NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Destructive cult

The term "destructive cult" (sometimes called doomsday cult) is sometimes used to refer to that small number of religious groups that have intentionally killed people, either the group members themselves or others outside of the group. This article is becoming very long. ...

A different definition is used by some researchers, like Steven Hassan, author of the book Combatting Cult Mind Control, to refer to any new religious movement (NRM) that they believe has a "pyramid-shaped authoritarian regime with a person or group of people that have dictatorial control." and "uses deception in recruiting new members." ^[1] Steven Alan Hassan (1954 - ) is a licensed mental health counselor and an exit counselor. ... Combatting Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best-selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults is an non-fiction by Steven Hassan. ... A new religious movement or NRM is a religious, ethical, or spiritual grouping of fairly recent origin which is not part of an established religion and has not yet become recognised as a standard denomination, church, or religious body. ...

The term "doomsday cult" is sometimes used to refer a group that has as an important part of its belief system the expectation of the imminent advent of the Last Judgement, but this apocalyptic world-view is seen by some as increasing the chance of a violent, destructive outcome.^[2] Image:Michelangelo - Fresco of the Last Judgment. ... Apocalypticism is a worldview based on the idea that important matters are esoteric in nature (hidden) and they will soon be revealed in a major confrontation of earth-shaking magnitude that will change the course of history. ...

Documented cases

Roch Moses Theriault was the charismatic leader of a small cult based near St. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Shoko Asahara (éº»åŽŸ å½°æ™ƒ Asahara ShÅkÅ) (born Chizuo Matsumoto (æ¾æœ¬æ™ºæ´¥å¤« Matsumoto Chizuo) on March 2, 1955) is the founder of Japans controversial Buddhist religious group Aum Shinrikyo (now known as Aleph). ... Combatants Uganda Peoples Defence Force Lords Resistance Army Commanders Yoweri Museveni Joseph Kony The Lords Resistance Army (LRA),[1] formed in 1987, is a terrorist paramilitary group operating mainly in northern Uganda and parts of Sudan. ... Joseph Kony Joseph Kony (born 1961 in Odek, a village to east of Gulu in northern Uganda) is the primary leader of a guerrilla paramilitary group, and possibly new religious movement, called the Lords Resistance Army (LRA), that is engaged in a violent campaign to establish a theocratic government... Community of Christ Temple in Independence, Missouri, USA. Dedicated 1994 The Community of Christ, previously known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or RLDS church is a branch of Christian Restorationism, and is the second largest denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Jeffrey Don Lundgren (May 3, 1950 - October 24, 2006) was a self-proclaimed prophet, former leader of a cult group, and convicted murderer. ... Charles Milles Manson (born November 12th, 1934) was convicted of murder in what became known as the Tate/La Bianca case. ... This article or section includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God was a breakaway group from the Roman Catholic Church that formed in Uganda in the late 1980s. ... Joseph Kibweteere was the leader of a suicidal cult that splintered from the Roman Catholic Church in Uganda. ... The Order of the Solar Temple also known as Ordre du Temple Solaire (OTS) in French, and the International Chivalric Organization of the Solar Tradition or simply as The Solar Temple was a secret society based upon the new age myth of the continuing existence of the Knights Templar (see... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the cult leader; for other people named Jim Jones, see Jim Jones (disambiguation). ... Takfir wal-Hijra (Arabic - Apostasy and Exile) was founded as an Egyptian terrorist group in the 1960s. ... Shukri Mustafa was an agricultural engineer who would rise to lead Takfir wal-Hijra. ... The logo used by the Heavens Gate group Heavens Gate was the name of a UFO religion co-led by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. ... Do (Marshall Herff Applewhite) (May 17, 1931 - c. ... Bonnie Nettles was co-leader of a group with Herff Applewhite, (Herff never went by the name Marshall according to friends and family) and became the leader of what turned into Heavens Gate cult after Nettles death. ... The House of Yahweh is an established non-profit religious organization based in Abilene, Texas. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Terrorist and paramilitary organizations

