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CULT
Sociologyindex, Sociology Books 2011
This concept was originally developed as one component of
a typology: churches, denominations, sects and cults.
Churches and denominations are seen as established forms
of religious organization while sects were groups that had broken away from established
groups in order to preserve what they thought were central traditions or orthodoxy.
Cults on the other hand were religious forms and
expressions which were unacceptable or outside cultural norms and thus seen as the first
stage of forming a new religion.
However, the term now has a rather negative meaning,
suggesting strange beliefs, charismatic leadership, manipulation of members, strong
emotional bonding, and slavish devotion to the group.
Cult Formation
Robert J. Lifton, M.D., John Jay College
Abstract: Cults represent one aspect of a worldwide epidemic of ideological totalism, or
fundamentalism. They tend to be associated with a charismatic leader, thought reform, and
exploitation of members. Among the methods of thought reform commonly used by cults are
milieu control, mystical manipulation, the demand for purity, a cult of confession, sacred
science, loading the language, doctrine over person, and dispensing of existence. The
current historical context of dislocation from organizing symbolic structures, decaying
belief systems concerning religion, authority, marriage, family, and death, and a
"protean style" of continuous psychological experimentation with the self is
conducive to the growth of cults. The use of coercion, as in certain forms of
"deprogramming," to deal with the restrictions of individual liberty associated
with cults is inconsistent with the civil rights tradition. Yet legal intervention may be
indicated when specific laws are broken. - csj.org/infoserv_articles/
lifton_robert_cult_formation_abs.htm
The Cadre Ideal: Origins and Development of a Political
Cult
Janja Lalich, Alameda, California
Abstract: A little-explored sector of the cult world is the political cult. Those who join
such cults are usually seeking to change society in some fundamental way -- right or left
-- and are thereby willing to make great sacrifices to attain their lofty goals. This
idealistic commitment is abused by political cult leaders who skillfully exploit the
members' desire to serve. This paper, adapted from a work-in-progress, dissects the
founding and development of a now defunct political cult. The article shows how thought
reform was achieved through the group's indoctrination and training methods, carried out
under the pretense of "working for the greater good," and details specific
manipulative techniques that served to create and uphold a cultic environment and a harsh
and exclusionary life-style.
Scientology: Therapeutic Cult to Religious Sect
Roy Wallis, University of Stirling
Prevailing conceptions of the cult are criticized. A new typology of religious
collectivities is elaborated and related to a theory of the development of cults. This
theory claims that a central feature of the cult is `epistemological individualism'. The
central characteristic of the sect on the other hand is `epistemological
authoritarianism'. The process of sectarianization therefore involves the arrogation of
authority typically on the basis of a claim to a new and superior revelation.
Sectarianization is portrayed as a strategy with particular appeal to the leaders of cults
faced with the problems of managing and maintaining a fragile institution. These processes
are illustrated from the development of Scientology. -
soc.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/9/1/89
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