...Cults are intriguing and arouse curiosity in the minds of people who have accepted life in society and joined humanity the way it is. It is amazing to think that people leave their life of normalcy to put their trust in something that is alien but promises them something in return or will save their souls from whatever will harm them. There are many causes that affect people s minds to make them join cults. Cults are very promising, can be very eye-opening, and may be the only option left for some people because of what has happened to them in their life or the mental state they are in. Cults, as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary, are systems or communities of religious worship that may include obsessive devotion to a person or ideal. In our society, cults are common and have the potential to be destructive. This paper will focus on the factors such as education, stake in conformity, turning points, and strength of local religious organizations that may cause people to join cults, as determined by Stark and Bainbridge. It will also discuss the methods used by cults to influence new recruits and current members. Cult leaders employ tactics such as information deprivation, extinction of former identities, and scarcity in order to maintain their authority. All these techniques combined create an environment that can be classified as a cult. Traditionally, cults have formed after or during turbulent periods of history, when people are most vulnerable. However, not...
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...Discuss the differences between churches, sects and cults. A church: is a religious group that accepts the social environment in which it exists. In more plain language, a church is widely accepted by the host culture in which it resides. In America, Protestantism would be a church. It is generally accepted by the whole and is consistent with the culture's values (maybe not traditional Protestantism, but what forms we have of it today). Church may have denominations which are small changes made in the church that are still accepted by the host culture. A sect: is a religious group the rejects the social environment in which it exists. Now, it's not as extreme as that definition makes it seem. A sect doesn't necessarily share the same values as the host culture. This causes some friction between the religious group and the host culture, but we accept the group as a society because we're more tolerant to differing religions in this day and age. Many churches started as sects. One well-known example was the Nazarenes. This was an reform movement within Judaism formed by Jesus' apostles after the execution of Jesus circa 30 CE They were largely dispersed or killed some four decades later when the Romans attacked Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. Again the most obvious North American example of a sect that evolved into a denomination is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), the Mormons. Their founder, Joseph Smith, had a revelation from God that the...
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...Assess view that cults, sects and New Age Movements are fringe organisations that are short lived and of little influence in society. Churches and denominations are generally seen as respectable, mainstream organisations, whereas cults, sects and NAM’s are seen as more deviant, which involve belief systems that are viewed as odd or bizarre. The terms ‘sect’ or ‘cult’ have been stigmatised, due to the mass media view on them as controlling, brainwashing and manipulative to its members. Many believe cults, sects and NAM’s are short-lived, as they will, over time, either turn into denominations or disappear altogether. For example, The Quakers originally began as a world-rejecting religious sect. However, over time they abandoned their world rejecting view and evolved into a highly respectable denomination, while others, such as The Peoples Temple, have disappeared altogether. Many sociologists believe NAM’s have little influence over society, and are just ways of showing change in society. Wallis identified three different types of these religious movements: World affirming, world accommodating and world rejecting groups. World rejecting religious movements, such as The Moonies are seen to be the most short-lived groups with little influence over society. These groups hold strict guidelines to members which demand high commitment from their members who obtain a view that the outside world is evil. There are a number of reasons that sects are destined to be short lived. Barker...
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...Heaven’s Gate Religion There are many types of religions that have been formed known as new religious movements and Heaven’s Gate Religion is one that fascinates me. Heaven's Gate was an American UFO religious Millenarian group based in San Diego, California, founded in the early 1970s and led by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. On March 26, 1997, police discovered the bodies of 39 members of the group who had committed suicide in order to reach what they believed was an alien space craft following Comet Hale–Bopp. The new religious movement sounds crazy when first reading about it and after writing this essay I hope to learn subjects such as, what are the forms of salvation within the religion and how does the religion address the problem of evil. When looki ng at different websites the first thing that popped up when searching for Heaven’s Gate was the word cult and that’s exactly what I thought about for the group because it reminded me of exactly that. I find it really hard to think of the group as a serious religion since many of them took their own life when I am a Christian and believe strongly against suicide. The first Subject that I would like to talk to you about is what the forms of salvation are when it comes to the new religious movement known as the Heaven’s Gate religion. The group led by Marshall Applewhite had a very interesting way of thinking and it showed when they became convinced that the appearance of the Hale-Bopp comet masked a spacecraft...
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...Belief in the Cult of Domesticity by many men resulted in many women staying in the private sphere unwillingly, unequal pay compared to similar jobs done by men, and few socially acceptable career options for women, causing them to fight these injustices legally in courts and participating in strikes and protests. On average, women received inferior education when compared to men, which prevented many women from becoming skilled workers; therefore, women claimed that the education system needed reforms due to the lack of equality. As a significant Antebellum reform movement, abolitionism attracted many women, which in turn caused them to reflect upon their own similarities with slaves and encouraged themselves to combat the social transgression...
