The word “Cult” has not always had such a negative connotation attached to it. Many religions would’ve been considered cults when they first began. By the end of the 19th century many visionaries had revealed radically new religious systems, claiming immunity to the impurities of the old ones (Powers, 1997). These were no more than a group of people organizing themselves in worship and devotion for a person, object, or movement. They practiced rituals different to other “mainstream” religions, and were therefore considered cults. Nowadays when people hear the word “Cult” they immediately think of brainwashing, bombings, murders, and people who have turned away from our society. This is primarily because of what has happened with cults in the past. Cults like the Ant hill kids, the serpent handlers, the people’s temple, and one of the most famous, the Manson Family. Some, like the serpent handlers, had odd and dangerous rituals. Others, like the People’s Temple, ended with mass suicides. And then there are those like the Manson Family, who brutally murder innocent people. They all started out with a leader, who preaches their extreme beliefs to others. From this, a group of members is formed, and the cult is created. To lure people into their dark world, both violent and nonviolent cults often prey on people who are emotionally confused or distraught (Fennel, 1993). Linda James, a Montreal clinical psychologist, says that in some cases, cults become families for the vulnerable while offering to fulfill an individual's fantasies. Explains James: “They can offer wealth or the perfect relationship.'' (1993). The conceptualization of affiliation as brainwashing has been an influential theory of involvement in nontraditional religious ... ... middle of paper ... ...nt in a New Religious Movement: From Discovery to Disenchantment. Retrieved from: Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 13:2–21, 2011 Spence, J. C. (1975). Helter Skelter (Book Review). Retrieved from: American Bar Association Journal; Aug75, Vol. 61 Issue 8, p928, 2p Fennel, T. (1993). Nightmare Tales. Retrieved from: Maclean's; 2/8/93, Vol. 106 Issue 6, p26, 2p, 2 Color Photographs. Sanders, E. (2002). The Family. Donald, C. & Robbins, T. (1982). The New Vigilantes. Deprogrammers, Anti-Cultists, and the New Religions (Book Review). Retrieved from: Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion; Mar82, Vol. 21 Issue 1, p80-81, 2p. Powers, R. L. (1997). Cult, Culture, and Cultivation: The Contribution of Individual Psychology. Retrieved from: Individual Psychology: The Journal of Adlerian Theory, Research & Practice; Mar97, Vol. 53 Issue 1, p9, 14p
forefront of time, never waning and never dying out. It has evolved overtime to include interesting ways of worship and faith basis. From the standard worship of God, or he who is all powerful, to the ideological notion that our bodies are occupied by alien spirits who were brought to earth long ago and killed off due to overpopulation of their planet, religion has definitely come a long way. One such interesting religious practice that I’d like to discuss, is the snake-handling Pentecostal Christians of the Appalachian Mountains. Furthermore, I will discuss the relevancy to the groups’ stereotype and attempt to showcase how it’s virtually nonexistent in today’s society as it used to be by comparing and contrasting Mary Lee Daugherty’s piece
Roof, Wade Clark. "Contemporary Conflicts: Tradition vs. Transformation." Contemporary American Religion. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. 226-27. Print.
Sabina Magliocco, in her book Witching Culture, takes her readers into the culture of the Neo-Pagan cults in America and focus upon what it reveals about identity and belief in 21st century America. Through her careful employment of ethnographic techniques, Magliocco allows both the Neo-Pagan cult to be represented accurately, and likewise, scientifically. I argue that Magliocco's ethnographic approach is the correct way to go about this type of research involving religions.
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.
2. the visibly tragic results of some cults do not attend the average New Age participant. Persuasion is not about ends, its about means. Some use persuasion to a tragic end, some do not.
Smith, Huston. World’s Religions: A Guide to our Wisdom Traditions. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1994.
The church of Scientology has been the subject of controversy since its inception. Its methods and beliefs have attracted the attention of scholars from around the world. The church has been under government investigation and has endured a countless amount of lawsuits (Reitman 14). It is also a hot topic by the media with several endorsements by some of the most recognized Hollywood celebrities. However, the main topic of debate regarding the Church of Scientology is its status as a religion. Some members claim that the church has helped them overcome their struggles and that they are happier people, while others condemn it as a dangerous cult (Sweeney). The church of Scientology is a religious group whose purpose is to retain their members with the promise of spiritual enlightenment. Its controversial history, beliefs, and practices reveal the church’s commitment to keep its members.
For years, there have been problems surrounding the definition of the term 'cult'. The literal and traditional meanings of the word cult, which are more fully explored at the entry Cult (religion), come from the Latin cultus, meaning "care" or "adoration," as "a system of religious belief or ritual; or: the body of adherents to same." In French or Spanish, culte or culto simply means "worship" or "religious attendance"; therefore an association cultuelle is an association whose goal is to organize religious worship and practices. The word for "cult" in the popular English meaning is secte (French) or secta (Spanish). In formal English use, and in non-English European terms, the cognates of the English word "cult" are neutral, and refer mainly to divisions within a single faith, a case where English speakers might use the word "sect". Hence Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism are cults within Christianity. However, in common usage, "cult" has a very negative connotation, and is generally applied to a group in order to criticize it. Understandably, most groups, if not all, that are called "cults" deny this term. Some groups called "cults" by some critics may consider themselves not to be "cults", but may consider some other groups to be "cults". Although anti-cult activists and scholars did not agree on precise criteria that new religions should meet to be considered "cults," two of the definitions formulated by anti-cult activists are: Cults are groups that often exploit members psychologically and/or financially, typically by making members comply with leadership's demands through certain types of psychological manipulation, popularly called mind control, and through the inculcation of d...
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).
In conclusion, the entire aura of the Heaven’s Gate cult seems like something straight out of a late night TV movie. Like most millennialist groups, members held a firm belief in an oncoming apocalypse and that only an elect few would achieve salvation. The spread of their doctrine on the Internet brought about widespread concern over the power of the web. The argument has subsided, however, with the passage of time. I, for one, find the supposed link between the Internet and cult activities rather absurd. Extreme gullibility and brainwashing, I believe, would be the only ways a recruit would ever accept such an outlandish set of beliefs.
“A cult is a group of religious and dedicated members directed toward a particular belief or figure” (Thriving Cults). Cults are often misjudged and mistreated because what they believe in is strange or different than what the rest of the world believe in. Lesser known cults are often persecuted for what a few evil and corrupted cults did, but they never stop and look and see if the cult is a truly peaceful group. People in cults are often persecuted for being devoted to the cause of the cult they joined. “Certain people lack the inner resources and inner abilities to fully understand the world going on around them. They do not enjoy feeling lost, feeling abandoned, or hopeless” (Church of Reality). “They have no real conception of themselves and a weak and uncertain sense of self-identity or self worth” (Campus Cults). Sometimes we feel that we lose the purpose of living and we need something to fall back to. “Naturally, we follow the advice of people or groups who seem to ...
Cults are different from other groups. According to the American Journal of Psychotherapy, two factors distinguish how cults are different from other social groups. First, the ...
Smart, Ninian. "Blackboard, Religion 100." 6 March 2014. Seven Dimensions of Religion. Electronic Document. 6 March 2014.
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.
Lifton, R., foreword, Cults In Our Midst, by Margaret Thaler Singer & Lalich (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995).