individual to form a cult? Even more puzzling, what motivates an individual to join a cult? The term cult is difficult to define, as they can take many different forms. However, they generally have a few distinctive characteristics. These may include exclusive allegiance to a specific leader, dependency on the cult, manipulation, exploitation, deception, and control of life decisions (Melton, 1986, p. 5). One type of cult is a religious cult. These groups are based around a religious foundation. They
Religious Cults - A Threat to Society? On November 18, 1978, in a cleared-out patch of the Guyanese jungle, Reverend Jim Jones ordered the 911 members of his flock to kill themselves by drinking a cyanide potion, and they did. It seems cultists were brainwashed by this megalomaniac Jones, who had named their jungle village after himself and held them as virtual slaves, if not living zombies. Jones himself was found dead. He'd shot himself in the head, or someone else had shot him. Is it plausible
Introduction The United States of America has guaranteed religious freedom to all, regardless of beliefs or practices. Cult groups however, are often victim of limited religious freedom simply because of the negative connotation that the word “cult” carries. As a society, we tend to label small, religious groups, with deviant beliefs and practices, far removed from mainstream religions as cults. With the word “cult” comes a plethora of negative, insulting, and often exaggerated stereotypes which
For many decades, the cult phenomenon has fascinated the masses. A cult is an organization with deviant beliefs and practices, and is characterized by the apparent life-time membership of its participants. It seems to be very popular among troubled teenagers and adults. The psychology behind why some people are more susceptible to the charms and the lure of being in a cult is not very widely researched or understood. Many people are concerned with cultist behavior and the effect that they have on
The Threat of Religious Cults Cult is a new movement for a new religion. In other words it is a formal ritual excessive belief. Cults are created due the established religions' lack of fulfilling the emptiness of the individuals. However apart from this innocent explanation of cult it would be more appropriate to explain a cult as a group or movement which has an excessive devotion or dedication to some person or to an idea and which is unethically manipulated by the group's leader for his own
rise of new religions movements and most of these had links with Eastern origins. These religions operated on the fringes of the traditional religious institutions were immediately controversial. This controversiality combined with the interest shown in them by especially the educated youth, as well their subsequent conversion to these new alternate religious movements, raised serious concerns with the stalwarts of the traditional value systems and the term brainwashing became the acceptable theory
In the United States, fundamentalist religious movements flourish. Tuning into any news station in the last fifteen years, one can see and hear anti-Muslim rhetoric twenty-four hours a day. One of the most widely criticized elements of radical Islam is it’s portrayal and treatment of women, yet anywhere in North America, there are sects claiming the bible as their backing for institutionalized misogyny and abuse. Fundamentalist churches began as a backlash to the modern woman who rose out of the
people are so involved with a social group that they lose sight of themselves and become more willing to take one for the team, even if this causes them to die. The most common cases of altruistic suicide occur to soldiers during times of war. Religious cults have also been a major source of altruistic suicide. In Durkheim’s concept of social/moral regulation, society imposes limits on humans to regulate their passions, desires, expectations, ambitions and roles. When these limits or social regulations
girls/women in school groups, university organizations, athletic teams, the military, and other social and professional organizations. Hazing has grown to become a major social problem. Recent incidents have been documented in marching bands, religious cults, and other types of clubs. Reports of hazing activities in high schools are on the rise. Hazing is considered to be: physically abusive, hazardous, and/or sexually violating. While alcohol abuse is common in many types of hazing, there are other
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). Opinions vary as to why people are drawn to cults. “Martin Marty, professor of religious
Cults can be bad influences in several different ways. This article is about real facts of why cults make society a much worse place. Cult- a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object. There are different cults all across the world. All different cults have distinctly different beliefs and devotions. For instance, there are some cults that are formed to follow a particular real life figure, and some cults that are formed to follow (or worship) a spiritual
Cults Many people feel that cults are nothing more than a nontraditional religion, because of beliefs, organization, and interest. Cults are much more than just little religions. They are a dangerous, and in the United States there is little we can do about it. The term cult has many different meanings. According to Jan Groenveld, a cult researcher and author, Christians define a cult as anything that differs from traditional orthodox teachings, but the general definition is that, a cult
compulsion, love and hate," the analysis shows a similar contrast similarities between religion and crime, which can be observed at all levels of the social structure: persons, groups, social classes, societies and civilizations. Distinguishing the religious actions of a person, as well as a social component, Sigmund Freud finds the origins of religion in the initial conflict between human beings intuitive impulses and necessary restrictions; everyone should impose their facial expression to gain membership
Cults And Jews Cults are becoming more and more of an issue for Jews every day. Many cults are beginning to target Jews. They say you can believe in Jesus yet remain a Jew, or many other things like that. It is important for people to educate themselves of these cults and their recruiting techniques so that they will not be taken advantage of by these cults. Cults now are very different than they were in ancient times though. The Jews, rather than being targeted by cults, were themselves a cult
“A cult is a religious or semi-religious sect whose members are controlled almost entirely by a single individual or by an organization.” (“What”). Families are forced to leave their homes and life behind by a dream that the cult will take them to bigger and better places. Some of these cults also cost these members their lives. There is always that question of why they do it because it is far from believable. These leaders are manipulators dragging in their pray in like flies. Heaven’s Gate is a
A cult is a good place for social outcasts to express their ideas freely, to feel safe, and to be enlightened for the future. A cult is a good thing to be involved in especially if you are a delinquent or criminal. Most people that join cults have a desire to belong, a lack of self-confidence, a desire for spiritual meaning, or to quit their addictions. A cult is a religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme. The
who kills more than three people in a time span of over a month. Even though we can put a definition on the term “serial killer” it is a blanket term used for all people that kill. However, there are many types of killers out there such as cannibals, cult killers, and mercy killers; all three very different, but kill for the same season of personal gratification. Cannibalism has been in practice since before the Persian empire and has been enticing people of all different cultures. Cannibalism can be
worship of a higher being. The First Amendment guarantee of Religious Freedom means all people have the right to choose any religion they desire; similarly all people have the right choose no religion at all. Each person is guaranteed this right without resistance or opposition from the government. The Amendment assures that the citizens will enjoy freedom from religion – that is, freedom from imposition by the government of any certain religious beliefs or practices. Likewise, the Amendment also guarantees
are so isolated. After reading Rutledge’s thesis paper it became very clear to me why he chose his subject matter. He writes: ...I became very interested in the anthropological phenomenon known as cargo cult. Traditionally found in Melanesia, the term cargo cult refers to a native religious movement holding that at the millennium the spirits of the dead will return and bring with them cargoes of modern goods for the distribution among its adherents. (1) At first entering this show the viewer
For many years, cults have been a subject of great controversy. A cult is a group of people that are bound together by an appreciation of the same thing, person, ideal, etc. Usually these groups keep close because of religious reasons, but their beliefs are almost always considered strange by outsiders. Cults are similar to clans or congregations, but are usually referred to as sects. There are many different categories that a cult could be sorted into. Apocalyptic, Utopian, Spiritualistic, Satanic