perfect house. We may not all agree to this, but the fact is that we all dream the same dream. In some way, we are all part of one big “cult” because our desires are similar to one another. When the word “cult” comes to mind, it has a negative connotation. American society makes most of its profits by the use of advertisements. In Kalle Lasn’s essay “The Cult You’re In,written in 1996, he uses rhetorical tactics such as ethos, pathos, and logos to illustrate how ads increase a person’s desire for goods and services that he or she may not want. There are some aspects of as in his essay that are rhetorically effective; however, there are some aspects of his essay that are not.
Religion has existed since the dawn of civilization and over time has evolved into the religions we have today. Today the most prominent religions are monotheistic, having one omnipotent god, and despite having many differences they share basic tenets of respect and kindness. Religions, such as Judaism, give explanations for the unknown, provide hope, and bring about a sense of community.
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:
Religion is an ever-growing idea that has no set date of origin. Throughout history religion has served as an answer to the questions that man could not resolve. The word religion is derived from the Latin word “religio” meaning restraint in collaboration with the Greek word “relegere” which means to repeat or to read again. Religion is currently defined as an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience. Throughout time, there has yet to be a culture that lacks a religion of some form, whether it is a branch of paganism, a mythological based religion or mono/polytheistic religion. Many religions have been forgotten due to the fact that they were ethnic religions and globalizing religions were fighting to be recognized, annihilating these ancient and ethnic religions. Some of these faiths include: Finnish Paganism, Atenism, Minoan Religion, Mithraism, Manichaeism, Vedism, Zoroastrianism, Asatru, and the Olmec Religion. Religion is an imperative part of our contemporary world but mod...
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
Although cults have become a very common practice in our society, not many people actually know what a cult is. A cult is a group that demonstrates an excessive dedication to an idea, person or thing. Cults will conduct manipulative and persuasive behavior to advance the goals of the leader (Langone). There are many different types of cults, but they usually fall into four categories: Religious, Commercial, Self Help and Counselling or Political. Many people mistake religions as cults, but that is not the case. Religious cults are cults that center around a belief system as many common religions do, but they are categorized as a cult because of their practices and mind control. Common religions do not practice these techniques. Commercial cults are those that are interested in gaining money. These cults use their scare tactics and mind control techniques to get members to give them money and even work for them. Self Help and Counselling cults are centered around a business that has programs designed to help people by counselling them. By taking their courses, members are told they will become better people. This of course is not the case and these cults are inte...