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The impact religion can have on the individual and society
Impact of religion on individuals
The impact religion can have on the individual and society
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There are, literally, thousands of cults in existence throughout the world today. From Christianity and other religious spin-offs to entirely new religions, they are everywhere. And they all have one common goal: a utopia for all of it’s members. A place where the people who are devoted can go and feel at peace with themselves and with the world. Where they have no worries or cares to make their shoulders heavy. I have focused on a man who started a cult with that objective, and ended up creating mass panic and murder everywhere. That man’s name is Shoko Asahara, who started the cult named Aum Shinrikyo.
Asahara was a partially blind boy born into a very poor family in China. Throughout his entire life he had one solitary goal - to become a leader of some sort. This started from an early age, when he would run for class and school president every year in elementary, middle, and secondary school. Being the unusual boy he was, he would constantly be declined presidency, as the other children feared his political standpoint and his threats.
According to Marty Butz, a writer for a prominent occult magazine, “…perhaps still ambitious for leadership, Asahara realized his own divine appointment and religious calling.'; While performing his normal religious routine, Asahara claimed to have been visited by the Hindu God Shiva. He also began to inform people that he had been given special powers that allowed him to do such things as levitate, see the future, read people’s minds, make his “wishes'; come true, see through solid objects, enter the fourth dimension, talk to God, etc. He pulled together a large following by leafleting and street corner proselytizing. He also had computer, book, and noodle stores in which he would recruit members. By “recruit'; I am of course referring to Asahara drugging and brainwashing a person into believing that Asahara was their king. He had begun the Aum Shinrikyo.
At first this cult was to be a change from what Asahara felt was a grim situation in China to that of a Utopia. However, this got wildly out of hand almost immediately. First, Asahara went to the government to ask for “official religious corporation status.'; This gave him and his cult protection from taxes, from government, and from the law in general. They were free to do what they want, and this went to Asahara’s head.
“For the first time in his life he sees her in a new light: he sees her as no longer the listless creature who had lived at his side in a state of self-absorption, but a mysterious alien presence an evil energy secreted from the long years of silent brooding…” (Wharton 117) Edith Wharton is best known for her books Ethan Frome and The House of Mirth. Wharton was often compared to another writer in her time, Henry James. Even though this occurred, she considered her books one of a kind. She was pleased with her work, but the critics were not. Often, she received poor reviews, but this did not stop her; in fact, she then went on to be the first woman to win The Legion of Honor Medal. Wharton also won the Pulitzer Prize and a gold
Asoka, an emperor born in 304 BC, earns the title as an “enlightened ruler.” He guarded his citizens during the Conquest of Kalinga by teaching them how to properly govern, and conquer land non-aggressively, which helped them become a conjoined country. During his reign, he did few malevolent things but he surpassed them with the positive deeds. Some of those accomplishments included providing services for the men he murdered, allowing the citizens who were to be killed to speak with their family, and laboring hard for his people and their futures.
The reunification of upper and Lower Egypt catalysed the syncretism of prominent sun deities Amun and Re. Consequently, a powerful cult emerged that became the prevailing religious ideology, as well as an important political power base which secured dynastic legitimacy. The importance and impact of the Amun cult is diverse, as it developed social cohesion, shaped the ideology of kingship, facilitated economic and military prosperity, and formed a new power base; the Amun Priesthood.
...instituted fear into his followers by telling them that if they do not join his cause they will lose their souls forever upon the recycling of the planet Earth. Hence, the only way to save their soul was to rid themselves of their human nature. The last technique that Applewhite used to gain his students trust was institution of power and importance. Applewhite told his followers that he was a member of the evolutionary kingdom bought to earth in order to prepare its inhabitants for re-enlightenment; to teach them how to be saved and not “plowed under” with the others. (Initiation Video one) These behaviors, along with many others not discussed here allowed Applewhite and Nettles to gain and maintain control of their followers. Behaviors such as these can be seen in practice today, not necessarily in cults, allowing us to further explore how and why cults develop.
Imagine a place where everything is perfect. There A place where there is no warfare, where all. All politics, laws, customs, and traditions are respected. A place where there There is sameness among all the citizens and everyone is content and happy. This place would be considered a utopia. The Hutterites, a large group of people with almost 500 locations in the United States and Canada, have attempted to create a perfect place for their citizens. Jacob Hutter is the founder of the Hutterites and led this them group away from their founding spot of the Austrian province of Tyrol so that they could spread the beliefs and customs of Christianity. They then Then they started to follow Anabaptism where their main beliefs were nonviolence, adult
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.
