Cults

April 17, 2007 // Inside My Head, Religion

I’ve always been interested in cults and the devastating harm they can do to individuals and the people around them.

The video does outline some of the actual techniques that cults use on prospects and members, and even if it seems a little light-hearted at first, it makes some serious points. These cults are a serious problem, there are lots of cults in existence today and plenty of atrocities throughout time, including:

  • Order of the Solar Temple (Famous Swiss murder-suicides in which 48 people died in 1994)
  • Peoples Temple (909 deaths, including 270 children in 1978)
  • Aum Shinryko (gassed the Tokyo tube system in 1995)
  • Heaven’s Gate (Suicide Cult – The “Heaven’s Gate Away Team” left Earth in 1997)
  • Lord’s Resistance Army (has been waging a civil war against the Ugandan government since 1987 using child soldiers)
  • The Manson Family (of Charles Manson fame – responsible for a string of brutal murders)

Years ago, I read a book that outlined the mechanisms that these cults often use to effectively brainwash recruits into their ideology or religion. If you think you’re clever enough to avoid their fate, think again! I knew a good few people at University who got hooked into cults. To read more about cults and be aware of the dangers, take a look here.

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Comments

  1. Julia says: April 19, 2007

    Yeah cults are scary. But almost all religions use similar methods of recruiting, albeit in more subtle ways. IMO.

  2. Robert Herrick says: May 2, 2007

    Julia, I agree with you. So it’s not just your opinion.

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