Cult

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Cult is a common term for a group perceived as requiring unwavering devotion to a set of beliefs and practices which are considered deviant outside the norms of society. Such groups are typically perceived as being led by a charismatic leader who tightly controls its members. It is in some contexts a pejorative term, also used for new religious movements and other social groups.

Groups labelled cults are found around the world and range in size from small localized groups with to some international organizations with up to millions of members.

Definition

The word "cult" is derived from the Latin term cultus, which means "worship."

Originally, the word indicated a set of religious devotional practices that were conventional within its culture, related to a particular figure, and frequently associated with a particular place. References to the "imperial cult of ancient Rome," for example, use the word in this sense.

A derived sense of cult indicating "excessive devotion" arose in the 19th century, not always in a strictly religious sense (for example, a singer having a "cult following").

In the English-speaking world, the term cult often carries derogatory connotations. In some contexts, it is a pejorative term used for new religious movements and other social groups which are defined by their unusual beliefs. This sense of the term is weakly defined, having divergent definitions both in popular culture and academia, and has also been an ongoing source of contention among scholars across several fields of study.

Types of cults

Destructive cults

A destructive cult is a group that is unethical, deceptive, and one that uses "strong influence" or mind control techniques to affect critical thinking skills. This term is sometimes presented in contrast to a "benign cult," which implies that not all "cults" would be harmful.

Destructive cultism is a sociopathic syndrome, whose distinctive qualities include:

  • behavioral and personality changes
  • loss of personal identity
  • cessation of scholastic activities
  • estrangement from family
  • disinterest in society
  • pronounced mental control
  • enslavement by cult leaders

Some researchers have criticized the term destructive cult, writing that it is used to describe groups which are not necessarily harmful in nature to themselves or others.

Doomsday cults

Doomsday cult is an expression which is used to describe groups that believe in apocalypticism and millenarianism, and it can also be used to refer both to groups that predict disaster, and groups that attempt to bring it about. In the late 1980s, doomsday cults were a major topic of news reports, with some reporters and commentators considering them a serious threat to society.

Doomsday cults operate by a philosophy centered around the pending end of the world or another cataclysmic event that will completely overturn existing social order. Leaders of these cults convince members that the "end is near" and thus they must remain faithful to the cult in order to find safety or deliverance after the disaster occurs. These groups generally have a specific future day or event which their entire belief system is based upon waiting for. When the day inevitably arrives, and no disaster occurs, either the cult disbands, or the leaders successfully convince their followers to disbelieve in the non-event.

The phenomenon of continued commitment to the doomsday cult, even after the prophecy fails, has been attributed to the coping method of dissonance reduction, a form of rationalization. Members often dedicate themselves with renewed vigor to the group's cause after a failed prophecy, rationalizing with explanations such as a belief that their actions forestalled the disaster or a continued belief in the leader when the date for disaster is postponed.

In some cases, doomsday cult leaders will resort to extreme actions, such as mass suicide or mass murder in an attempt to maintain control over the cult member's minds.

Many Christianity-based doomsday cults rely on their leaders' intrepertations of the Book of Revelation to determine when the world will end.

Political cults

A political cult is a cult with a primary interest in political action and ideology. Groups that some have described as "political cults," mostly advocating far-left or far-right agendas, have received some attention from journalists and scholars. There are about a dozen organizations in the United States and Great Britain characterized as political cults, although some are also considered terrorist organizations.

Anti-cult movement

Starting in the late 1960s, anti-cult groups arose in response to the rise of new religions in the 1960s and 1970s, particularly the events at Jonestown and the deaths of nearly 1000 people. The organizations that formed the secular anti-cult movement (ACM) often acted on behalf of relatives of "cult" converts who did not believe their loved ones could have altered their lives so drastically by their own free will. A few psychologists and sociologists working in this field suggested that brainwashing techniques were used to maintain the loyalty of cult members.

The belief that cults brainwashed their members became a unifying theme among cult critics and in the more extreme corners of the anti-cult movement techniques like the sometimes forceful "deprogramming" of cult members was practised.

In the mass media, and among average citizens, the word "cult" gained an increasingly negative connotation, becoming associated with activities such as:

  • kidnapping
  • brainwashing
  • psychological abuse
  • sexual abuse
  • criminal activity
  • mass suicide

Government policies and actions

While the official response to new religious groups has been mixed across the globe, some governments aligned more with the critics of these groups to the extent of distinguishing between "legitimate" religion and "dangerous" cults in public policy. At the height of the counter-cult movement and ritual abuse scare of the 1990s, some governments published lists of cults.

In imperial China, the classification of a religion as xiejiao ("evil cult") did not necessarily mean that a religion's teachings were believed to be false or inauthentic; rather, the label was applied to religious groups that were not authorized by the state, or it was applied to religious groups that were believed to challenge the legitimacy of the state.

The Russian government conflates religious groups outside the mainstream with religious terrorist organizations, designating both types of groups as "cults." In 2008 the Russian Interior Ministry prepared a list of "extremist groups." At the top of the list were Islamic groups outside of "traditional Islam," which is supervised by the Russian government. Next listed were "Pagan cults."

In the United States, the religious activities of cults are protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which protects freedom of religion; however, no members of religious groups or cults are granted any special immunity from criminal prosecution.

In the 1980s, clergymen and officials of the French government expressed concern that some orders and other groups within the Roman Catholic Church would be adversely affected by anti-cult laws which were then being considered.

Disbanded groups considered cults

  • Branch Davidians - Christian cult based in Waco, Texas whose members perished in a confrontation with the DEA
  • Order of the Solar Temple - Christian cult whose members committed mass suicide
  • Manson Family - New Age cult led by Charles Manson
  • NXIVM - Sex trafficking cult whose leaders were arrested
  • Heaven's Gate - UFO cult whose members committed mass suicide
  • Peoples Temple - Christian cult who members committed mass suicide

Modern groups considered cults

  • Aum Shinrikyo - Doomsday cult which carried out a terrorist attack in 1995
  • The Family International - Christian cult whose members practice prostitution and sex with children
  • Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) - A Mormon offshoot cult which practices polygamy
  • Order of Nine Angles - Satanic left-hand path cult and terrorist group in the UK
  • Potter's House Christian Fellowship - Pentecostal Christian cult with global membership
  • QAnon - Far-right American political movement
  • Rajneesh movement - Religious group inspired by the teachings of Osho
  • Church of Scientology - Religion with teachings derived from science fiction literature
  • Unification Church - Christianity-derived cult following the teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Cults in popular culture

New religious movements and cults have appeared as themes or subjects in literature and popular culture. Beginning in the 1700s authors in the English-speaking world began introducing members of cults as antagonists. Satanists, Yakuzas, Triads, Thuggees, and sects of the Latter Day Saint movement were popular choices. In the twentieth century concern for the rights and feelings of religious minorities led authors to invent fictional cults for their villains to belong to.

Films featuring cults

Novels featuring cults

  • Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft
  • Children of the Corn by Stephen King
  • The Cult by Max Ehrlich
  • Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry
  • Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
  • The Shadow over Innsmouth by H. P. Lovecraft
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