Cult roughly refers to a cohesive social group devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture considers outside the mainstream, with a notably positive or negative popular perception. Many cults are destructive or suicidal though others, whilst being controversial, do not commit extreme acts. This is a list of the top ten cults. In no particular order:
1. Church of Bible Understanding
Stewart Traill
The Church of Bible Understanding (formerly known as the Forever Family) is a destructive cult started in 1971 by former atheist and vacuum repairman Stewart Traill in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The cult targeted teens as young as 13 by drawing on their weaknesses. Throughout the 1970s, the cult expanded to many other parts of the United States.
Traill, born in Quebec in 1936 is the son of a Presbyterian minister, who teaches that he is the reincarnation of Elijah, and that he knows the date of the return of Christ. Members of the cult live in a commune and donate 90% of their income to the cult. Traill amassed a fortune and owns four planes and a half million dollar mansion. According to former members, Traill controls every aspect of members’ lives through harsh criticism, shame, and public humiliation.
Ron Burkes, a staff member at a residential treatment center for former cult members says this:
“[Traill] has one of most effective means of shutting down critical thinking I’ve ever seen. Of the hundreds of people I’ve treated, COBU is definitely in the top five in terms of harm and psychological damage.”
The cult also runs a mission in Haiti, where some former members claim Haitian children are indoctrinated in exchange for food and clothing. According to an article originally appearing in the Manassas Journal Messenger, COBU receives government funds for its Haiti Mission as part of President Bush’s Faith Based Initiative.
Play / Download audio of Stewart Traill
2. Manson Family
The Manson Family was a cult started by Charles Manson. Manson was born to Kathleen Maddox, an unwed sixteen year old girl, in 1934. It is said that his mother, an alcoholic, sold him to buy beer. When he was returned to her she had him sent to a boarding school. After a number of years living with his religious aunt and uncle, he returned to his mother who rejected him. After a number of robberies, he was put in jail for the first time. One month before his parole hearing in 1952, he raped a boy in jail by holding a razor to his throat. Two years later he was paroled. Manson began to pimp a young woman he met and eventually took her, and a second woman to New Mexico to work for him as prostitutes. He was caught and tried under the Mann Act (a 1910 act that prohibited white slavery and trafficking for immoral means).
In 1967 he was released (having spent more than half of his life in institutions). Upon release, he requested permission to move to San Francisco which was granted. When he arrived he became part of the Hippie movement centered around the Haight-Ashbury region and he set himself up as a guru. He moved in with 23 year old student Mary Brunner and convinced her to allow other women to join them. Eventually eighteen other women were living with them – this was the beginning of the family.
By 1968, Manson had established a home for the “family” at a ranch owned by George Spahn. Manson convinced one of the family members, Lynette Fromme, to sleep with Spahn in order to get free rent. Manson began teaching his followers that social uprisings were coming – using the assassination of Martin Luther King as evidence. He also told them that the social turmoil he had been predicting had also been predicted by The Beatles. The White Album songs, he declared, told it all, although in code; in fact, he maintained, the album was directed at the Family itself, an elect group that was being instructed to preserve the worthy from the impending disaster.
In 1969, on August 8, Manson told Family members at Spahn Ranch, “now is the time for Helter Skelter.” That evening the family, under the direction of Manson, would commit the famous murder of Sharon Tate, leading to other murders over the two day period.
3. Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Shinrikyo, is a Japanese religious group founded by Shoko Asahara. The group gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out a Sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subways. In 2000 the organization changed its name to “Aleph” (the first letter of the Hebrew and Arabic alphabet), changing its logo as well. In 1995 the group had 9,000 members in Japan, and as many as 40,000 worldwide. As of 2004 Aum Shinrikyo/Aleph membership was estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 people.
The movement was founded by Shoko Asahara in his one-bedroom apartment in Tokyo’s Shibuya ward in 1984, starting off as a Yoga and meditation class known as Aum-no-kai and steadily grew in the following years. It gained the official status as a religious organization in 1989. It attracted such a considerable number of young graduates from Japan’s elite universities that it was dubbed a “religion for the elite”. Aum’s PR activities included publishing. In Japan, where comics and animated cartoons enjoy unprecedented popularity among all ages, Aum attempted to tie religious ideas to popular anime and manga themes – space missions, extremely powerful weapons, world conspiracies and conquest for ultimate truth.
