...unorthodox religions or cult practices become inhumane or unjust Introduction This research project examines when unorthodox religions or cult practices either becomes or perceived as inhumane or unjust by specifically focusing on unorthodox religions during a twenty year period between the 1950’s through the 1970’s. The research focuses on five different unorthodox religions: The People’s Temple, founded by Jim Jones, Heaven’s Gate, founded by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles, Scientology, founded by L. Ron Hubbard, Children of God, founded by David Berg, and Branch Davidians, founded by David Koresh. Langone, M. D. (1995). These five unorthodox religions or cults may have had or have different doctrines and practices, but research shows that they may all share the common trait of being inhumane or unjust. Rationale/Thesis Statement In the International Cultic Studies Association article, by Dole and Eichel (1985), a survey was conducted about dangerous practices associated with cults and referenced different actions that they deemed destructive, from coercion to enslavement, which they believe to be inhumane and unjust. This research study will attempt to uncover some of these practices and find out what draws people to these unorthodox religions or cults. Likewise, this research project also attempts to determine the point at which practices become inhumane or unjust. It’s interesting to note, that three out of the five unorthodox religions or cults included in this...
Words: 2155 - Pages: 9
...Cults Cults are often seen as an alternative religion. “A cult is defined as a religious or secular group that employs unethical and extreme measures of manipulation to recruit, control and retain its members” (Study Resources). Most cults are started because someone doesn’t like the way the world is and want to create what they feel the perfect world is. Then this person strives to make others believe as they do so they will join. There are somewhere around 3,000 to 5,000 of these cults throughout the United States, but only 75 to 100 are documented (Study Resources). The most commonly known cults are Reverend Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, Heavens Gate, and Charles Manson and the Family; these cults were able to drag people in and make them willing to do horrible things to themselves and others. In the early 20th century, Allistar Crowly, AKA “The Black Pope”, started modern Satanism (Satan Worship). It is said that Anton Lavey brought Satanism to the United States; Anton believed that he was the reincarnation of the “Black Pope”. He set his church up in San Francisco in 1966. By the end of the first year, Anton’s cult grew to more than 200,000 members (Satan Worship). Anton then went to Hollywood to help make movies about Satanism. The movies, such as Rosemary’s Baby, glamorized the Satanic lifestyle and drew people in. Satanism was the jumping point for the modern cult movement. Reverend Jim Jones was the leader of The Peoples Temple. Jim thought of himself...
Words: 1273 - Pages: 6
...compromised entirely by gullible people. This is the second college course in which I have studied the Peoples Temple and I have learned that there were so many more dynamics at play than I ever could have guessed on my own. It intrigued me how so many people could end their own lives and their children’s lives under the direction of one man. A lot of sources simply document the horror that occurred by describing the actions of the members and displaying photos of the end result. Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, directed by Stanley Nelson, actually...
Words: 584 - Pages: 3
...Religion can be defined as “a system of beliefs, traditions, and practices around sacred things, a set of shared ‘stories’ that guide belief and action” (Conley, 2011). Whereas a cult is a “religious movement that makes some new claim about the supernatural and therefore does not as easily fit within the sect-church cycle. All religions begin as movements like cults, cults however have a higher tension and antagonize the social world. The differences between the two include a cult is more persuasive by a leader claiming that they are the word of God while religion is a family affair where many young people grow into. Cults can be considered illegitimate and secretive on the other hand religion is legitimate and non-secretive. A religion can...
Words: 641 - Pages: 3
...Assess the view that sects and cults are only fringe organisations that are inevitably short lived and of little influence in wider society Troeltsch believed that a sect was “the opposite of a church”. He defines this type of religious organisation as a small, tightly-knit group of individuals that often oppose mainstream values and attempt to change society in some way. Cults on the other hand, are loosely knit and lack any concrete beliefs. Stark and Bainbridge suggest that cults often have “clients” rather than members. There are therefore some significant differences between these two organisations, although it is widely accepted that they are similar, in that they are usually short lived and have little influence on society as a whole. Supporting the notion that sects and cults are short lived; Niebuhr offers a number of explanations as to why this is so. He proposes that sects cannot survive beyond one generation, as they are often led and “held together” by one charismatic individual who claims to have some kind of “divine power/connection”. Following the death of this leader, the sect usually disappears. Furthermore, second generation members that are born into sects may not maintain the traditions of the movement with the same fervour as the founding generation. As a result, it is difficult for sects to maintain their extreme values, and they may accommodate/compromise their theology and become denominations. This can be seen in the example of early Methodism, which...
