The word “cult” has been separated into many different definitions. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines a cult as “a system of religious worship: devotion, homage to a person or thing.” Several conservative and vocal Christian leaders insist that any group that is non-religious is a cult. Millions of people would be considered cultist by this definition (Zeinert 12). Many social scientists refuse to use the word “cult” because of its negative effect. Instead, they use terms such as “new religion” or “alternative religion” when referring to groups with unusual faiths (14). A final definition defines cults by their practices or lifestyles, instead of by their religious beliefs. They define cults as having an all-powerful leader or leaders who claim to have special abilities or powers. This idea of what a cult is has become the most commonly used and accepted b

The influence of a leader is also a main contribution to the recruitment of cults. The leaders have a need to pass on the ideas and experiences accumulated in a cult (West n.p.). They have a personal drive, charm and other pulling power to attract, control, and manage the people of the group. The people are persuaded into becoming a member and eventually leave their families, job and friends to be in the cult. These leaders offer a new life and support to persuade the members into joining.

For many years people have turned to religion in difficult times. Social, political and economic changes have made people want to turn to new religions or other gods simply because the old ones failed to protect them (15). Native Americans brought religious beliefs to the United States more than 30,000 years ago. During the 1600’s, the first colonies came from England bringing different religious beliefs. They included Puritans, Catholics, Quakers, Mormons, Huguenots, Christians, and Lutherans. The development of new religions began when all these different groups of people began to interact. Other factors have also been found to play key roles in the development of cults.

The Heaven’s Gate cult, formerly know as the “UFO cult,” first surfaced in 1975 led by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Lu Trustdale. Applewhite and Trustdale became know as “the two” (Mendoza 5). The cult had many different names such as “The Him and Her cult, Bow and Peep, Ti and Do, Human individual Metamorphosis, H.I.M., Total Overcomers Anonymous, Computer Nomads, Higher Source, and finally, Heaven’s Gate” (5). A spaceship flying behind the Hale Bopp comer was coming to pick them up after 20 years of waiting. The Heaven’s Gate website says the Hale Bopp’s approach was the maker they had been waiting for and they were prepared to leave the world after 22 years on Earth. On March 26, 1997, 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate cult decided to “shed their containers” and get on the spacecraft hiding in the tail of the Hale Bopp comet. The resulting mass suicide included 21 women and 18 men of varying ages. All the members dressed alike and had the same haircut. After celebrating th!

Two main conditions make an individual especially vulnerable to cult recruiting. They are being depressed, being under constant stress, and being between important affiliations (Singer 22). Each group develops different recruiting methods. These range from personal contacts to advertisements in newspapers, magazines, te

Some topics in this essay:
Christians Lutherans, Lewis West, Oxford Dictionary, Canada Sun, Hale Bopp, Marshall Chance, Variation Religious, Heaven’s Gate, Galaxy Illyuwn, Native Americans, heaven’s gate, solar temple, heaven’s gate cult, gate cult, religious cults, religious beliefs, cult similar heaven’s, west np, hale bopp, mass suicide, issue american society, today’s society, cult similar, similar heaven’s gate, solar temple cult,