Cults can be dangerous as manipulative strategies are used to control large groups of people into behaviour they may not usually be comfortable with. A cult is a counterculture that is an extremist group usually lead by religion and a charismatic leader (Winner 2011:417). Counterculture is the rejection of popular norms and values and replaces them with extreme views on violence, family and loyalty (Winner 2011:417). Cult leaders often preach about religious history as they take it very seriously. Usually, these religious views guide the bizarre behaviour and conformity within the cult. Anthropologists see cults as a way for people to find self-identity and belonging within a group which they are not receiving from outside of the group.
Undoubtedly, the thought of living in, or forming a utopian society has flashed through nearly every person’s mind. A few people have even tried to make this ideal dream society a reality. Unfortunately, within the pursuit of these societies the leaders become corrupt and begin to become paranoid with the fear of rebellion. Hundreds of people were murdered during the reigns of Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin in what they considered measures to maintain peace and stability within their respective “perfect” society. One must also consider the hardships that the citizens were forced to endure while living under these oppressive governments.
Opinions vary as to why people are drawn to cults. “Martin Marty, professor of religious history at the University of Chicago, attributes the growth of cults to the frustrations of seemingly rootless people”(U.S. News and World Report 23). Marty’s classification of a rootless person is a person who is overly frustrated by modern life and is at a loss for direction. Often the rootless individual will “short-circuit and try to hook their lives to any guiding spirit” (U.S. News and World Report 23).
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.
In fact, many scholars and scholarly works nolonger use the word cult when referencing a group that could be considered a religion not of the norm, therefore, would be considered a cult, (Olson, 2006). Instead academics are looking for alternative words to use such as, “alternative religious movements … marginal religious movements … new religious movements,” (Olson, 2006), and others. A study done by Olson shows that members of the public have given the word cult a negative meaning. Therefore, any group that is labelled as a cult is seen as something that is dangerous and different and people would be uncomfortable with neighbours joining cult groups, (Olson, 2006). Olson’s study found that the term New Religious Movement is percieved in a more positive manner than a group labelled as a Cult, (Olson, 2006). Therefore, the use of the word cult in the media may not be fair, because there are obviously these preconceptions about what a cult does and whether a cult is good or bad, when labelling a group as a cult the media is setting them up to be disliked by the general
The cult sacrifices innocent people for their own self-amusement to appease Satin. Both Oceania and Matamoros attempts to create a perfect society so they can carry out their immoral plans. The totalitarian leaders try to convince the followers/citizens what they want but actually they are victims of constant surveillance, and freedoms restricted.
Asoka is considered to be the paradigm of kingship in Buddhism. The reasons are numerous for why the Asokan paradigm of kingship is the most popular for Buddhist rulers, but we will take a look at three of the main reason: his relationship to Buddha, his lifestyle and his policies. To start with the stories of both King Asoka and Buddha share much of the same qualities. “If we compare the Buddha and Asoka legends, even the story of Asoka’s so-called conversion to Buddhism the pattern of the Buddha’s life story” (Swearer, 75). This is a very important point in why the Asokan Paradigm is the most popular model, this creates a direct connection between the Buddha and King Asoka, which creates a legitimization to his rule, policies and methods. Another reason that Asokan model, was that the policies and edicts that, were based on Buddhist principles, became extremely popular and supported the religion which helped to reinforce his rule. Along with this he was also a strong supporter of the monastic order, which made him and his policies even more popular since the monks supported his systems. An example of the one of the edicts was, rock edict number 7, where “he urges self-mastery, purity of heart, gratitude, and
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
The word “cult” has a very negative connotation in modern society as a result of it being applied to several religious groups that have violated basic moral or societal rules. It is regularly applied by the media to groups that are considered to be “deviant, dangerous or corrupt” (1). “The Theological use of the word “cult” is most evident in Christian Evangelical literature.” (2) Here, a cult is described by Walter Ralston Martin as “a group, religious in nature which surrounds a leader or a group of teaching which either denies or misinterprets essential Biblical doctrine.”(2) Another definition by Charles Braden is “those religious groups that differ significantly from those religious groups that are regarded as the normative expression of religion in our total culture.” And “a group of people gathered about a specific person or person’s misinterpretation of the Bible.”(2). Two very vague definitions that could apply to just about any faith that doesn’t align with what the...