In the
sociological classifications of religious movements, a cult is a religious or
social group with socially deviant or novel beliefs and practices. However,
whether any particular group's beliefs and practices are sufficiently deviant
or novel is often unclear, thus making a precise definition problematic.
Why do
people join the Masons, the Rotarians or a political Party? Because of what
they offer: friendship, connections, identity, and an opportunity to make a
contribution. Are the motives the same as joining the Order of the Solar
Temple, the Branch Davidians, the Taliban, Hamas, or the Al Qua-eda? How
acceptable social groups and organisations are different from (dangerous)
cults. There is a great deal of interest in “cults” which can take many forms:
They may be religious or racial, political or mystical, self-help or
pseudo-psychological, but they all have recognisable characteristics:
Powerful and
exclusive dedication/devotion to an explicit person or creed.
The use of
“thought-reform” programmes to integrate, socialise, persuade and therefore
control members. A well
thought through recruitment, selection and socialisation process.
Attempts to
maintain psychological and physical dependency among cult members.
Cults insist
on reprogramming the way people see the world.Consistent
exploitation of group members specifically to advance the leaders goals.Cults nearly
always go in for milieu control signals: a different, unfamiliar setting with
different rules, terms, and behaviour patterns.Ultimately
using psychological and physical harm to cult members, their friends and
relatives and possibly the community as a whole.
Most cults
start their induction by trying to stop both individualistic and critical
thinking, like the army their job is first to break you than remake you as one
of them. This involves the introduction of a “sacred creed” that members may
have to live by. Through open confession and subordination of the individual to
the doctrine the cult ensures control and “purity”. Cults deliberately induce
powerful emotions like fear, guilt but also pride. They tend to develop their
own language, dress and signals which shows their specialness.
Any analysis
of the make-up of individuals in cult groups shows surprising large diversity in
terms of age, career, education, ideology and talents. They can attract the
post-graduate and the illiterate; the teenager and the elderly; the wealthy
middle class and those on the fringes of society. It is not so much their
demography that is important as their psychological needs.
Studies on
those who have signed up for all sorts of cults and extremist groups have,
however, shown that they do have similar and sophisticated recruitment
promises, induction techniques and social influence agendas. They use methods
of "indoctrination" and "mind-control" no different from
all groups, though they may be a lot more intensely applied.
The
mind-controlling techniques of extremist groups are little different from those
of the military, religious organisations and prisons. These techniques are in
fact well known; demanding total, consistent compliance and conformity; using
heavy persuasive techniques; creating dissonance; emotional manipulation. They
differ only in intensity and duration…and thus in effectiveness.
What do all
groups (cult and non-cult) offer a potential recruit? Answer: friendship,
identity, respect and security. They also offer a world-view: a way of
discerning right from wrong; good from bad.
These are powerful incentives for all people whatever their background.
We are social animals. But they offer more: a structured life-style and the
ability to acquire new skills. Through their (very different) ideologies they
also offer moral explanations into how the world works. They provide clear
answers to difficult and big questions: what it all means; the secret of
happiness; life after death; the difference between right and wrong, who is
with us and who against us; the saved and the damned.
Even
political groups have a sort of religious agenda and the language of revenge,
purification, justice which are often very "old testament". There is
usually within most extremist cult groups surprisingly little violence and
often a healthy life-style, at least in terms of exercise, diet, etc. And many
promise the ability to heal physical and psychological illnesses...even the
illness of society as a whole. Many promise the greatest gift of all:
immortality.
Essentially
five things make extreme groups dangerous to their member:
First, they
demand that they sever all ties with people (family, friends) and organisations
(schools, churches). This naturally makes them more dependent on the cult
itself and helps create the person's new identity. They start again, wipe the
slate clean. This rule is also found in extreme Christian Monastic orders.
Third, group
members often have to do long hours of tedious work. It maybe drilling, begging
for money, cooking, followed by compulsory reading, chanting or meditating.
Recruits usually become physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted. Sleep
deprivation is a good start. It's all part of the induction process.
