Msg#: 3146 *CULT_WATCH*
11/00/88 22:05:00 (Read 2 Times)
From: DANIEL SEGARD
To: ALL
Subj: CULTS, SECTS AND DEVIANT MOVEMENTS
CULTS, SECTS AND DEVIANT MOVEMENTS
OVERVIEW AND HISTORICAL BACKDROP
There is a vast variety of different cults, sects and deviant move-
ments in the United States today. One estimate numbers the active
cults at between five and six hundred, with two thousand potential
movements represented. Keeping track of individual deviant movements,
even in one's own locality, is a time consuming task, however, under-
standing some common traits of these movements will assist us in
recognizing them for what they are.
Most religious and political movements have a CHARISMATIC FIGURE at
the head. This charismatic figure embodies the authority of the
movement. The figure generally claims an extraordinary or divine
experience which sets him apart from others or claims some type of
special political ideology which is unique in the time and area in
which it emerges. The charismatic authority figure claiming a divine
revelation will generally be at the head of a religious cult or sect.
The figure claiming special political ideology will generally be at
the head of a political movement. Political and religious distinc-
tions are often blurred and combined so various movements contain some
elements of religion as well as politics; these are called identity
church movements. For the purpose of understanding the pure forms,
the following information will divide the movements into religious
versus political.
Any movement-whether or positive or negative in nature-generally occurs
during a period of "anomie." The Greek word "nomos" means "something
which gives structure and meaning." Something which is "anomic" takes
away or reduces structure. The noun "anomie" describes a time or
condition where structure and meaning, the orderly flow of civiliza-
tion, is being threatened or attacked by counter-culture influences
within the society. During anomie societal institutions (such as
home, family, church, education, government, the military, law, and
justice) undergo severe attacks and a dissolution of public confi-
dence. In the United States a great anomic tendency surged during the
sixties and seventies. The Viet Name War years and Watergate gave
tremendous impetuous to the feeling of anomie in individuals and
cultural groups. In some cases anomic feelings are intentionally
fostered to hasten the dissolution of stability.
Individuals can undergo temporary anomic periods in their own lives.
During these periods the individuals are more susceptible to the
influences of counter-cultural or deviant movements. A freshman in
college or a new recruit in the military... both of whom find them-
selves isolated in strange surroundings without their normal peer and
group support... are in a position where they have to search for
stability. Farmers who just had their family farms repossessed and
adults having been through a recent divorce experience periods of
anomie. If a deviant group takes precedence in a person's life during
an anomic period it may capture that person's loyalty, thought pat-
terns, and life behaviors for the rest of his life, or that group's
influence may decline in proportion with the level of anomie in the
person's life. Mental instability aggravates the tendency of persons
to fall under cult/deviant influence during anomic periods.
In a religious context the authority which emanates from the charis-
matic authority figure translates into a "mission for God". Charis-
matic figures arise during periods of anomie. They are agents of
change. In a political context (such as the political philosophies of
Marx, Lenin, and Mao), change occurs by following political ideologues
instead of divine mandate. These ideologues often embrace the philos-
ophy that "the end justifies the means", that there is no higher
mission than the political need, and this mission transcends normal
moral law and values. This transcendency opens the door for political
ideologies to attract fanatics and extremists. Their activities and
beliefs often violate the human and civil rights of others, particu-
larly "non-believers" or nom-members of their group.
(This profile applies to every period of major change in the history
of the world whether the change was for good or bad.)
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTS
Cults should be distinguished from other groups such as sects and
religions. A cult is usually a small starting place for a deviant
movement. As the "cult" philosophy gains momentum and adherents and
as society becomes accustomed to it, the cult may change into a "sect"
which is a bit more well-established. Sects show more stability and
societal acceptance than do cults. As a sect grows and wins some
popular acceptance and support it may one day be accepted by society
asza religion. The progression from cult to sect to religion usually
is a process which occurs over a period of many years.