Aum Shinrikyo had started as a quiet group of people interested in yogic meditation, but later transformed into a very different organization. According to Asahara, he needed “to demonstrate charisma” to attract the modern audience. Following his decision, Aum underwent a radical image change. The rebranded Aum looked less like an elite meditation boutique and more like an organization attractive to a broader, larger population group. Public interviews, bold controversial statements, and vicious opposition to critique were incorporated into the religion’s PR style. The cult started attracting controversy in the late 1980s with accusations of deception of recruits, and of holding cult members against their will and forcing members to donate money. A murder of a cult member who tried to leave is now known to have taken place in February 1989.
At the end of 1993 the cult started secretly manufacturing the nerve agent sarin and later VX gas. They also attempted to manufacture 1000 automatic rifles but only managed to make one. Aum tested their sarin on sheep at a remote ranch in Western Australia, killing 29 sheep. Both sarin and VX were then used in several assassinations (and attempts) over 1994-1995. Most notably on the night of 27th June 1994, the cult carried out the world’s first use of chemical weapons in a terrorist attack against civilians when they released sarin in the central Japanese city of Matsumoto. This Matsumoto incident killed seven and harmed 200 more. However, police investigations focused only on an innocent local resident and failed to implicate the cult. 11 cult members have been sentenced to death, although none of the sentences have been carried out, nor the time and date for the executions to take effect has been publicly established.
4. Restoration of the 10 Commandments
The full name of this cult is the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God. The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God was a breakaway group from the Roman Catholic Church that formed in Uganda in the late 1980s. As the name implies the group strongly emphasized the Ten Commandments. This emphasis meant they even discouraged talking: out of fear of breaking the commandment about giving false witness. They also believed that their strict adherence to the Ten Commandments would be advantageous after the apocalypse.
This proved significant as the group had a strong emphasis on the apocalypse, highlighted by their booklet A Timely Message from Heaven: The End of the Present Time. New members were required to study it and be trained in it, reading it as many as six times. They also taught that Mother Mary had a special role in the apocalypse, and communicated to the leadership. They saw themselves as like Noah’s Ark, a ship of righteousness in a sea of depravity.
The group tended to be secretive and as mentioned above, was literally silent. Therefore it was relatively unknown to the outside world until 2000, although in 1998 the school they ran was sanctioned by the government due to unsanitary conditions and violation of child labor statutes.
In March of 2000, around 300 followers died in a fire in what is considered a cult suicide. Investigations conducted after the fire discovered mass graves, raising the death toll to over 1,000. This may mean it was larger than the Jonestown murder/suicide in 1978, but some speculate the death toll was around 800. There are also allegations that the event was more of a mass murder by the leadership.
5. Raëlism
Founder, Claude Vorilhon (right)
Raëlism or Raelian Church is a UFO religion founded by a purported contactee named Claude Vorilhon, who is known recently for supporting Clonaid’s claim that an American woman underwent a standard cloning procedure, which led to the birth of her new daughter Eve in December 26, 2002. National authorities, mainstream media, and young adults have increasingly investigated the church’s activities as a result of controversial statements by Clonaid’s head Brigitte Boisselier the day after.
Members of the Raëlian Church consist of people who have been baptized by Raëlian clergy in quarterly ceremonies, and among the converts are members of Raëlian-founded free love groups such as the Order of Angels and Raël’s Girls. The organization—which preaches a sensual philosophy and a physicalist explanation of the origin of life—could have as many as sixty-five thousand members.
Raëlians emphasize secular and hedonistic ideas, rather than worshiping a supreme metaphysical deity.[30] The Raëlian Church members follow a UFO religion that favors a strong version of physicalism – the belief that everything consists only of physical properties. Raëlians deny the existence of the ethereal soul and a supernatural god, and believe that the mind is a function of matter alone. This ties into their belief that mind transfer is possible and that it will be possible to create an identical human clone in terms of mind and personality—as long as the clone and the original are not alive at the same time.
Play / Download Vorilhon Singing
6. Scientology
The Church of Scientology is a cult created by L Ron Hubbard (Elron) in 1952 as an outgrowth of his earlier self-help system called Dianetics. Scientology and the organizations that promote it have remained highly controversial since their inception. Journalists, courts and the governing bodies of several countries have stated that the Church of Scientology is an unscrupulous commercial enterprise that harasses its critics and abuses the trust of its members. Journalists, governments, religious groups and other critics worldwide have often referred to the organization as a cult.
