Merriam Webster defines a cult as: "a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous. Source - Merriam Webster, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cult
Wikipedia gives the general information regarding a cult as: The term 'cult' was originally used to describe a group of people who worshiped a deity. The term was first used in the early 17th century denoting homage paid to a deity and borrowed via the French 'culte' from Latin 'cultus' "worship", from the adjective 'cultus' "inhabited, cultivated, worshiped", derived from the verb 'colere' "care, cultivate." Today the term often carries derogatory connotations. In the 1930s cults became the object of sociological study in the context of the study of religious behavior. They have been criticized by mainstream Christians for their unorthodox beliefs. In the 1970s the anticult movement arose, partly motivated by acts of violence and other crimes committed by members of some cults. Some of the claims of the anti-cult movement have been disputed by other scholars, leading to further controversies. In current usage, the term 'cult' usually means "a deviant religious organization with novel beliefs and practices," but often without a clear or consistent definition. Source - Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult
For many the first image to come to mind when someone mentions a cult, is Charles Manson.
Or perhaps if you skew a bit younger, Vernon Howell, AKA: David Koresh.
Who led his followere to believe that he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Howell believed that the "End of Days" were upon him and his flock. He claimed exclusive sexual rights to the women of his congregation and fathered several children with them. Due to their belief that Armageddon was at hand they began stock piling weapons which drew the attention of federal authorities. When the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) tried to raid the Branch Davidian Compound in Mt. Carmel, just outside of Waco Texas, the Branch Davidians fought back. This resulted in a 51 day standoff between the church and Federal Authorities. In the end Koresh decided that it was better for himself and his flock to die than to surrender.
One of the followers of "The People's Temple" headed by cult leader Jim Jones
is quoted as saying of People's Temple, "No one joins a cult, you join a religion or a political movement." in the documentary "Jonestown: The life & Death of People's Temple". I believe this to be true. Certainly none of the Followers of Charles Manson would have followed him into the desert and subsequently killed the people they killed if they'd been informed beforehand that they would spend the rest of their lives in prison if they followed Manson. I am also certain that none of the Branch Davidians would have followed Koresh's teachings and done his bidding if they'd been told beforehand that by April 19th 1993 they'd be dead or would burn to death on that day. So it is clear that people do not say to themselves, "Hey this group is a cult, and it will ensure my own spiritual and personal self destruction! Where do I sign up?". I feel that whether or not you agree with the other things I may say in this blog, you'll be inclined to agree with me on that one.
It's easy to define a cult, but if you don't have a means by which to identify cult behavior, then the definition is pretty much worthless. So let's look at some of the things all cults seem to have in common. By no means does this mean that all cults exhibit all of these behaviors, but the majority of them are present in some form or fashion. As each different denomination of Christianity has slightly different beliefs and doctrines, many of them have similar structures and ceremonies. The same is true of cults
The traits most cults exhibit are:
This is by no means a comprehensive list of cult behavior or characteristics. For more characteristics and lists made by people far more educated and intelligent than myself Click Here!
Cult leaders use these means to impress upon their congregations the ideas which they want them to adhere to. Whether it be the idea that Jesus was simply an "Ascended Master" as taught by Elizabeth Clare Prophet.
As she preached from the pulpit of "Church Universal and Triumphant". She led her followers to build a Doomsday survival shelter in South Central Montana under threat of Nuclear War. They had also amassed a large number of weapons of both small and large caliber which drew the attention of both the F.B.I. and A.T.F. When the date of her Doomsday prediction came and passed, she simply moved it back again and again. All of the construction materials and weapons were paid for by the congregation. The majority of the labor was completed by her followers as well, all for no compensation. This is only one example of how cult leaders can manipulate their followers into doing their will, whether it makes sense or not to the followers.
The group Aum Shinrikyo, responsible for the Sarin Gas attacks on the Tokyo Subway in March of 1995, followed the teachings of Shoko Asahara.
He blended christian teachings, the parts of the Bible which suited his needs and other pseudo-spiritual teachings like yoga and the writings of Nostradamus to convince his followers that he was in fact Christ reborn. He told his followers that World War 3 was imminent and would be initiated by the USA. According to Asahara the only people who would be spared were those who joined Aum. The cult drew the attention of Japanese authorities in the late 1980's amid allegations of forced financial donations, deception of new recruits and of holding members against their will. After testing the Sarin and later VX gasses which they made themselves in secret on on farm animals, they then used the gasses in several assassinations and failed assassination attempts before their attack on the Tokyo subway on March 20th. When police raided the Aum compound they found explosives, weapons and most disturbingly Biochemical Weapons suck as Anthrax and Ebola. Asahara had convinced his followers that they could over throw the government and that he himself would be the Emperor of Japan.
Another group, not often thought of as a cult, but having the characteristics of a cult is the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints or FLDS. Headed by their Prophet Warren Jeffs,
who is incarcerated in a federal prison for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution in relation to warrants for statutory rape, sexual abuse of a minor and illegally arranging marriages between adult men and underage girls. The FLDS practices polygamy, which is illegal in the United States, it is also the largest denomination of Fundamentalist Mormon groups, and the largest group in the US to practice polygamy. An extremely secretive organization, not much is known about the exact number of members. It is believed that the number of arranged marriages, and polygamist marriages is one of the reasons for so much secrecy. Jeffs arranged several marriages between underaged females and adult (over the age of 21) males. Mormons tend to be very secretive of what happens in their temples to begin with, however, the FLDS remains even more secretive. Most members of the church do not socialize with anyone outside of their communities which typically consist of other FLDS members. There have also been members "Excommunicated" for minor infractions of their religious beliefs. Mention of their "Magic Underwear" here would prove amusing I am certain, however I feel it unnecessary. Most Mormons who go to their Temples wear "Temple Garments" which are referred to as "Magic Underwear" as a pejorative by people not of the Mormon faith or those who have been excommunicated.