Cults usually have core groups of fundamentalists, whether in the
political, religious, or religio-political context. They are the ones
who hold the "pure vision" of where the cult should go. Mixtures of
philosophy and ideology brought in by new converts to the cult tend to
dilute the pure vision. The dilution of the pure vision often makes
the cult more acceptable to society because more of society's values
are being represented in the cult. Stress occurring between fundamen-
talist and liberal factions may cause sub-groups to splinter off.
When a "sect" passes to "religion" status a combination of things has
occurred. First, the adherents to the religion normally portray few
traits which are objectionable to society. Society on the other hand,
has learned to "live and let live" and accepts the religion's beliefs
as "routine."
Various cultic groups tend to have many factors in common, especially
in the progression of movement of uninitiated persons toward and into
cult involvement. Cults attract followers from general society. The
followers begin to take on certain characteristics of the cult. The
following factors are pertinent to the identification of a group as a
cult:
1. Voluntary, achieved membership: New adherents must pass some sort
of test, possibly a rite or ritual, in order to achieve member-
ship. Membership is sought after and does not occur accidentally or
incidental to some other societal activity.
2. Members assume an elitist self-image: This self-image is spawned
and fostered by the organization of the cult. Certain "faith
maintenance mechanisms" are built into cult membership. These
often take the form of a series of rituals, pledges, oaths or
tests of worthiness. There are also "boundary maintenance mecha-
nisms" which tend to separate the cult member from the rest of
society, from non-members, from family, and from normal peer group
associations. Cult members develop an "us versus them" mentality.
3. Exclusivism: Members believe that they are the "only ones with the
truth" and (in some manner) will be the only ones who will be
among the "saved remnant" when some catastrophic event occurs.
Actually, normal logical truth is irrelevant in the cult context.
Some religious cults use "heavenly deception" for recruiting and
initiating new members deeper into the cult mechanism. They also
use the process of "operative exclusivism" which allows only those
who need to know to become aware of certain privileged information
as they progress into the cult. There are usually numerous levels
of information that are shared only with people who have proven
their loyalty and worth to the cult organization and therefore
have progressed upward in the organization.
4. Hostility: By the very nature of cult beliefs (which separate the
members from society and indoctrinate them into the belief that
cult members only possess the truth) hostility towards society and
its institutions is generated. This hostility feeds on individu-
al's hostile tendencies which were brought into the group. On the
other hand, society is often prejudiced against the cult... often
this is based on fear, superstition or non-existent "facts". Per-
ceived hostility from society does nothing more than fuel the
hostility of the cult member. (This is a key principle to
understand when contacting cult members in an effort to defuse a
situation or gain rapport with a cult member. Face-to-face
confrontation will generally tend to reduce avenues of communica tion.
5. Acetism: Members often display personal willingness to sacrifice
self-comfort, finances and personal efforts for "the cause." Cults
frequently demand acetism from their members. Cults can generate
a great deal of financial support as they convince members to turn
over their personal wealth and possessions to the group for the
"common good."
6. Priesthood of All Believers: This term, in a religious context
means that all those initiated into the cult membership share
equal, automatic priesthood and therefore share the authority of
the cult. There are usually various levels of priesthood, but
adherents develop tremendous peer support and identification
through the "priesthood of all believers" phenomenon. Believers
are convinced they are very close to their god(s), sometimes in
contact with god(s) and sometimes gods themselves.
In a political context the "priesthood of all believers" phenome-
non leads to increasingly elitist feelings. The perception is that since
one is part of the select few he is somehow untouchable
by normal societal standards, morality, laws, and ethics. He is
therefore free to make whatever changes necessary or to take
whatever actions seem appropriate at the time under the "end-jus-
tifies-the-means" philosophy. This frequently manifests itself in
extremism and terrorism.