Reports and allegations have been made, by journalists, courts, and governmental bodies of several countries, that the Church of Scientology is an unscrupulous commercial enterprise that harasses its critics and brutally exploits its members. In some cases of US litigation against the Church, former Scientologists were paid as expert witnesses and have since stated that they submitted false and inflammatory declarations, intended to be carried in the media to incite prejudice against Scientology, and deliberately harassed key Scientology executives, by knowingly advancing unfounded opinions, either to get a case dropped or to obtain a large settlement.
Although Scientologists are usually free to practice their beliefs, the organized church has often encountered opposition due to their strong-arm tactics, directed against critics and members wishing to leave the organization.
7. Order of the Solar Temple
Joseph Di Mambro
The Order of the Solar Temple also known as Ordre du Temple Solaire (OTS) in French, and the International Chivalric Organization of the Solar Tradition or simply as The Solar Temple was a secret society based upon the new age myth of the continuing existence of the Knights Templar. OTS was started by Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret in 1984 in Geneva as l’Ordre International Chevaleresque de Tradition Solaire (OICTS) and renamed Ordre du Temple Solaire. It is believed that other members were also involved who have remained unknown to the public.
In October 1994 Tony Dutoit’s infant son (Emmanuel Dutoit), aged three months, was killed at the group’s centre in Morin Heights, Quebec. The baby had been stabbed repeatedly with a wooden stake. It is believed that Di Mambro ordered the murder, because he identified the baby as the Anti-Christ described in the Bible. He believed that the Anti-Christ was born into the order to prevent Di Mambro from succeeding in his spiritual aim.
A few days later, Di Mambro and twelve followers performed a ritual Last Supper. A few days after that, apparent mass suicides and murders were conducted at two villages in Switzerland, and at Morin Heights — 15 inner circle members committed suicide with poison, 30 were killed by bullets or smothering, and 8 others were killed by other causes. Many of the bodies when found were drugged, possibly to prevent the members from objecting. The buildings were then set on fire by timer devices, purportedly as one last symbol of the group’s purification.
In western Switzerland, 48 members of a sect died in another apparent mass murder-suicide. Many of the victims were found in a secret underground chapel lined with mirrors and other items of Templar symbolism. The bodies were dressed in the order’s ceremonial robes and were in a circle, feet together, heads outward, most with plastic bags tied over their heads; they had each been shot in the head. It is believed that the plastic bags were a symbol of the ecological disaster that would befall the human race after the OTS members moved on to Sirius.
A mayor, a journalist, a civil servant and a sales manager were found among the dead in Switzerland. Records seized by the Quebec police showed that some members had personally donated over $1 million to the cult’s leader Joseph Di Mambro. There was also another attempted mass suicide of the remaining members which was thwarted in the late 1990s. It is believed that The Solar Temple group continues to exist, with thirty surviving members in Quebec at the St-Anne-de-la-Pérade center, with from 140 to 500 members remaining worldwide.
8. Heaven’s Gate
Heaven’s Gate is a destructive, doomsday cult centered in California. 21 women and 18 men voluntarily committed suicide in three groups on three successive days starting on March 23, 1997. Most were in their 40′s; the rest covered an age range of 26 to 72. Two months later, two additional members, Charles Humphrey and Wayne Cooke attempted suicide in a hotel room a few miles from the Rancho Santa Fe mansion; Cooke succeeded. Humphrey tried again in the Arizona desert during Feb 1998 and was successful.
They followed a syncretistic religion, combining elements of Christianity with unusual beliefs about the nature of UFOs. They interpreted passages from the four gospels and the book Revelation as referring to UFO visitation. In particular, they emphasized a story in Revelation which described two witnesses who are killed, remained dead for 3 1/2 days, were revived and taken up into the clouds. They look upon earth as being in the control of evil forces, and perceived themselves as being among the elite who would attain heaven. They held a profoundly dualistic belief of the soul as being a superior entity which is only housed temporarily in a body. Applewhite said that bodies were only “the temporary containers of the soul…The final act of metamorphosis or separation from the human kingdom is the ‘disconnect’ or separation from the human physical container or body in order to be released from the human environment.”