There is an ongoing debate about whether certain religious terrorist or paramilitary groups fit in categories like this.^{[not specific enough to verify]} Some have deemed the Tamil Tigers and Al Qaeda to be cults.^{[citation needed]} Others reject this idea, and suggest that terrorism or paramilitarism remains a better explanation for such groups.^{[citation needed]} See List of purported cults, Cults and terrorism and Al Qaeda.' This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Al-Qaeda (also al-Qaida or al-Qaida) (Arabic: â€Ž , trans. ... This list of reported cults indexes a number of groups that have been referred to: as a cult directly by specific listed sources; as a sect directly by specific listed French-language or United Kingdom sources; as such within the last 50 years; Disclaimer: Inclusion of a group within this... This article is becoming very long. ... Al-Qaeda (also al-Qaida or al-Qaida) (Arabic: â€Ž , trans. ...

Takfir wal-Hijra and Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) are also disputed.^{[not specific enough to verify]} In Takfir's case, during the period of Shukri Mustafa's leadership, according to French scholar Gilles Kepel, they lived as a series separatist religious communes.^{[citation needed]} In these communes, Shukri claimed religious power to arrange marriages, encourage withdrawal from society, and theologically reject the world.^{[citation needed]} The LRA has increasingly emphasized a religious component that revolves around Kony's alleged mystic abilities.^{[citation needed]} Takfir wal-Hijra (Arabic - Apostasy and Exile) was founded as an Egyptian terrorist group in the 1960s. ... Combatants Uganda Peoples Defence Force Lords Resistance Army Commanders Yoweri Museveni Joseph Kony The Lords Resistance Army (LRA),[1] formed in 1987, is a terrorist paramilitary group operating mainly in northern Uganda and parts of Sudan. ... Shukri Mustafa was an agricultural engineer who would rise to lead Takfir wal-Hijra. ... Gilles Kepel on a Frontline documentary Gilles Kepel is a prominent French scholar and analyst of the Islamic and the Arab world. ...

References

Steven Alan Hassan (1954 - ) is a licensed mental health counselor and an exit counselor. ... David G. Bromley is a professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. Education and Career Bromley received his B.A. in sociology (1963) from Colby College. ...