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...of a more general social type; and almost every twist in the plot seemed indicative of some larger cultural trend. The story was shocking but it was also significant-‘a bitter satire upon the age and country,’ one writers observed, an eccentric but dead-serious commentary on the contests over family life, sexuality, and social class that accompanies the rise of market society, with continuing resonance for Americans today.” (Page 11) The story of this book tells a very bizarre religious cult, but it was very important event to the society in many ways and affected the American culture, showing the connections among rapid economic change, sex and race relations, politics, popular culture, and the rich varieties of American religious experience. The strange tale of Matthias the Prophet provides a fascinating window into the movements of the religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening. The book begins with Elijah Pierson’s story. Matthews' most fervent follower was Elijah Pierson, who was born into a strict Calvinist church and swept into the "perfectionist" movement upon his move to New York as a merchant. Elijah married a missionary woman named Sarah, and together they established a "Retrenchment Society" and other organizations designed to spread the word of God. Elijah Pierson’s story mentions the poverty of the poor people and the flamboyant lives of the wealthy. “The richest men in New York drank wine and courted women who wore jewelry and silks; the worst of them...
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...Comp II Honors April 24, 2012 Manipulation of the Naïve Cults are not fairly common in this day and age, but most people can recall a time when they were popular. The cults were perceived as very powerful and, at times, dangerous. One such case is the cult known as the Peoples Temple. Even though most people who join cults start off with the best of intentions, they are eventually brainwashed because cults hold tremendous power over their members as a result of charismatic leaders, manipulative persuasion, and extreme isolation. Distinguishing the difference between a cult and a religion is quite hard. Any religion that defies the standards of “mainstream” religions can be considered a cult. This could confuse some people, because most of the popular religions today started out as small religious groups that were seen as cults (Tabor, par. 7). According to Charles Clark, cults have their own unique beliefs and they often differ or challenge religions in society. They may have a leader who sees himself as the chosen one, whereas most religions praise a non-living god who is not the leader of the church. There have been many different cults over the years. Some of the more well known are Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones, Heaven’s Gate led by Marshall Applewhite, and the Branch Davidians led by David Koresh. These cults are remembered more often because of the legacy they left behind. Each of these cults demonstrated a mass suicide, killing some and even all of their...
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...3 June 2013 The Mason Family Few characters have gripped the eye of the American public as successfully as Charles Manson, and even fewer have ever been as effective as Manson in creating a cult following of eager people. Manson and his “Family” are the crowning achievement of a conservative America, rife with religious passion that merged with the heavy use of addictive drugs such as cocaine and LSD in order to synthesize a cult based on a skewed worldview. I argue that Manson, labeled as a social deviant from a young age, embraced this formal classification and successfully created a message that appealed to dysfunctional and otherwise outcast American youth. Manson and his Family originated in the turbulence of the 1960s, in which violence based on racial lines struck many American cities. Primarily focusing on the conflict between whites and blacks, the outbreak of racial violence in the latter part of the decade convinced Manson that an apocalyptic war between the two races was inevitable. Moreover, Manson believed that the war would end with the whites being defeated temporarily, though he and his Family would arise from their secure base of operations out of Spahn Movie Ranch to reclaim the land from the inferior blacks. Leading twenty followers to the Ranch, most of whom were female, Manson was a charismatic and appealing figure to the drug-driven and racist whites that dominated his cult of personality. Manson himself had “spent most of his 32 years in reformatories...
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...built more frequently and with more importance. With the spread of goods, services, and ideas, people began to discuss flaws they saw within the United States. Many common folk, often the ones most affected, decided to put a stop to perceived injustices and poor practices within America through various reform movements. Although some reforms sought to exclude and limit choice, most...
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..."American Horror Story: Cult" Unveils the fear behind the 2016 election In 2016, a wave of clown sightings was seen all over the world. Sightings were recorded showing frightening clowns outside of people's houses, on the streets, and even in the woods trying to lure children. As this was all happening, I couldn’t help but to think about how this reminded me of the upcoming election; the menacing clowns and the political figure who sparked distaste, and frightened a large number of people in the United States. Both had become powerful and wrathful as they emerged to create fear. Ryan Murphy's new season of "American Horror Story: Cult", captures the fears of the election while evoking the scary uprising of a cult that terrorizes its town. At the start of the show, Ally (Sarah Paulson) is watching the election with her close family and friends. When Donald Trump is elected as President, she is filled with disappointment and terror, and she cries uncontrollably. On the other side of town Kai (Evan Peeters) is also watching the election, and as Donald Trump is elected he yells " The revolution has begun." Kai and Ally both believe that the United States is going downhill, but Kai thinks that he can help fix it. Ally's main fear behind the election is the conservative...