Members called themselves brother and sister; they looked upon themselves as monks and nuns; they lived communally in a large, rented San Diego County (CA) home which they called their monastery. Most members had little contact with their families of origin or with their neighbors. Many followed successful professional careers before entering the group. Some abandoned their children before joining. They were free to leave at any time. They dressed in unisex garments: shapeless black shirts with Mandarin collars, and black pants. They were required commit themselves to a celibate life. Eight of the male members, including Do, submitted to voluntary castration. This seems to have been a form of preparation for their next level of existence: in a life that would be free of gender, sexual identity and sexual activity.
Thirty-eight group members, plus Applewhite, the group’s leader, were found dead in a rented mansion in the upscale San Diego community of Rancho Santa Fe, California, on March 26, 1997. The mass death of the Heaven’s Gate group is said to be one of the most widely-known examples of cult suicide. In preparing to kill themselves, members of the group drank citrus juices to ritually cleanse their bodies of impurities. The suicide was accomplished by ingestion of phenobarbital mixed with vodka, along with plastic bags secured around their heads to induce asphyxiation. They were found lying neatly in their own bunk beds, with their faces and torsos covered by a square, purple cloth. Each member carried five dollar bills and a few quarters in their wallets. All 39 were dressed in identical black shirts and sweat pants, brand new black-and-white Nike tennis shoes, and armband patches reading “Heaven’s Gate Away Team”. The suicides were conducted in shifts, and the remaining members of the group cleaned up after each prior group’s death.
9. Branch Davidians
The Branch Davidians are a religious sect who originated from a schism in 1955 from the Davidian Seventh Day Adventists, themselves former members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church who were disfellowshipped during the 1930s. From its inception in the 1930s, the splinter movement inherited Adventism’s apocalypticism, in that they believed themselves to be living in a time when Christian prophecies of a final divine judgment were coming to pass. They are best known for the 1993 siege of their Center near Waco, Texas, by the ATF and the FBI, which resulted in the deaths of eighty-two of the church’s members, including head figure David Koresh. However, by the time of the siege, Koresh had encouraged his followers to think of themselves as “students of the Seven Seals” rather than as “Branch Davidians,” and other Branch Davidian factions never accepted his leadership.
Some former members of Koresh’s group alleged that he practiced polygamy with underage brides, physically abused children, and stockpiled illegal weapons, legal authorities investigated these charges. On February 28, 1993, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) conducted a raid on Mount Carmel, a property of the Davidians. The raid resulted in the deaths of six Davidians and four ATF agents after a firefight broke out. Following this confrontation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) laid siege to Mount Carmel for 51 days, during which time the FBI and ATF conducted around-the-clock operations including psychological warfare (psyops) on the occupants of the complex.
The government’s siege on the Branch Davidians ended on April 19 when federal agents released CS tear gas into the compound. During the assault, several fires broke out and spread quickly through the buildings, killing approximately 79 Branch Davidians, 21 of whom were children. Autopsies confirmed that many of the victims, including David Koresh, had died of single gunshot wounds to their heads.
The government put some of the survivors on trial. All were acquitted of conspiring to murder federal agents but some were convicted of aiding and abetting voluntary manslaughter.
10. Unification Church
The Unification Church (Mooneyism) is a new religious movement started by Sun Myung Moon in Korea in the 1940s. The beliefs of the church are explained in the book Divine Principle and draw from the Bible as well as Asian traditions and include belief in a universal God; in the creation of a literal Kingdom of Heaven on earth; in the universal salvation of all people, good and evil as well as living and dead; that Jesus did not come to die; and that the Lord of the Second Coming must be a man born in Korea early in the 20th century who must marry and have children.
In the United States in the 1970s, the media reported on the high-pressure recruitment methods of Unificationists and said that the church separated vulnerable college students from their families through the use of brainwashing or mind control. Moon dismissed these criticisms, stating in 1976 that he had received many thank-you letters from parents whose children became closer to them after joining the movement. Moon and his wife were banned from entry into Germany and the other 14 Schengen treaty countries, on the grounds that they are leaders of a sect that endangered the personal and social development of young people. The Netherlands and a few other Schengen states let Moon and his wife enter their countries in 2005. In 2006 the German Supreme Court overturned the ban.
