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Effects of Religion in Society
The effects of religion
The effects of religion on society
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Fine lines proceed to subsequently blur the separation between a religion and a cult. Throughout history, the label cult has consistently succeeded in disparaging numerous religions including Christianity. To bring a standstill to the confusion amidst all personages, the narrow slash between these two matters need to be entirely divulged and established. Distinctions separating a religion and a cult are elucidated primarily by their treatment of individuals and relations. Variances can be seen through examples of behaviors, the “Moonies” cult, and the works of the Christian religion. Eliyahu Federman, civil rights militant and penman, describes his conception of how a cult and a religion contrast. He states, “Any religious community can …show more content…
Using this example, one can also see what it is like to be just a religion, not a cult, when being compared to the Christian Religion and all its churches. According Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the formal definition of Christianity is the religion thats foundation is set on the person and lessons of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus of Nazareth, in summary, went his life helping others and spreading the words of the Gospel. Nowhere in the Bible or in Jesus’s teachings did kidnapping, force, or abuse become encouraged. In fact, the religion revolves around free will and setting ones life to help others. Some examples can be seen throughout the book of Matthew. “Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42). “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay” (Matthew 10:8). “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25: 42). The book of Matthew is only one of many that states Christian believers jobs are to help and assist others, even if these others are not believers themselves. Most predominately, the Bible shows that violence, ostracizing, judging, and …show more content…
Christianity is a religion, but the “Moonies" is a cult in regards to such criteria. Based off the technicalities represented by Eliyahu Federman, a religion can become a cult, but a cult is not a religion. Furthermore, David Adler describes how mistreatment of people through physical, verbal, and mental abuse can turn a set of beliefs into an out of control cult quickly. Adler continues to show how Christianity is different from cults, most specifically Sun Myung Moon, in how Christian beliefs do not go against the free will of all people. The blurred line between the two can be seen to all in a crispy and clear light. Now, many may see their mistakes in confusing the two and see how the term cult can offend a numerous amount of
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
Lockwood, R. D. (2011). Journal of Contemporary Religion. Cults, Consumerism, and the Construction of Self: Exploring the Religious within Fight Club, 23. Retrieved January 22, 2014, from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13537900802373320
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.
Everyone is in a consumer’s hypnosis, even if you think you are not. When you go to a store and pick one brand over the other, you are now under their spell. The spell/ hypnosis is how companies get you to buy there things over other companies and keep you hooked. Either through commercials or offering something that you think will make your life better by what they tell you. For example, you go to the store and you need to buy water, once you get to the lane and look, there is 10 different types of water you can buy. You go pick one either because the picture is better or you seen the commercial the other day and you want it. During the length of this paper we will talk about two important writers, Kalle Lasn the writer of “The Cult You’re in” and Benoit Denizet-Lewis writer of “ The Man Behind Abercrombie & Fitch”. They both talk about similar topics that go hand and hand with each other, they talk about the consumers “Dream”, how companies recruit the consumers, who cult members really are, how people are forced to wear something they don’t want, and about slackers.
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.
Cults Each year, hundreds of North Americans join one of the increasing, estimated 3000 unorthodox religions that exist across North America. The increasing number of cults, to date in North America, is due to the fact that cults are a social movement that attempts to help people cope with their perceived problems with social interaction. Cult recruiters target those who perceive themselves as different from the rest of society, and give these individuals the sense of belonging that they crave. Cult literature lures potential cult members by appealing to their desperate need to socially fit in. Cults provide a controlled family environment that appeals to potential cult members because it is a removal from the exterior society.
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.
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.
...leased from prison, Mathews continued his quest for religion by seeking Joseph Smith of the Mormon society, under the alias Joshua the Jewish Minister. The two had a heated discussion of resurrection and reincarnation. On the other hand, Matthews claimed to be both God and the reincarnation of the apostle Matthias. However Matthews his meeting with Smith was unsuccessful because both prophets believed the other was of the devil. Matthews’ s religious journey albeit chaotic and aberrant now serves as subconscious guide for how new religious movements and cults in present day America.
Christianity has its challenges. It places demands on us that set us apart from the rest of our world. The bible calls us a peculiar people, who navigate the challenge of living IN the world, without being OF the world. When we say ‘no’ to temptations that are enjoyed by the masses, we are labeled as self-righteous snobs, religious weirdoes, or worse. But we persevere, and we press toward that invisible line the Apostle Paul drew in the sands of time…for the high calling in Christ Jesus.
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
Cults are by no means new phenomena; they have been around since before the beginning of written history. Some of the earliest cults were recorded by the ancient Mesopotamian, Greek and Egyptian civilizations. There were also early Christian cults, such as the Essenes and the Gnostics. There are also the examples of modern cults, such as The Children of God, Heaven’s Gate and the Branch Davidians. In addition to cults, there are also modern new age organizations and movements. These groups tread a fine line between being an authentic religious organization and have some of the same characteristics of being a cult. In these types of organizations; it is often di...
Cults vs. Religions In recent years, a number of social scientists have argued that the term “cult” should be abandoned in favor of the term “new religious movement” (Olson, 2006). One reason is purely practical: “Cult” carries automatic negative connotations and can cause contention with both the outside community and law enforcement (Szubin, Jensen, & Gregg, 2000). The other reason is somewhat more nuanced: the argument that there is no true difference between a cult and a religion, because one set of religious beliefs is not inherently superior simply due to how long people have believed them, or how many people believe them. However, in answering the question of whether cults and more mainstream religious groups are different, we must examine not only the beliefs themselves, but the methods of worship and living within the group. These “cult characteristics” (Shermer, 2011), including isolation, physical abuse, and suppression of dissent, enable us to compare cult groups to more mainstream religious groups and find concrete differences.
What makes a person join a cult? What happens in a person's life to make them completely change they way they used to talk and act? Many are puzzled about the mysterious happenings in a cult member's life. They wonder how one could become involved in such a group. The forces that draw individuals into cults can be explained by psychological doctrine. Many in the psychology field have sought to provide answers to the various questions that society has.
Power and abuse go hand in hand. This is shown throughout history in leaders who have a large or small following. When this statement is made, many people automatically think of dictators, such as Hitler or Kim Jong Un. However, leaders such as doctors, teachers, and even presidents use and abuse their power over their followers. One group of power-abusers people rarely think of, though, are cult leaders. Cult leaders throughout history gain followers in many ways, and their rise to power is almost always tied closely to the abuse of power they exert. By gaining a wider and bigger audience filled with people as wicked as they are, cult leaders can easily get away with abusing their power,