What is a cult? small group that wants to secede from its social origins disciples of heretical leader gather around leader or ideology, for religious or nonreligious purposes use strict discipline/mind control methods organized around master/specific ideology Dave

Characteristics of leader Charismatic Demanding Possibly Abusive Controlling Only one in contact with answers (God) Claim “Big event around corner” Matt

Cults based on charismatic leadership follow routinization of charisma, described by German sociologist Max Weber

Types of Cults Doomsday Satanic Religious Other world New Age Christian Abberational Dave-explain the types of cults.

Rev. Sun Myung Moon-The Unification Church, The Moonies Well-known Leaders & Their Cults Rev. Sun Myung Moon-The Unification Church, The Moonies David Koresh-The Branch Davidians Jim Jones-The People’s Temple Shoko Ashara-Aun Shinri Kyo (Sacred Supreme Truth) Charles Manson-The Manson Family Heaven’s Gate – Ron Appelwhite Carie

Cult Prospects People with: deprived childhoods Confusion about religion Low and wandering self-esteem Searching for new identities Feel alienated failure/personal crisis Freshmen/seniors/ Jobless Casey-(explain) The idea is that leading a deprived childhood leads to a deprived adult life and the search for belonging, which may result in cult activity. Cults provide a feeling of conformation and significance to a person whose self esteem is low and wandering.

Recruitment Dave-(explain)

Tactics Milieu control: manage inner communication - control over all person sees, hears, reads, and writes Mystical Manipulation: extensive personal manipulation (mostly God centered) Demand for purity: dividing world into pure/impure groups - everything in group is pure - everything outside group is evil Matt

TATICS Cultic confession of sins: subjected to patterns of criticism and self-criticism by group members Sacred science: aura of sacredness around cults doctrine Loading the language: words are given new meanings according to organization IE: MARRIAGE REDEFINED TO INCLUDE ONLY LEADER Casey

TATICS Doctrine over person: cults doctrine more valid, true, and real than any aspect of human character and/or experience Dispensing of existence: idea that people who are not in group can’t be enlightened or saved Casey

Ways to exit cult Deprogramming Family Intervention Thought Reform Exit Counseling Run fast Carie