What does any of this have to do with religion? You might ask me. Well, it has to do with some people's ability to use the grouping tendencies of some people against them, or for their own twisted purposes. In each cult I've written about, every one of them presented themselves as a religion or a religious movement. Aum Shinrikyo did not recruit people by telling them that they were secretly going to make and test Sarin gas to be used to kill and injure innocent people on a subway. I am certain that there are some people who would sign up for that, though I am also sure that most of their followers would have found someone or something else to follow if it had been presented to them that way. Some of the cults and perhaps the best known cult started as a force of good, a force of unity, integration and a force for positive change. People's Temple.
Their Charismatic leader Jim Jones (also in picture #3 above)
led a church where racial integration and care for the elderly were preached. Initially Peoples Temple was a thriving congregation of all races and ages. Jones preached brotherhood and equality for all, hidden beneath his sermon came a message of revolution, a veiled message of Socialism. The temple set up care homes for the elderly, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs and took annual recruitment road trips on old greyhound buses which the church purchased. Jones' followers were encouraged to call him father and he (Jones)has been quoted as having said "If you see me as your friend, I'll be your friend, If you see me as your brother, I'll be your brother, if you see me as your father, I'll be your father and if you see me as your savior, I'll be your savior!" At some point, Jones began to believe his own words. He told all of his congregation that they were homosexual and that he was the only heterosexual and went to lengths to prove it to both his male and female followers. There were abuses, physical, psychological and sexual. With his drug habits and paranoia rising, he began testing his closest followers by serving them Kool aid and telling them that it was poisoned. This was simply a dress rehearsal for what was to come. In 1974, the People's Temple purchased a tract of land in Guyana and began the "People's Temple Agricultural Project"
also known as Jonestown. He began moving his followers, his family, and himself to Jonestown and by early 1978 the population there was over 900 strong. Amid allegations of refusing to let people leave and the reported abuses, Congressman Leo J Ryan (CA) went on a fact finding mission with an aide and some reporters in tow. Some members of the Temple, the Congressman, some reporters and some of the relatives of Temple members were killed as they tried to leave on an airstrip in the jungle near Jonestown. That same day, November 18 1978 over 900 Temple Members, all American citizens, residing in Jonestown were either killed or took their own lives in the largest mass murder suicide in American history.
Another Religious, though not necessarily a traditional religion, cult whose leader led his followers to their deaths was Heavens Gate.
Headed first by Marshall Applewhite and his partner Bonnie Nettles, referred to by their followers by numerous aliases, "Bo" (Applewhite) & "Peep" (Nettles) and "Ti" (Applewhite) & "Do" (Nettles) to name a few. Until 1985, when Nettles died of cancer and Applewhite continued to run the organization on his own.
The group believed that Applewhite was related to Jesus Christ and that he was "An evolutionary level above human". They also believed in the ancient alien theory and that their salvation was coming via a UFO which was trailing the comet Hale-Bopp. Applewhite convinced his followers to abandoned all human connections, from individuality, to family ties to ownership of personal property to their own sexuality. Some of the male members went to the extreme of having themselves castrated in order to disconnect themselves from their sexuality, Applewhite included. On the night of March 19th 1997, as the comet was closest to earth they began to commit assisted suicide in shifts. It is believed that they killed themselves/were assisted, in three separate shifts, of ten, ten and eight respectively, the final suicides being Applewhite and his personal aides on the 20th of March. They did not view their deaths as suicide, but more as a means to transverse their souls and board the spaceship which was trailing the comet. They imbibed barbiturates, washed down with vodka and were dressed identically and laid on their beds with a purple shroud over their bodies and plastic bags on their heads, wearing black & white Nike shoes and a "Heavens Gate Away Team" armband. They did this because Applewhite had led them to believe that the earth was to be recycled. Below are two videos, the first one is a short part of a "initiation" video, featuring Applewhite. The second is over an hour long, "Recruitment" recording, also featuring Applewhite.
I could go into the cult of Scientology, founded by L. Ron Hubbard.
As Scientology was a book written as the successor to his self help book Dianetics, and has evolved into one of the largest non christian religions. It is regarded by many as a cult. It has such high profile members, as Tom Cruise and John Travolta. It teaches that people are immortal beings who have forgotten their true nature. Its method of spiritual rehabilitation is a type of counselling known as auditing, in which practitioners aim to consciously re-experience painful or traumatic events in their past in order to free themselves of their limiting effects. Which is in and of itself not harmful, there are controversies which have arisen throughout the existence of the cult. I could write an entire blog on the subject of Scientology and perhaps I will at a later time.
I have here listed many examples of how many religious leaders have used their positions as heads of congregations to their own ends. To manipulate and oppress their own followers. To exploit both physically and sexually those who would devote their time, money, energy and faith in these false prophets and "Religious Leaders". The more I type this blog, the more I realize how damaging religion can be. Of course there are people who will say "My Pastor/Preacher/Father/Reverend would never do any of these things!" and for many of the people who might say that, it would be true. Though I will say that most people who are in a cult do not realize it until it is too late. Cult members have a tendency to justify their leaders actions and even go so far as to defend the questionable actions of their leaders. This goes to my beliefs about the human need to be accepted as part of a group and the need to cope with our own mortality. If you were to ask me, I would tell you that religion, or religious beliefs are not in and of themselves harmful. I will also say that having the need to have someone to tell you how you should live your life, to tell you that if you do this or that, or dress this way or that then you will go to hell and you need to repent before you can go to heaven. That to me Makes No Sense!
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