Cult Killings

1. Cult Killings Higgins O’Brien Spring 2012

2. The authors define a cult as a “loosely structured and unconventional form of religious group, whose members are held together by a charismatic leader who mobilizes their loyalty around some new religious cause” - During Roman Times, Christianity was considered a cult - The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints (Mormons) began in 1830 as a small cult in an upstate New York village - The Branch Davidians led by David Koresh were also considered a cult before perishing in the 1993 Waco Siege

3. Dangerous Cults • Characteristics • Authoritarian leaders who claim a special mission or knowledge • Charismatic dominant leadership style • Total allegiance • Claim innovative and exclusive answer to individual/societal problems • “Ends justifies the means” logic that justifies manipulation of others • Totalistic ideological and behavioral control over members • Major transformation of lifestyle • Unlike traditional religious organizations, cults pressure new recruits to cut off ties with old friends and family

4. Dangerous Cults continued • There are powerful forces to comply and conform once joining a cult • A deranged leader can make others commit murder in extreme cases • Gangs, fraternities, and even corporations can demonstrate cult characteristics

5. The Appeal of Cults • Cults are attractive to individuals feeling a lack of structure and belongingness in their lives • Throughout history many have claimed that the world is ending soon, and this apocalyptic thinking continues today • Cults take advantage of this, and offer answers • The Heaven's Gate cult committed mass suicide in 1999. A poison ritual was completed by 39 members, who believed they would enter a spaceship traveling behind the Haley Bopp comet Leader Marshall Applewhite

6. Charismatic Leaders and their Followers • Jim Jones, leader of the People's Temple, led 913 Americans to kill themselves in Jonestown, Guyana on Nov. 1978 • He relocated members from the U.S. to an isolated jungle in South America • Convinced that the FBI and CIA were closing in on them, he persuaded his followers to drink poison • There are many other smaller cases of seemingly intelligent individuals being brainwashed by rituals and “supernatural” leaders

7. Needs Fulfilled by Cults • Cults have historically recruited alienated youth • Teenagers who suffer from mood/personality disorders and are looking for a place to fit in are vulnerable • The internet has become a powerful tool for cults to recruit members • Promises of power or supernatural abilities can make individuals rationalize their bizarre behavior • Members can be forced to donate everything they own to the cult, or engage in violence

8. Normal People in Abnormal Situations • Not all cult members are crazy or naïve, many are educated and seemingly intelligent individuals • Charismatic leaders can persuade others through flattery, deception, or need fulfillment • People who are depressed and vulnerable are looking for change, and are susceptible to an authority figure • Many studies have explored this idea • Milgram shock experiments • Stanford University prison experiment

9. Normal People in Abnormal Situations continued • Cults can control every detail of members' lives • Dress codes • Food • Friendship and Family • Work • Because teenagers are so vulnerable, teachers, advisors, friends, family, and counselors have a responsibility to provide structure and support

10. Suicide or Homicide • Because of the large influence cult leaders have over members, there is a debate on whether mass suicides are really cases of mass homicide • Are cult members responsible for their own death? • Brainwashing characteristics can include • Control over all communication and information • Mystical manipulation involving a “higher authority” • Demand for purity • Sacred science • Use of new language or jargon • Denial of self, group is more important • Degrading outsiders “us vs. them”