In 1993, Chung Hwa Pak released the book Roku Maria no Higeki (Tragedy of the Six Marys) through the Koyu Publishing Co. of Japan. The book contained allegations that Moon conducted sex rituals amongst six married female disciples (“The Six Marys”) who were to have prepared the way for the virgin who would marry Moon and become the True Mother. Chung Hwa Pak had left the movement when the book was published and later withdrew the book from print when he rejoined the Unification Church. Before his death Chung Hwa Pak published a second book, The Apostate, and recanted all allegations made in Roku Maria no Higeki.
Bonus. Jonestown
On 18 November 1978, more than 900 people died in the largest mass murder/suicide in American history. Most of the deaths occurred in a jungle encampment in Guyana, South America, where members of a group called Peoples Temple lived in a utopian community and agricultural project known as Jonestown. Most died after drinking a fruit punch laced with cyanide and tranquilizers, although some may have been injected; two residents died of gunshot wounds. Earlier that day a few other residents of the group had assassinated a U.S. congressman along with three members of the media and a departing Jonestown resident. And in Guyana’s capital city of Georgetown, yet another member of the group killed her three children and then herself after receiving word of the deaths in Jonestown. In all, 918 Americans lost their lives that day.
Since that time, Jonestown and its leader Jim Jones have entered American discourse as code for the dangers of cults and cult leaders. The expression “drinking the Kool-Aid”—which means both blindly jumping on the bandwagon, and being a team player—is one manifestation of this. The story of Jonestown, and of its parent organization Peoples Temple, however, is more complicated than sound-bites comparing strict parents to Jim Jones, or pundits relating religious violence (such as the suicide air strikes of 11 September 2001) to Jonestown. Instead, Jonestown serves as a lesson in how a combination of media, government, and citizens can create a climate of persecution and fear. It also provides an example of how uncritical acceptance of the status quo and social and geographic isolation can lead to violence and even death.
Notable Exclusions: The Children of God, Mormonism, Jevhovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists
Sources: Wikipedia, Youtube, Google Videos
Good list, but it is sorely missing the Children of God (or The Family). I saw a documentray on them and they openly practice paedophilia, including daughters being raped by mothers, orgies involving 5 year olds. Absolutely disgusting stuff. The sad thing is the way they actually hi-jack christianity to justify their beliefs and claim that Jesus promoted such acts.
what else can you expect from christians lol? they're truly awful people.
Yeah, almost everything we have in our modern world – the arts, science, economic development, health care, human rights, printing, communication – stems directly or indirectly from christians lol!
Yeah, truly awful, awful people. Where would we be without them?
You forgot all about the persecution of people & wars done in the name of God that hindered scientific development. For instance, not believing the earth was the center of our solar system or early exploration of the human body.
And what about all the terrible things that have been done in the name of science? Experimenting on animals, ingnorance that has lead to loss of life…
Just saying.
only because their beliefs are followed by the masses and people are afraid to think for themseves, was everything done by christians. The colonists did not come over for religious freedom. They brought over their own small cult. As the population grew, so did the belief system. They forced others to believe the same (or at least say they did) or they killed them. Of course our country is run by “christian men” who only use the belief to highten their self-esteem and make them look better to the general public. Are you kidding, christianity is they most vague term that could be used for a cult. Has no one paid attention to the running theme of the majority of “awful suicidal/homicidal cults” base their twisted belief system off some type of christianity? Anyone?!? It’s all interpritation, of god, the bible, and heaven because we are to afraid to believe or accept that there may be nothing out there. There may be no reason to be a “good” person, that when someone dies you’re never going to see them again, or that all of the pain and hurt of this world is all there is. Believe what ever’s going to get you through the night, but don’t call other’s ignorant when the proof is in the kool-aid!
dont forget the founding of America.
seen as the christians were responsible for the prevention of all those things, and whether they brought good things or bad things is irrelevant because the concept of a diety is ridiculous.
your a mong!
Your ignorance is appalling, not a single one of these cults have anything to do with Christianity.
Your ignorance is appalling, not one of these cults have anything at all to do with the Christian Faith.
im pretty sure christians are appart of a cult there great kind people, who beleive in something! dont be soo judgemental
I think thats the one that River Pheonix Parents belong to. OMG they are a terrible group, you’re so right. Most of the children from that group have since committed suicide.
your damm right.
for if god made us in his image then he made a line, a bleak and miserable line.
line is demonstrated below
live -> die
a while back a scientist put a cat in a box, then add a poison releasing gadget.
he then tried to figure out if he opened the box again wether or not the cat would be dead (because he did not know when the poison would be released).
and so came to the conclusion that the cat is dead and alive. why? because even if the poison wasn’t sprayed the cat would die anyway so he left the box.
