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Cults

The first type of cult is the totalistic cult. These cults attempt to control all aspects of the lives of their followers. There type of cults exert great pressure for conformity and force members to sever ties with the past and with the outside world which is viewed evil or Satanic. Totalistic cults also force members to give up independent ways of thinking and activities; all life is directed along the lines of the cult. With this type of thinking there is usually mind altering techniques such as chanting and meditation. An example of this type of cult is the Hare Krishna.
             The second type of cults would be the non-totalistic cults. They are at the other end of the scale. The leaders of these types of cults would be less influential over its followers. The people who are involved in these type of cults would still live fairly normal lives. There minds are not controlled. Someone would join these cults because they can meet the needs of the members without absorbing all of their time and energy. There are still forms of meditation that take place but they are not nearly intense as the totalistic cults. These are the extremes of cults; most cults will fal in between these two. One type of cult that falls between these two extremes but closer to the totalistic side of the spectrum would be political cults. They are composed of militant political activists who seek to change or overthrow the current government. An example of this could be the terrorist group Al Quai. They are extremists who do not care about the lives of people, all they want to do is try and bring down the superpower of the United States. Another type of cult that is closer to the non-totalistic end of the scale would be faddist cults. They are groups of people who share an exaggerated enthusiasm for an obsessive loyalty to a person, product, object, idea, or place, out of reasonable or realistic proportion. This type of cults in my eyes could be called fan clubs.


Essays Related to Cults

1. Cults

... the sense of belonging that they crave. Cult literature lures potential cult members by appealing to their desperate need to socially fit in. Cults provide a controlled family environment that appeals to potential cult members because it is a removal from the exterior society. Cult recruiters prey ... fully convince a potential recruit of their ideals, cult literature will diverge on continuously about how society's ideas and morals are deranged and that the cults are reasonable. In other words, they (these space aliens) don't want themselves "found out," so they condemn any exploration....

  • Word Count: 1836
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Cults

... the sense of belonging that they crave. Cult literature lures potential cult members by appealing to their desperate need to socially fit in. Cults provide a controlled family environment that appeals to potential cult members because it is a removal from the exterior society. Cult recruiters prey ... fully convince a potential recruit of their ideals, cult literature will diverge on continuously about how society's ideas and morals are deranged and that the cults are reasonable. In other words, they (these space aliens) don't want themselves "found out," so they condemn any exploration....

  • Word Count: 2001
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Mystery Cults

... modern man has some origin in, or connection with, fertility. The primary god being worshiped is often a god representative of fertility, as in the cults of Demeter, Dionysus, and Cybele. By worshipping fertility gods and/or goddesses, the people were able to feel a direct connection to nature. By ... on the individual, as opposed to traditional religion which was for the greater good. In this way, as in individualism, philosophy was like the mystery cults. Epicureanism sought a life of pleasure, revolving around the senses, through the absence of pain. Serenity of the soul, or ataraxia, ...

  • Word Count: 1434
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Killer Cults

... members a sense of belonging and hope that conventional religions cannot seem to give these individuals. Unfortunately, there also exist hostile cults; they are referred to as Killer Cults. Charismatic megalomaniacs who pit themselves, and their followers, against the rest of the world usually lead this type of cult. ... interpretations of established doctrines. Furthermore, these self-proclaimed divinities usually amass a large arsenal of weapons before bringing forth their personal day of reckoning. Many cults exist in our society, and we only hear about them when they get out of hand, ...

  • Word Count: 580
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Cults

... rise over the past few decades. With it there has been an increase in the fear surrounding it. From this fear, society has learned much about cults, how they get members and what to look out for as far as cult recruiters go. Society as a whole has also learned what can be ... detail about later in my paper, occurred in 1979 with the mass suicide in Jonestown. The real question is who are the people that get involved in cults? Such as " The Family" and " The People's Temple". Many people feel that only run away teens, homeless, poor and people with no friends ... or family or even drug u...

  • Word Count: 3541
  • Approx Pages: 14
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Cults

... of 1978 when all attention was focused on the mass suicide in Jonestown. A similar event happened in 1993 when federal agents engaged in a shoot out with cult leader David Koresh. Cults build around a charismatic leader who has a lifestyle dedicated to a specific spirituality group that they know other people will follow. Mormonism began as a small cult then grew bigger until it eventually ... (CNN). For a time, the story was a national obsession as the media revealed details about the group. The reason people are attracted to modern cults because they puts emphasis on community and on ...

  • Word Count: 776
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

7. A Look at Cults

A look at cults On November 18, 1978, in a cleared-out patch of the Guyanese jungle, Reverend Jim Jones ordered the 911 members of his flock to kill themselves by drinking a cyanide ... of certain religious groups around the world that have shocked us with similar types of behavior. Most of these groups have been categorized into what we refer to as cults. While most of these new religious groups are extremely passive in their methodology, it is my objective to look at those that have gone outside the boundaries of our ... some cases their lives. What causes people to remove themselves from...

  • Word Count: 526
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Cult

... 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 trend will start, making it turn into a cult. Also people who generate ... church. All the new religions followed the same thing by beginning small and getting bigger than becoming a church. Contemporary Cults Cults go back as far as we know of life, cults began to get bigger and be known throughout the world in the late 1960's and early 70's as people wer...

  • Word Count: 1212
  • Approx Pages: 5

9. America

... actually sponsors, no community programs. o The daily work of nearly all cult members is demeaning and utilizes little of their potential, in terms of intelligence or education. o Religious cults are exclusive social systems, claiming that their members will achieve salvation (or happiness). Members are taught to believe that they are "superior- to those outside of the group. o ... himself off from his or her job, education, friends and family. o Methods of ego-destruction and thought control are part of a religious cult's recruiting and indoctrination practices. o Cults discourage cri...

  • Word Count: 2469
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

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