See also

Categories: Wikipedia articles needing factual verification | Articles with unsourced statements since January 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Destructive cults Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Cult suicide is that phenomenon by which some religious groups, in this context often referred to as cults, have led to their membership committing suicide. ... This article is becoming very long. ... This list indexes a diverse set of groups and organizations indicated in the popular press and elsewhere as a cult or a sect. Inclusion is based on a single reference: as a cult directly in North American English, a sect in British English or any equivalent foreign-language word; as... This article is becoming very long. ... A client cult is a term used in sociology of religion for religions which model themselves on, and use practices resembling or inspired by, clinical psychology, psychotheraphy, psychoanalysis and psychiatry. ... A cult apologist is a term to describe a scholar of cults and/or new religious movements perceived as responding to the movements they study with advocacy instead of with neutral scholarship. ... In many countries there exists a separation of church and state and freedom of religion. ... Billboard of Joseph Stalin. ... Cult suicide is that phenomenon by which some religious groups, in this context often referred to as cults, have led to their membership committing suicide. ... A cult-watching group (CWG) is an organized or grass-roots assemblage of people who observe and comment on the largely marginal, often unpopular new religious movements which are often labeled cults. These groups generally fall into the following categories: anti-cult (movement) - Accuses NRMs of using mind control to... The word cult is almost never used in regard to political parties, even if they were to share many or most other characteristics associated with religious cults. ... Contents: Top - 0â€“9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Steven Hassan Flo Conway Janja Lalich Michael Langone Thomas Lardeur[1] Jim Siegelman Margaret Singer Madeleine Landau Tobias Cult Education... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Since 1978, some governments have compiled lists of groups that they have termed either cults, doomsday cults, or sects - in order to focus study on those groups within their respective countries. ... This list indexes a diverse set of groups and organizations indicated in the popular press and elsewhere as a cult or a sect. Inclusion is based on a single reference: as a cult directly in North American English, a sect in British English or any equivalent foreign-language word; as... These are politicians, and other government officials who have participated in drafting legislation pertaining to cults and new religious movements, and/or sat on cult government panels such as MIVILUDES. The list may also include politicians and government officials who have taken a prominent stance as either commentators or public... This list includes academic and government researchers and groups studying new religious movements and cults. ... Cult Awareness Network - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... CESNUR is a center for studies on new religions, based in Turin, Italy. ... The Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network, or FACTNet, is a Colorado-based organization committed to educating and facilitating communication about destructive mind control. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) is: ... an interdisciplinary network of academicians, professionals, former group members, and families who study and educate the public about social-psychological influence and control, authoritarianism, and zealotry in cultic groups, alternative movements, and other environments. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Reachout Trust is an evangelical Christian organisation. ... Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center is a residential counseling center specializing in the treatment of individuals who have suffered in abusive religious groups, organizations, and cults. ... It has been suggested that Opposition to cults and new religious movements be merged into this article or section. ... The Christian countercult movement, also known as discernment ministries is the collective designation for many mostly unrelated ministries and individual Christians who oppose non-mainstream Christian and non-Christian religious groups, which they often call cults. ... Opposition to cults and new religious movements (NRMs) comes from several sources with diverse concerns. ... The APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Techniques of Persuasion and Control (DIMPAC) was formed at the request of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1983. ... Brainwashing, also known as thought reform or re-education, is defined by Dorlands Medical Dictionary as any systematic effort aimed at instilling certain attitudes and beliefs in a person against his will, usually beliefs in conflict with his prior beliefs and knowledge. ... A cult checklist is a group of factors proposed to identify objectively which groups, cults, or new religious movements are spurious, or likely to abuse or exploit or otherwise harm its members. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with deprogramming. ... Mind control (or thought control) has the premise that an outside source can control an individuals thinking, behavior or consciousness (either directly or more subtly). ... This article is in need of attention. ... Apostasy (from Greek Î±Ï€Î¿ÏƒÏ„Î±ÏƒÎ¯Î±, meaning a defection or revolt , from Î±Ï€Î¿, apo, away, apart, ÏƒÏ„Î±ÏƒÎ¹Ï‚, stasis, standing) is a term generally employed to describe the formal renunciation of ones religion, especially if the motive is deemed unworthy. ... An atrocity story as defined by the sociologists David G. Bromley and Anson D. Shupe is the symbolic presentation of action or events (real or imaginary) in such a context that they are made flagrantly to violate the (presumably) shared premises upon which a given set of social relationships should... A bigot is a prejudiced person who is intolerant of opinions, lifestyles, or identities differing from his or her own. ... Jesus is considered by historians such as Weber to be an example of a charismatic religious leader; The sociologist Max Weber defined charismatic authority as resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained... Freedom of speech is the right to freely say what one pleases, as well as the related right to hear what others have stated. ... The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen guarantees freedom of religion, as long as religious activities do not infringe on public order in ways detrimental to society. ... Groupthink is a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas. ... The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (Public Law 106-55) was passed to promote religious freedom as a US Foreign policy and to advocate on the behalf of the individuals viewed as persecuted in foreign countries on the account of religion. ... Large Group Awareness Training or LGAT is a term popularized in the American Psychological Associations 1986 draft DIMPAC report and also by Margaret Singer in her 1996 book Cults in our Midst to describe intense commercial trainings by non-psychologists which from the outside may resemble group therapy. ... Minority religion is the religion held by a minority of the population of a country, state, or region. ... The word occult comes from the Latin occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to knowledge of the hidden. In the medical sense it is used commonly to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e. ... Project Megiddo was a report researched and written by the FBI under Louis Freehs leadership. ... Religious intolerance is either intolerance motivated by ones own religious beliefs or intolerance against anothers religious beliefs or practices. ... It has been suggested that Historical persecution by Christians#Theological debate of persecution be merged into this article or section. ... True-believer syndrome is a term coined by M. Lamar Keene in his 1976 book The Psychic Mafia referring to an irrational belief in paranormal events, even after direct confession or evidence that the events were fraudulently staged. ... A witch-hunt was traditionally a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, which could lead to a witchcraft trial involving the accused person. ... The status of religious freedom around the world varies from country to country. ... Eleanor Roosevelt with the Spanish version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. ...