7. Increasing Control Mechanisms: The deeper a member proceeds into
cult involvement, the wider the gap will become between that
person and his origins in society. Control mechanisms are step-by-
step levels of control which increasingly attack the member's
independent thought and freedom of action. Often control mecha-
nisms are "mind control" and "brainwashing" tactics. They include
physical isolation, deprivation of food, sleep, family and peer
support coupled with intensely repetitive indoctrination involving
little opportunity for questions or evaluation on a rational
scale. Cults have the potential to control every aspect of an
individual's life. The control mechanisms are powerful enough to
completely reprogram the thinking and activities of the members to
coincide with the authoritarian philosophy of the charismatic
leader of the cult group.
A three part written account details the process whereby an
intelligent, normally well-adjusted college student, the daughter
of a Baptist minister, was enticed into the Unification Church.
In a period of three days she was convinced that the philosophy of
the group was "the only truth." This preceeded months of involve-
ment where the girl became increasingly subject to the mind
control processes of the group. Finally, in desparation, (all
other attempts at reason having failed) the family enlisted the
aid of a professional deprogrammer," kidnapped" the daughter and
talked her out of the mind control mechanism.
As a cult grows and survives it develops ritualized behaviors.
The charismatic figure may start to share his authority with other
(trusted) members. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY WHO IS IN
POWER IN A CULT GROUP. ALL POWER FLOWS FROM HIM.
The isolation or encapsulation of a cult or sect group which
includes a leader figure is a very dangerous situation. (Examples
such as the Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones in Guyana and the CSA
on a 150 acre tract of land in the south, had tragic results.) The
physical isolation of a group by fences, terrain or controlled
movements, places the members completely under the power of the
charismatic figure. Combined with misguided philosophy and an
arsenal of weapons, total control of suggestible people has
explosive potential. Conclaves of such isolationist sects are
found in the South, Northwest and West where open terrain allows
them to flourish and survive with little interference.
8. Elimination of Critical Recourse: Members of cult groups
seldom have "critical resource". This is the avenue which members
of any movement are either given or denied. When given it allows
the members to question those in authority through established
channels and tends to filter out aberrant behavior within an
organized, legitimate group or denomination. Established reli-
gions have such things as synods, councils, bishops, elders,
deacons, etc., or some parallel political group which handle
complaints and questions from members about doctrines and philos-
ophies. Critical recourse seldom entails negative sanctions upon
the person exercising it in legitimate groups.
Members of deviant groups are rarely allowed critical recourse.
They are carefully restricted from the ability to criticize or
question anyone in authority. Open criticism often results in
painful sanctions against (or even the death of) the member. It
should be noted that the power of cult groups comes from the
members level of conviction and dedication, and authoritarian
control of the cult over members.
Many cultic and sectarian groups are multinational, multimillion
dollar corporations. They are managed by competent businessmen who
adhere to the beliefs of the group. A recent report shows that onesuch
group, the Unification Church, grosses between 1 and 1.5 milliondollars
daily from street sales and begging by its members. The Way
International, not only generates revenue by the gifts and donations
of its members, but also charges fees for training courses, sells
souvenir articles and printed material. It even issues savings bonds
in the name of the organization. The headquarters building of The Way
International is a five-million-dollar-plus structure. The Way has
extensive property and equipment holdings.
The U.S.A. has experienced a great upsurgence of cult and sect activ-
ities in the two-plus decades since 1960. As many as 25 million
people in the United States are directly affected by cult and
sectinfluence. Historically, the law enforcement community and military
are the least prepared to deal with cult and sect influences. This
ability is further diminished as deviant groups "hide" behind the
protection of the U.S. Constitution for legitimate religions.
Many cult/sect groups have well-trained, disciplined and organized
agents working to infiltrate the police and the military. These are
not fly-by-night operations, but well-financed thrusts.
There are two basic structures seen in cults and sects. The first is
the Authoritarian model. This can generally be envisioned as a
pyramid structure with the charismatic structure at the peak. All
authority flows downward from the charismatic figure. The authority
flow may include some trusted lieutenants who have earned the confi-
dence of the leader. The pyramid is made up of various levels with
the lowest (entry level), or worker level, on the bottom. There is
high encapsulation of these levels. Elitism increases as members
proceed up the pyramid structure and information is strictly con-
trolled on a "need to know" basis. Members seldom know the true story
of what's going on above them, but must operate on what they are told
with little or no chance of questioning or criticism.