Words: 1521 - Pages: 7
...Assess the view that sects and cults are only fringe organisations that are inevitably short lived and of little influence in wider society Troeltsch believed that a sect was “the opposite of a church”. He defines this type of religious organisation as a small, tightly-knit group of individuals that often oppose mainstream values and attempt to change society in some way. Cults on the other hand, are loosely knit and lack any concrete beliefs. Stark and Bainbridge suggest that cults often have “clients” rather than members. There are therefore some significant differences between these two organisations, although it is widely accepted that they are similar, in that they are usually short lived and have little influence on society as a whole. Supporting the notion that sects and cults are short lived; Niebuhr offers a number of explanations as to why this is so. He proposes that sects cannot survive beyond one generation, as they are often led and “held together” by one charismatic individual who claims to have some kind of “divine power/connection”. Following the death of this leader, the sect usually disappears. Furthermore, second generation members that are born into sects may not maintain the traditions of the movement with the same fervour as the founding generation. As a result, it is difficult for sects to maintain their extreme values, and they may accommodate/compromise their theology and become denominations. This can be seen in the example of early Methodism, which...
Words: 1520 - Pages: 7
...Jonestown Section I: The Event One of the more disturbing incidents in American History is the Jonestown Massacre that occurred on November 18th, 1978 in Georgetown, Guyana. It was the largest loss of civilian life in a non-natural tragedy until the attacks of September 11th, 2001. 909 lives were lost under the hand of Jim Jones who had cultivated a following of people over twenty-plus years. Jim Jones started his first church, named The Peoples Temple, in the mid-1950’s in Indianapolis, Indiana (I). From the beginning, he preached a message of socialism and communism. Upon scrutiny of his tactics and teachings, he moved The Peoples Temple to Redwood Valley, California in 1965 and shortly after headquarters were set up in San Francisco. The Peoples Templecame into the public eye when eight defectors and negative media spoke out against the church. Jim Jones decided at this point to move his church to Georgetown, Guyana where the chilling events of November 18th would eventually unfold. To better understand how such a tragedy could occur it is important to understand the background of Jim Jones. Jones was born in Indianaand from an early age expressed interest in socialism and communism, studying the works and lives of Stalin, Marx, Gandhi, and Hitler among others. As he grew older, he became more and more politically involved in the communism movement, joining the Communist Party USA in 1951 (II). Jones was surprised with the reaction he received from Americans when he...
Words: 2058 - Pages: 9
...Religion guided every aspect of Egyptian life. Egyptian religion was based on polytheism, which means the worship of many deities, except for during the reign of Akenaton. During the reign of Akenaton, more than 3,000 years of development, Egyptian religion underwent significant changes of emphasis and practice, but in all periods religion had a clear consistency in character and style. The Egyptians had as many as 2000 gods and goddesses. Some, such as Amun, Isis, Osiris, and Horus, were worshipped throughout the whole country, while others had only a local following. There were two essential foci of public religion: the king and the gods. Both are among the most characteristic features of Egyptian civilization. The king had a unique status between humanity and the gods, partook in the world of the gods, and constructed great, religiously motivated funerary monuments for his afterlife. The Egyptian "Book of the Dead" contains the major ideas and beliefs in the ancient Egyptian religion. Because their religion stressed an afterlife, Egyptians devoted much time and wealth to preparing for survival in the next world. Tombs were placed if possible in the desert. Vast resources were expended on creating prestigious burial places for absolute rulers or wealthy officials. Tombs contained elaborate grave goods (mostly plundered soon after deposition), representations of “daily life,” or less commonly of religious subjects, and some texts that were intended to help the deceased attain...
Words: 3472 - Pages: 14
...What is a cult? Cult Research Paper There are many types of cults in the world, cults are everywhere but you just do not see them. Every person in the world has been in contact with them in one way or another in many cases you cannot see them. The first cult I had heard about was the infamous James Warren "Jim" Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) who was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, best known for the cult murder/suicide in 1978 of 909 of its members in Jonestown, Guyana, and the murder of five individuals at a nearby airstrip. Over 300 children were murdered at Jonestown, almost all of them by cyanide poisoning. Cults can be involved in churches and even are earliest religions are called cults. Cults are not the strongest groups' sects are the strongest group. When you join a sect you cannot get out of them but a cult you can leave without having any problem or commitment. Sects will not let you out because many times it's illegal and they are afraid that you will say something to the public. Cults sometimes are illegal to. Religious cults are in every town and village there is no definition of a cult that is accepted by sociologists and psychologist or religion many types of activities will take cult like structures, an example would be any popular trend like physical exercise this is called the physical fitness cult. Famous athletes are a big figure when it comes to cults, many times Movie stars, professional athletes will endorse a product and a...
Words: 1243 - Pages: 5
...acting deceptively often leads to telltale signs of deception. Therefore, if self-deception enables someone to believe their distortions, they will not present such signs of deception and will therefore appear to be telling the truth. As known in psychology this referred to as Delusional Disorder, it was note that he might have this disorder. “Individuals with delusional disorder are not always dangerous, but they can be when they act on their delusions” (B.Lahey). “As a young man Jones became a student pastor of a Methodist church, but left that church because its leaders barred him from integrating blacks into his congregation (Catherine Wessinger). Despite his lack of theological training, James was motivated to start Peoples Temple. He disliked mainstream denominations that serves single- race congregation, racial quality was one of his goals. Social influence is the...