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...MODEL ESSAY ANSWER “Assess the view that New Religious Movements are mainly for the middle classes and the young.” [33 marks] Introduction New Religious Movements are often viewed as non-traditional organisations, such as sects and cults. Sociologists believe that there are differences within such groups and thus, they could help to explain why certain social groups might find them appealing. Traditional organisations are often referred to as churches and denominations. They also might appeal to certain groups more than others. Arguably, the middle classes find NRMS more appealing because according to Wallis the affluent middle class are more likely to suffer from relative deprivation. Despite their wealth and having all the material comforts of life, they feel a spiritual void. So, a cult – which, according to Stark & Bainbridge offer compensation by offering people the things they lack; might appeal to those who materially have everything but spiritually lack fulfilment. Also, most cults allow members to lead conventional lifestyles – a factor appealing to the middle classes who might need to retain this sort of life in order to keep on making money. However, Troelstch believes that the M/C actually find the more conventional church more appealing. This is because the church is very well-established in society and perceived as hierarchical and formal. Belonging to a church therefore serves to reinforce their status in society or their local community. E.G Several...
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...students in Topeka found nothing in the biblical text that limited such spiritual gifts to an ancient time. On New Year’s Day, 1901, Agnes Ozman received the gift of speaking in tongues. Parham soon embraced the idea, equating such spiritual gifts with a “second baptism” that followed the traditional baptism which used water to anoint individuals. This second baptism was a baptism of fire * Speaking in tongues is a form of ecstatic experience when for a time another power seized control of one and manifests itself. * The Pentecostal style also echoes the sense of divine invasion in individual lives marking conversion at frontier camp meetings a century earlier. * Parham relocated to Houston, Texas where a young African American, William J Seymour came under his influence. Seymour moved to L.A because of discrimination in Houston. * Seymour’s preaching led to a major religious revival centered in a small mission...
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...everybody to act in the same way. Intolerance is a principal problem all over the world. It has been an international problem within last 10 years, as all of the wars originate from problems such as religion, race, politics and so on. “Religious oppression and intolerance in China”, “African in America” and “Ghost Dance at Wounded Knee” all talk about intolerance problems. Firstly, I will talk about the “Religious oppression and intolerance in china”. In the last 10 years, the Chinese government relentlessly suppressed non-registered religious groups. Falun Gong is a good example of the suppressed. In order to suppress the Falun Gong and other non-registered religious movements, the Chinese government used the anti-cult movement to limit and suppress them. The Chinese government said: “Falun Gong is a cult, cults do not obey the law, they upset the social order, and they often use the deceit of creating a religious freedom and a stable society to deceive more people to join their religion. They participate in political activities, some of them even tax evasion, drug trafficking, fraud, assassinating, staking and so on.” The Chinese government not only defames the Falun Gong, but also the government detains the Falun Gong practitioners and misuses them. According to news from the internet, at least 30 Falun Gong practitioners have died of government mistreatment since 1999. The Government detained at least 35,000 Falun Gong followers. 5,000 of them were...
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...Slavery was one of the biggest factors of life in the 1800’s. Slaves impacted just about every aspect of an American's lifestyle in one way or another. When Americans realized that if they wanted to produce more money growing crops, they were going to need some more help. It is estimated that 12.5 million slaves came over seas on the slave trade, and only 10.7 million survived. And of those 10.7 slaves that survived, only around 388,000 came to North America. The ones that didn’t come to the states went to the Caribbean and elsewhere. Slaves from Yyesteryear are affecting lives for Americans now. Everything from the south and the Confederate flag, to white and black racial tensions, to the black lives matter movement, all have roots stemming from the slaves and the slave trade. Some of the most...
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...Klan or KKK, is a group cult who advocate white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration. In the video, the statement the woman says indicates that everything the Ku Klux Klan views is what Trump believes. There have been many different acts of racism since he has been elected. Trump didn’t make people racist but has definitely brought people’s feelings to the surface about racism. An act that recently happened was a group of anti-trump protesters getting hit by a car driven by a member of the Ku Klux Klan. A racist act towards my own family happened in May regarding the terrorist act of the Twin Towers. My uncle was at the gas station when this lady came up to him and said, “we know that you did it,” and he said, “what are you talking about," She stated, “the twin towers we know you did it”. My family has been here for over 20 years and never once had someone tell them that until Trump won the residency. Racism still lives in America, and now that the president is acting on it, people are becoming a lot braver on showing their beliefs. Many viewpoints have been brought up, but one in particular is a main topic in today’s society- white power. White power refers to Caucasian people getting away with murder, and protests that people of color would never get away with. A major argument that people are saying is white power are the police killing innocent people and getting away with it. Police are getting away with murdering African Americans because they looked “suspicious”...
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