Shouldn't christians be in there somewhere? They are a group who believe that a jewish man who lived a couple of thousand years ago was god. They also have adopted as the symbol of their religion a device of torture.
Dont comment if you do not know fully what christians believe. People like you is the reason the world is how it is.
apparently you don’t know much about your religions history…
as a former christian it is obvious most “christians” don’t believe the bible whatsoever. most using excuses like “its metaphorical” or “jesus died so we don’t have to follow those laws” when in reality your book preaches hate bigotry genocide and destruction and has been used for thousands of years to do these things it preaches….
Everything coming out of the western so called ‘advanced’ world is fake “fabricated plastic” world, including new fake religions & cults… the more cults the weaker you are.
They are building a “heaven on earth” – the US as a base – and you have no clue what they have been doing for the last ’300′ years !!!
In your brains, they’ve planted memes, mind control language patterns within all the movies, songs, magazines and books, etc… you are now sleeping – in a very heavy unshakable hypnotic trance
joe smith and Alexander Zhurkov and other ignorant mind manipulated people, obviously you’ve been blinded & illusinated by the so called illuminated & their brothers the Gnostics… you’ve started to love the ‘simulated world’ that they’ve ‘designed’ for you, and that blinded you to the truth, that even reached your bones and every cell in your body, it can be deactivated nevertheless!
for the last 100 years you’ve been bombarded by lies, (they control your mind from the very first moment you come to this world), they want you to stay happy, dumb, entertained & blinded from the truth… all the knowledge of the poor humans are nothing, they are literally nothing…
once you know the truth – not the fake truth illusinated ones believe they know like the new agers, or ‘Gurus’ or Freemasons or the Illuminati freaks or any other secret or non-secret society – but the truth that will OPEN your EYES…
you WILL SEE the REAL TRUTH like the master who came to this ‘visible universe’ 2000 years ago…
if you want to stay blind & sleep forever then go for it. they own your mind & brain already
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA This is so funny I bet you got a ton of hateful comments!
Well said Alexander. I agree entirely
Apparently to you only the past matters, not the fact that present Christians don’t do nearly any of these things. I’m sorry, what I remember in the Bible is Jesus preaching stuff like to help the poor, consider everyone your family, turning the other cheek, and peace. I’m a Christian, not a Bible-ian. The word of Christ is what I listen to and only what is consistent with Christ’s message. I’m sorry if you were one of those Christians who thought that following the letter was important and not following the spirit and meaning behind his messages. So please, go back and read what you’re so against: the gospels which are what we as CHRISTians should read. I would love to see where CHRIST said we should wipe out an entire race, when he seemingly did the opposite and embraced Samaritans. If you think Jesus saying to destroy the temple was an example of him embracing destruction, learn to read more into it.
Also, to joe smith: What’s your point about the torture device? We’re not praising the torture device or its use. Jesus died on it, that’s not exactly something good that we wish. It serves as a metaphor for the sacrifice people have to make. Because, you know, treating your enemies as friends is a sacrifice. Giving up possessions to the poor is a sacrifice.
And funny enough, I barely consider myself a Catholic. I don’t agree with a lot of things, but when people are so blatantly wrong they wish to marginalize and generalize an entire group of people, I’m going to prove them wrong despite my own beliefs.
Let me guess you’re an atheist…?
That in no way whatsoever fits under the definition of a cult.
fuc*ing christians
No Christians shouldn’t! The definition of a cult is: followers of an unorthodox, extremist, or false religion or sect who often live outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader. Christianity isn’t unorthodox! It doesn’t teach people to do horrible things to each other or that one race is better than another or that someone is the “reincarnation” of Jesus or Elijah or someone like that. Christians don’t live outside of a conventional society. We don’t force our beliefs on everyone else or teach that we need to kill everyone who doesn’t believe then same as us. It’s not a cult or anything terrible at all!
I actually consider political parties and other similar organizations to be cults. This opens the door for organizations like Hilter's Nazi Party, Stalin's Communist party, Bin Laden's Al Qeada. Torqumeda's Spanish Inquisition
All of which leave the organizations listed in the original post as very minor league players.
You would have to be responsible for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of deaths to qualify.
