cults - secure1.nbed.nb.ca€¦ · what is a cult? •generally, it is a group that is unorthodox,...

CULTS

What is a cult?

• Generally, it is a group that is unorthodox,

esoteric, and has a devotion to a person, object,

or a set of new ideas.

• A small religious group that is not part of a

larger and more accepted religion and that has

beliefs regarded as extreme or dangerous

What is the difference between Religion and Cults?

RELIGION VS. CULTS

On terms of:

1. Leader

2. Cohabitation

3. Isolation

4. Coercion

5. Repetition

6. Exclusiveness

7. Bread trails

8. Alienation

9. Seclusion

10.Totalitarian

THE LEADER OF A CULT

GENERAL PROFILE OF CULT MEMBER

• Disenchanted with conventional religious

establishments.

• Intellectually confused over religious and/or

philosophical issues.

• Sometimes disenchanted with society as a whole.

• Has a need for encouragement and support.

• Emotionally needful.

• Needs a sense of purpose.

• Financially needy.

RECRUITMENT TECHNIQUES

• Love Bombing

• Use the influence of the Bible

• Scripture twisting

• Gradualism

5 MOST DANGEROUS CULTS

The People’s Temple

• When Jim Jones (1931-1978) started his

little church in Indiana, United States, during

the late 1950's, no one ever knew it was

going to end up being the largest mass-

suicide in modern history.

Aum Shinrikyo

• Aum Shinrikyo was a Japanese religious group created by Shoko Asahara. Its name means “Religion of Truth”

• Asahara declared himself the “Christ” and Japan’s one and only enlightened being.

Order of the Solar Temple

• The Order of the Solar Temple was a secret society based on the myth of the continuing existence of the Knights Templar. The Order was founded in 1984 by Joseph Di Mambroand Luc Jouret in Geneva, Switzerland.

Scientology

• The Church of Scientology has been described as a

money-hungry commercial enterprise that exploits

the status of religion to enjoy tax benefits. The

history of Scientology is tainted with stories of fraud,

intimidation, financial devastation, and criminal

activities leading to the deaths of those trying to

escape the religion.

Heaven’s Gate

• Heaven’s Gate was a small cult with founderswho claimed to have arrived to earth in aUFO from another dimension.

“Beliefs have the power to create and the power to

destroy”

Tony Robbins