Fourth, all
groups need money to exist. Some are very much into money both as an end and as
a means. This may, therefore, quickly involve recruits getting involved in
illegal, or semi-legal activities. Groups that are state supported or those
with a long history of operation may, however, be different. Members need to
understand how, when and why money is required and to set about getting it
quickly.
Fifth, groups
make exit costs very high. Leaving is associated with failure, persecution and
isolation. It is more than just a waste of time and effort. They make you feel
as if nothing will ever be the same as you will be an outcast. It is made to
sound a very unattractive, indeed impossible, option.
Examples of
Cults
1. BRANCH
DAVIDIANS
The Branch
Davidians were formed by David Koresh, born Vernon Howell in 1959. Koresh
joined the Church of the Seventh Day Adventists, but was expelled due to his
radical views. Among these views were the fact he was a messiah and all women
were his spiritual wives. Wielding a guitar, David Koresh went on to form the
Branch Davidians, who believed the end of the world was near and Koresh spoke
the word of God.
2. THE
MANSON FAMILY
Charles
Manson founded a cult called “The Family” in San Francisco in 1967. The Manson
Family is one of the rare cases of a non-religious cult, though Manson’s
beliefs at times involved Scientology, Satanism, and other esoteric beliefs.
Manson prophesied that America would soon have a race war he named “Helter
Skelter”, after a Beatles song. This war would be won by the African Americans,
but they would soon turn to whites for leadership. Charles Manson and his cult
would hide out during the war, emerging afterward to lead the victors.
3. HEAVEN’S
GATE
Heaven’s
Gate made the headlines in March of 1997 when 39 members of the cult killed
themselves, in hopes of reaching a spaceship which was following in the wake
the newly-discovered Hale-Bopp Comet. The investigations that followed
confirmed that Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles were the founders of
Heaven’s Gate. Applewhite had a near-death experience in the early 1970s and
claimed to have had a vision. Bonnie Nettles was his nurse at the time. They
became convinced they were “The Two” mentioned in The Book of Revelation 11:3
and began to attract followers. The entire group committed suicide by taking
cyanide and arsenic, phenobarbital mixed with pineapple juice, and finally
vodka. All were dressed in similar black attire and tennis shoes, with the armband
patches that said “Heaven’s Gate Away Team”.
4. PEOPLES
TEMPLE
Jim Jones is
the most infamous cult leader in American history. Jim Jones had certain
Pentecostal beliefs, but his preaching attracted many African-Americans from
the 1950s to the 1970s, mainly because he had progressive views on racial
equality. Jim Jones’s cult, Peoples Temple, first relocated to Utah, because he
believed this would give the cult the best chance of surviving a nuclear war.
By the 1970s, he had denominations in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Jim
Jones actually had a certain amount of political influence.
5.
SCIENTOLOGY
Scientology
was founded in 1952 by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. Scientology was
based on Hubbard’s system of Dianetics, which he called “the modern science of
mental health”. Dianetics was supposed to be an alternative to modern
psychology, which Hubbard claimed was lacking. According to those who’ve left
the cult, the core tenets of Scientology are hidden from members until they
attain a certain level in the cult. The early stages involve manipulation of
theoretic life force energy, called “theta”, which represents the true identity
of a person.
7. BHAGWAN
SHREE RAJNEESH
Bhagwan
Shree Rajneesh was an Indian (Hindi) mystic and guru who had an international
following prior to his appearance in the United States. In 1981, Bhagwan Shree
Rajneesh brought his congregation to Oregon, where it remained from 1981 until
1985. In 1985, U.S. authorities discovered that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh cult had
committed an act of bioterror attack when it unleashed a virus on the people of
The Dalles, Oregon (contaminating their food).
8. CHILDREN
OF GOD – FAMILY INTERNATIONAL
The Children
of God were founded by David “Moses” Berg in 1968. After his death in 1994, the
Children of God changed their name to “Family International”. Berg served as a
minister in Arizona and in Miami, Florida, before moving his family to Texas.
From seclusion, David Berg created a widespread cult following through his
writings. Though the Children of God espouses Christian beliefs, though many
churches would view his beliefs as heretical. The Children of God’s founder
preached against moral decay and the belief of evolution, along with mainstream
religion, western-style capitalism, the Jewish people, and even paedophilia
laws.
