The Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan A cult is a type of religious organization that stands apart from the

larger society. These groups often have a charismatic leader and they

create their own radical beliefs. A cult that is very widespread in

the United States and claims to be largely apparent throughout the

world is the Ku Klux Klan or the "KKK".

The Ku Klux Klan is a cult that claims to be promoters of white

Christian civilization. The original Ku Klux Klan was organized to

oppose the Reconstruction policies of the radical Republican Congress

and to maintain white supremacy. After the Civil War, when local

government in the South was weak or nonexistent and there were fears

of black outrages, informal armed patrols were formed in almost all

communities. The KKK was organized at Pulaski, Tenn., in May 1866. Its

strange disguises, silent parades, midnight rides, mysterious language

and commands, were useful in playing upon fears and superstitions.

Members dressed in flowing white sheets, their faces covered with

white masks and skulls at their saddle horns, posed as spirits of dead

Confederate soldiers returned from the battlefields. The Klan was

effective in keeping black men away from the polls, so that the

ex-Confederates gained political control in many states. Congress in

1870 and 1871 passed legislation to combat the Klan.

The second Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1915 by William J. Simmons. The

new Klan had much more intense views than the Klan before it, for it

added to white supremacy an intense nativism and anti-Catholicism. The

Klan controlled politic...

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...ollow a form of Christianity

and they say they are needed because history repeats itself. They make

themselves appear greater than what they are by distorting and

fictionalizing their past and comparing themselves to other religions

and associating themselves with famous, well-respected people.

The Ku Klux Klan is very easily labeled a cult because they have had

very many charismatic leaders, they create their own radical beliefs

and they have an "us vs. them mentality". The Klan has been present in

the United States for over 130 years and has maintained itself

throughout many ups and downs. Based on the facts that ignorance and

racial discrimination is a part of our society and will always be

present in the United States, I think that the Ku Klux Klan will

always exist in the United States in one way, shape or form.