THE MYSTERY OF CULTS

INTRODUCTION

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Whenever individuals share like-minded ideas and beliefs, they tend to congregate together in order to discuss their thoughts. Once these individuals meet even more individuals with the same ideas, they increase their belief system and congregation to include these individuals. The size can grow out of proportion, and as a result, cults may form. The original founders of these cultish ideas may not only seek out like-minded individuals, but also begin to attempt and manipulate people to change their beliefs to fit their own. The cults grow until a worshipping body of people praise the ideas of an individual or a group. But why is this the case? Some of these worshippers purposely betray a life of luxury in order to abide by their new “God.” Or is luxury an overstatement, and instead, these people were seeking out a new life, only to be placed in a situation where they cannot back out? Cults continue to pop up throughout the world today, and I will be discussing several prominent ones and hypothesizing why cults even exist.

OCCURRENCE

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To start off, I simply want to list off important religious movements and events I found interesting.

Breatharianism is a movement that first really gained popularity among individuals around the 80s and 90s. Believers state they are able to live without consuming any food or water, which is obviously not possible due to scientific data we have. Regardless, it is essentially a never-ending fast. Users say that humans merely need energy and sunlight for survival. An article from the New York Post depicts a couple that claims they only survive on bits of fruit a week. The wife stated that she even went through a full Breatharian diet during her pregnancy. The couple stated that they began with a vegetarian diet, then moved to vegan, and finally, moved to eating nothing for a set period of around three years. Nowadays, they like to eat a little bit per week if they spend time with friends or family. But how does this family survive this deadly diet? They claim to use the “universe’s energy” for survival. Other historical instances showcased how individuals suffered dire consequences, or even death, from undergoing a Breatharian diet.

While Breatharianism has no leader, prominent figures have popped up. A woman known as Jasmuheen has publications regarding her lifestyle as a Breatharian. Deaths have been attributed to followers of her publications, but Jasmuheen denied them.

Aleph is a notorious Japanese cult with around one thousand followers. Leader Shoko Asahara claims that when the end of humanity approaches, the elite in Aleph will survive and prosper after the end of the world. Asahara also states he has spiritual powers where he can cleanse followers of any sins and bad deeds. Reports of cult members being held against their will or even murdered if they attempted to leave spread across Japan and the world. Many stayed however, and fully supported Asahara with donations and praise. However, Aleph would go on to commit a major terrorist attack.

On March 20th, 1995, Aleph cult members released the deadly toxin Sarin in the Tokyo subway. These attacks crippled a major portion of the subway users at the time. Over 6000 individuals were injured, and 12 died from the chemical attack. But this was not their only chemical attack. Aleph by then had already committed multiple assassination attempts using Sarin, VX, and other dangerous chemicals. Asahara was executed for his crimes with Aleph, but the cult continues their practice today.

The Branch Davidians are a religious group who believed in an apocalypse coming to the world associated with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The group moved to a large complex, and there, the group announced that the apocalypse was arriving. Many members sold their belongings and prepared only to see no apocalypse occur. Following the failure of this event, followers split between those who left and those who still believed with the Branch Davidians.

Following several events that challenged the authority and leadership of the church, the group began holding mounds of weapons within their church, which they named Mount Camel. When ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives) received reports of law violations at Mount Camel, they attempted to search the compound. Instead of a simple search, this escalated into a large event known as the Waco Siege.

During the 51 day siege, a full gunfight occurred between the Davidians and the FBI, ATF, and the military. When the FBI launched tear gas into the complex in an attempt to extract the Davidians, a fire engulfed the building. At the end of the siege, 76 Davidians were found dead, including 25 children.

Below are some images of famous cults.

Children of God

Church of Euthanasia

Raëlism

THEORIES

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So why do people join these cults? We cannot simply go inside the heads of these individuals, so we can merely hypothesize.

Cults are really good at manipulating people to do their bidding using various techniques of intimidation. Say someone joins a cult and sells everything they own. They basically throw away their own life and use their body as a pawn for the cult leaders to abuse. If the person notices how manipulative the cult really is, it is already too late to escape. That person gave away everything they owned in exchange for the life of a sentient cult being. This mentality pushes the person to stay. In fact, various cults in Africa bribe people with food, water, and shelter. Because some African countries have a high poverty rate, the people flock to the opportunity of getting resources from a cult, and as a result, become an unknowingly figurehead for that cult. If they leave, they will not have access to water and food, so they decide there is no choice but to stay. As long as they abide by the rules of the cult, they will be fed and nourished.

Even today, we can see cults in modern daylight, but only if we take the definition loosely. We hear the words cult and begin to think about the paranormal and evil, but what about modern-day religions such as Catholicism and Christianity? It is probably because we set morals on what is right and not right for groups to believe in. For groups who we believe are worshipping "bad" ideas, we may label them as a cult. For instance, many have labeled Trump supporters as cult followers for their support of Trump for reelection, but they do not call Biden supporters a cult. So what draws the line for the interpretation and identification of a cult? Is it between what groups believe in “bad” ideas and what groups believe in “good” ideas? ISIS is largely considered a terrible organization, so could we label them as a cult? What about groups generally seen as “good” by many, such as LGBTQ+ activists? Many definitions of the word cult associate it with religion, but could this definition possibly extend to other groups outside of religion?

Regardless, it is obvious that cults such as the Branch Davidians did use fear to manipulate their believers. And today, cults and new religious movements continue to have an effect on society. It is only a matter of time before a new group arises to cause mayhem.

SOURCES

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Witches’ Sabbath (Oil painting by Francisco Goya)

‘Breatharian’ couple survives on ‘the universe’s energy’ instead of food (https://nypost.com/2017/06/15/breatharian-couple-survives-on-the-universes-energy-instead-of-food/)

Aleph (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aleph)

Waco Seige (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco_siege#ATF_raid)

The Waco tragedy, explained (https://www.vox.com/2018/4/19/17246732/waco-tragedy-explained-david-koresh-mount-carmel-branch-davidian-cult-25-year-anniversary)

Aleph (Japanese Cult) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleph_(Japanese_cult))

Inedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inedia)