Cult
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A Cult is a human social group that employs indoctrination and coercion for member control.
- AKA: High-Control Group, Coercive Group.
- Context:
- It can (typically) establish Group Control through behavioral modification and social isolation.
- It can (typically) maintain Member Compliance through psychological manipulation.
- It can (typically) enforce Group Loyalty through emotional coercion.
- It can (typically) create Dependency Structure through systematic control.
- ...
- It can (often) have a Cult Leader who exercises authoritarian control.
- It can (often) demand Total Commitment from group members.
- It can (often) restrict Member Communication with outside world.
- It can (often) employ Thought Reform through systematic pressure.
- ...
- It can range from being a Small Cult to being a Large Scale Cult, depending on its membership size.
- It can range from being a Local Cult to being an International Cult, depending on its geographic reach.
- It can range from being a Religious Cult to being a Political Cult to being a Therapy Cult, depending on its ideological focus.
- ...
- It can manifest as a Destructive Cult during extreme control.
- It can operate as a Commercial Cult through financial exploitation.
- It can function as a Doomsday Cult through apocalyptic beliefs.
- ...
- Examples:
- Historical Cults (documented in historical records), such as:
- Religious Cults (focused on spiritual beliefs), such as:
- Peoples Temple Agricultural Project (1955-1978), led by Jim Jones.
- Heaven's Gate (1974-1997), led by Marshall Applewhite.
- Political Cults (focused on political ideology), such as:
- Symbionese Liberation Army (1973-1975), led by Donald David DeFreeze.
- Aum Shinrikyo (1984-1995), led by Shoko Asahara.
- Religious Cults (focused on spiritual beliefs), such as:
- Contemporary Cults (active in modern era), such as:
- Commercial Cults (focused on financial gain), such as:
- Ancient Cults (from historical periods), such as:
- Ancient Athens Cults (in classical Greece), such as:
- Dionysian Cult focusing on ecstatic worship.
- Orphic Cult practicing mystery religion.
- Ancient Athens Cults (in classical Greece), such as:
- ...
- Historical Cults (documented in historical records), such as:
- Counter-Examples:
- a Voluntary Religious Group, which respects member autonomy and allows free exit.
- a Legitimate Religious Movement, which operates without coercive control.
- a Spiritual Community, which maintains ethical practices and transparent operations.
- See: Religious Movement, Intentional Community, Terrorist Group, Group Psychology, Mind Control, Undue Influence, Manipulation Tactics.
References
2016
- (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cult Retrieved:2016-10-7.
- Cult is a controversial term that has divergent definitions in popular culture and in academia and has been an ongoing source of contention among scholars across several fields of study. 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. [1] [2] [3] The word "cult" has always been controversial because it is (in a pejorative sense) considered a subjective term, used as an ad hominem attack against groups with differing doctrines or practices, which lacks a clear or consistent definition. [4] [5] Beginning in the 1930s, cults became the object of sociological study in the context of the study of religious behavior. [6] From the 1940s the Christian countercult movement has labelled as cults and opposed some sects and new religious movements for their unorthodox beliefs. The secular anti-cult movement began in the 1970s and opposed certain groups, partly motivated in reaction to acts of violence committed by some of their members. Some of the claims of the anti-cult movements have been disputed by scholars and by the news media, leading to further public controversy.
The term "new religious movement" refers to religions which have appeared since the mid-1800s. Many, but not all, have been considered to be cults. Sub-categories of cults include: Doomsday cults, political cults, destructive cults, racist cults, polygamist cults, and terrorist cults.
Governmental reactions to cult-related issues have also been a source of controversy.
- Cult is a controversial term that has divergent definitions in popular culture and in academia and has been an ongoing source of contention among scholars across several fields of study. 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. [1] [2] [3] The word "cult" has always been controversial because it is (in a pejorative sense) considered a subjective term, used as an ad hominem attack against groups with differing doctrines or practices, which lacks a clear or consistent definition. [4] [5] Beginning in the 1930s, cults became the object of sociological study in the context of the study of religious behavior. [6] From the 1940s the Christian countercult movement has labelled as cults and opposed some sects and new religious movements for their unorthodox beliefs. The secular anti-cult movement began in the 1970s and opposed certain groups, partly motivated in reaction to acts of violence committed by some of their members. Some of the claims of the anti-cult movements have been disputed by scholars and by the news media, leading to further public controversy.
- ↑ OED, citing American Journal of Sociology 85 (1980), p. 1377: "Cults[...], like other deviant social movements, tend to recruit people with a grievance, people who suffer from a some variety of deprivation."
- ↑ Dr. Chuck Shaw – Sects and Cults – Greenville Technical College – Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ↑ Olson, Paul J. 2006. “The Public Perception of 'Cults' and 'New Religious Movements'." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 45 (1): 97–106
- ↑ Dr. Chuck Shaw - Sects and Cults - Greenville Technical College - Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ↑ Bromley, David Melton, J. Gordon 2002. Cults, Religion, and Violence. West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.
- ↑ Erwin Fahlbusch, Geoffrey William Bromiley – The Encyclopedia of Christianity: P-Sh, Volume 4 page 897. Retrieved 21 March 2013.