Words: 1190 - Pages: 5
...Thesis Jim Jones formed The People’s Temples that had hundreds, even thousands of followers from a large range of religious and social backgrounds. It was a mystery on how he was able to manipulate and brainwash so many people to follow him and portray himself as their saviour, let along make them do a loyalty test by telling them to drink poison. Many people have different opinion regarding the massacre that occurred in Jonestown on November 18th 1978. This is one of the biggest mystery related to the Jonestown. Was the massacre a suicide performed by the group members to show their loyalty towards Jim Jones or was it cover up for murder? There was a lot of supporting evidence to show that this was an act of murder which was tried to cover...
Words: 1560 - Pages: 7
...organisation as a small, tightly knit group of individuals that often criticise mainstream values and attempt to change society in some way. Cults on the other hand, are loosely knit and don’t tend to have any firm beliefs. There are therefore some significant differences between these two organisations, however it is widely accepted that they are similar, in that they are usually short lived. Many sociologists state that sects, cults and New Age movements only appeal to a minority of the population. For example, people on the margins of society who are poor are often attracted to sects as they offer them a sense of belonging. Others, who may be undergoing a personal crisis such as the death of a loved one, may find that belonging to a sect or cult may help them to overcome this crisis. However, when they feel they have been helped to get over the crisis, they often leave the sect, as there is no further reason to belong to it. This seems to suggest that these organisations only appeal to a small section of the population perhaps seeking short-term help, so they will remain fringe organisations. However, other organisations such as the Scientology movement are still around today with a well recognised and idolised member such as Tom Cruise has helped to increase the popularity of the sect. Supporting the view that sects and cults are short lived, Niebuhr produced some explanations for this. One explanation was that sects only last for a certain number of years and in his...
Words: 1136 - Pages: 5
...known as the “Jonestown Massacre,” more than 900 members of an American cult died in a mass suicide-murder under their leader Jim Jones. The mass suicide-murder took place at the Jonestown settlement in the South American nation of Guyana. James founded what turned into the Peoples Temple. Jones moved to Guyanese jungle where he made the Peoples Temple into what was supposed to be a real life paradise. Who would've thought that a gift from Heaven would later on turn out to be a gift from Hell in 1978. Jim Jones began his own religion at a young age and he often visited different churches in his area. As Jones’s knowledge grew on religions he began taking what he learned and going to houses preaching and he also preached to younger children. He was no normal teenage boy he wasn’t so much into sports, he believed to be sinful, he liked to drink and dance. After he had gathered a good amount of followers he had developed a church of his own. Jones was the leader of his church named, “the Peoples Temple” and he demanded loyalty and preached sacrifice. He believed the American Capitalism was the reason for unhealthy balance in the world. The rich had too much money and the poor worked to hard to try to get money. The Peoples Temple helped people find jobs and was suppose to be fair. Jones church was growing and was very successful, until investigations began and Jones decided it was time to move the Peoples Temple to a different location. Jim Jones soon moved to Redwood Valley in Northern...
Words: 948 - Pages: 4
...When you think of a Religion most would never think of it as a Cult but, I ask the question “Could a religion actually be considered a cult?” A few religions that we have studied in class have actually been considered a cult at one point in history, either many years ago, or very recently. What intrigues me about this is: the definition and characteristics of a cult or religion, what groups/religions have been considered to be a cult, and why do we think that a cult is not considered a religious group. Some characteristics of a cult are: that the leader of the cult becomes the person worshiped instead of a god, there is more control and power from the leader over the cult, and third, the cult can contain sexual exploitation and abuse....
Words: 849 - Pages: 4
...The People’s Temple, a religious sect led by its charismatic leader, the Reverend Jim Jones, committed mass suicide at Jonestown, Guyana, in South America. Fearful that he would be arrested and implicated in the killings of U.S. Congressman Leo J. Ryan and others, Jones gathered the entire community of followers and issued an edict for each person to commit suicide by drinking from a vat of strawberry-flavored poison. Compliantly, the majority of his followers systematically took turns drinking from the poisoned vat. A few who dissented were held down by others and forced to drink, children weren’t spared the same fate, as their parents force-fed them to consume the deadly concoction. It took approximately four minutes for each follower to die in convulsions. A few escaped, and as one escapee put it, “they were drinking the poison like they were hypnotized or something” (Cialdini 152). Commonly referred to as “The Jonestown Massacre,” the events at Jonestown sparked an international interest in a more general type of organization called a cult. A cult by is an organization that uses intensive indoctrination techniques to recruit and maintain members into a totalist ideology (Crawley 1). Almost everyone is susceptible to the influence of a cult and members are usually intelligent and idealistic. Typically associated with unorthodox religious groups, the definition of a cult can pertain to any group, including military organizations, governments, families, or companies. Cults instill...
Words: 1733 - Pages: 7
