1. What is a cult?
small group that wants to secede from its social origins
disciples of heretical leader
gather around leader or ideology, for religious or nonreligious purposes
use strict discipline/mind control methods organized around master/specific ideology
Dave

3. Characteristics of leader
Charismatic
Demanding
Possibly Abusive
Controlling
Only one in contact with answers (God)
Claim “Big event around corner”
Matt

4. Cults based on charismatic leadership follow routinization of charisma, described by German sociologist Max Weber

5. Types of Cults Doomsday Satanic Religious Other world New Age
Christian Abberational
Dave-explain the types of cults.

6. Rev. Sun Myung Moon-The Unification Church, The Moonies
Well-known Leaders
&
Their Cults
Rev. Sun Myung Moon-The Unification Church, The Moonies
David Koresh-The Branch Davidians
Jim Jones-The People’s Temple
Shoko Ashara-Aun Shinri Kyo (Sacred Supreme Truth)
Charles Manson-The Manson Family
Heaven’s Gate – Ron Appelwhite
Carie

7. Cult Prospects People with: deprived childhoods
Confusion about religion
Low and wandering self-esteem
Searching for new identities
Feel alienated
failure/personal crisis
Freshmen/seniors/ Jobless
Casey-(explain)
The idea is that leading a deprived childhood leads to a deprived adult life and the search for belonging, which may result in cult activity. Cults provide a feeling of conformation and significance to a person whose self esteem is low and wandering.

8. Recruitment
Dave-(explain)

9. Tactics
Milieu control: manage inner communication - control over all person sees, hears, reads, and writes
Mystical Manipulation: extensive personal manipulation (mostly God centered)
Demand for purity: dividing world into pure/impure groups everything in group is pure everything outside group is evil
Matt

10. TATICS
Cultic confession of sins: subjected to patterns of criticism and self-criticism by group members
Sacred science: aura of sacredness around cults doctrine
Loading the language: words are given new meanings according to organization
IE: MARRIAGE REDEFINED TO INCLUDE ONLY LEADER
Casey

11. TATICS
Doctrine over person: cults doctrine more valid, true, and real than any aspect of human character and/or experience
Dispensing of existence: idea that people who are not in group can’t be enlightened or saved
Casey

12. Ways to exit cult Deprogramming Family Intervention Thought Reform
Exit Counseling
Run fast
Carie