(illustration not reproduced)
AUTHORITARIAN STRUCTURE
The second structure can be called a Nonauthoritarian model. This
can be visualized as a wagon wheel with a hub, spokes, and peripheral
groups. Although there is a central headquarters, the individual
local groups generally have a degree of autonomy not experienced in
the Authoritarian model. The local groups may set up on an author-
itarian or pyramidal basis or may be more "democratic" in nature. As
members progress through the hierarchy of the local structure they may
earn the right to work in the headquarters group.
(illustration not reproduced)
NON-AUTHORITARIAN STRUCTURE
PERSONALITY PROFILE FOR THOSE PRONE TO CULT INVOLVEMENT
There are certain dependent personality types which are particularly
susceptible to the lure of cult involvement. Some cults target
specific age ranges toward which their indoctrination efforts are
focused.
It is not uncommon for the 18 to 26 year old group to be targeted by
groups because during this time the individuals' minds are often still
in a questioning mode. Life's values have not been totally solid-
ified. They are still eager to try new things, to be accepted by
peers and to seek thrills. They are also often displaced from their
support structure and homes because of searches for jobs, enlistment
in the military, or attendance at college. Of the members of cults
who have been studied, 80% display dependent personality types. Some
key indicators of a dependent personality are:
1. Intelligence
2. Low self esteem
3. Low achievement
4. The feeling of not being lovable
5. Feeling of isolation
6. Problems dealing with stress
7. Problems in social/sexual interaction
A youth displaying these traits, (whether they are temporary in nature
because of some change in his/her environment, due to stress, or are
indicators of the person's true psychological makeup) can be described
as possessing a "classic addict mentality." He or she is a potential
addict just waiting for an addiction to come along. Too commonly
addiction comes in the form of alcohol and drug abuse. However, many
other opportunities for unhealthy addiction are available, including
membership and participation in negative deviant groups. Chemical drug
and alcohol abuse is sometimes used as an organized recruiting
approach by deviant groups who take advantage of the addictive behav-
iors in potential "converts."
People with addictive mentalities are feeling emotional pain because
of their unsuccessful relationships and feelings of inadequacy as they
try to adjust to their environment. Addiction (to substances or peer
groups) is an effort to dull their personal pain, if even for a short
period of time and to forget for a moment the anxieties and stress
which haunt them. Participation in an authoritarian movement or other
deviant group is an addictive process. The longer one is involved,
the greater the control exercised by the group over the "addict."
Msg#: 3164 *CULT_WATCH*
11/06/88 23:06:34 (Read 1 Times)
From: SYSOP
To: DANIEL SEGARD
Subj: REPLY TO MSG# 3146 (CULTS, SECTS AND DEVIANT MOVEMENTS)
That was correct in the past. But look what Hitler did. Hitler was able to
gain control and change the minds of millions through the media of his time.
Yes, most people are susceptible in transition phases but it also takes an
individual or organization to control.
--- TBBS v2.0
* Origin: Cult Monitor LA (818)566-1828 (102/744)
Msg#: 3172 *CULT_WATCH*
11/00/88 17:00:00 (Read 0 Times)
From: ERNEST SEERING
To: DANIEL SEGARD
Subj: RE: CULTS, SECTS AND DEVIANT MOV
An excellent post regarding Cults, Sects, and Deviant Movements.
Unfurtunately, it doesen't address the basic problem as by the article's
definition, EVERYTHING is a cult - ALL Churches, ALL political Parties, All
Fraternities, ALL business organizations, etc. Everything except maybe an
individual fundementalist, and then only because he is an Individual and
believes that HE is the ONLY correct one in the universe. Where did the
article come from?
--- ConfMail V4.00
* Origin: Sara's Outpost - Jesus is the Co-Sysop of this BBS (1:109/705)
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