You forgot to mention the Tea Party.
You’ve won the Internet Ron.
JT: Thanks for mentioning them – I have added them to the notable Exclusions list.
You forgot to mention these are all branches of the largest cult of all: the Roman Catholic Church and its many subcults (Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists, etc)
oldfart: I didn’t, but I am glad you have had the chance to say so yourself
Good list, I enjoyed reading it. What qualifies as a cult, since we’re on the topic? A belief system outside the mainstream? What about the amish?
" What qualifies as a cult ? "
I think " Islamic Sharia Law " qualifies as the worlds largest " CULT "
They control every aspect of their followers lives, using the religious koran.
They make all other cults look like ' SLEEP-OVERS'
A cult is a group of less than a million people who believe in one thing very avidly. The Amish had million+ people, so they're not a cult.
@Danny
What is your source that says a cult is fewer than a million followers?
I am interested in finding out more.
wow. in the case of scientology. Images speak louder than words.
I second what Sickmind Fraud says & would mention groups such as the KKK, White Supremacist factions and gangs themselves.
the same one's that call there org; black panther's and muslum's , jessie jackson. and then there is old al sharpton thug. and thief's
hey great man, I remember mentioning this as a possible subject some time back. I was doing my own study on the leaders of a number of these cults along with “false gurus” and the diferent factors of authoritative powers. a facinating field.
why does it go 1,2,3,4,5,,6,5,4,3,2,1?
I saw your previous lists with mentions of Scientology. I found this Time article a few years ago, and if anyone has the time, I would highly recommend reading it. It will probably give you a new-found disgust for the cult.
http://www.zipperfish.com/rants/time-article.php
Your site is probably the greatest time-killer ever. Keep up the good work.
I think it all boils down to people wanting to be accepted and “taken it”, people are forever looking for the reason as to why we are here and will resort to some pretty f’ed up thoughts and deeds to feel they are on the right path.I still go with the age old saying of live and let live. I go to work come home, pay my bills, go out to eat on occasion, enjoy my programs, have some close friends over,love my wife and kids and call it a life.
agreed. Live & Let Live. Taking this a step further, it is also why I became a vegetarian 4 yrs ago
Molly: Thanks for pointing that out – I have corrected the ordering.
stugy: thanks
Joe: I think you are right about that.
nice list.
Well, the first and fifth cults named are not as dangerous as the sixth… but it’s a good idea to make such pages. Bravo
Manson video is brilliant. It is a perfect example of how people need to believe in someone or something. There were people that gave their lives away for him and he admits to being a perfect idiot. Unbelievable. That video should be mandatory viewing for the public, I tell you.
You can take Raëlism right off the list. About 10 years ago some friends and I saw an advertisement for UFO Land, so while up in Montreal we went to see it. After the tour there was a sign up list to become more involved, the Acolyte how had taken us around took it away from us and said it wasn’t for us. Rejected.
While still a cult, the philosophy of the Raelians is something we should all live by: self-respect, love & respect for others, & womens' equality.
Jehovah's Witnesses do not deny themselves medical treatment. They do not have blood transfusions, instead opting for bloodless surgery techniques and treatments that many mainstream doctors are advocating as a safer alternative, due to the risks involved in using blood (such as trasmitted disease, etc). …It's always good to know the details before generalizing on stuff like that.
So you are saying the only reason they do not take blood is because of the risks involved and not because of scriptures? I know for a fact if you partake in blood transfusions you will be shunned and disfellowshipped. There is enormouse amount of pressure on the people to not take blood and they even give you no blood cards to put in your wallets accept in Bolgaria, the Witnesses have a contract with the Government that if the witnesses decide to have a transfusion there will be no sanctions on that person from the society… Can you say hypocrite? I will say our family had very good friends when I was young that had two beautiful girls both inside and out, they were angels with natural black hair with natural blue tints. Very sweet and presious. Both of the girls were born with holes in their hearts both of them had surgeries in the eighties and died because of lack of blood. It you read the scripture dirrecting the gentiles to not partake of blood or drink the blood of the animals you will see it was refering to being respectful of the Jews displeasure and not doing so in front of them. Would you drink a couple of beers in front of your friend that just stopped drinking, no it wouldn’t be kind. You people have blood on your hands. Innocent people dying as a sacrifice to back interpratation of a cult that must be the authority on what is right by all means they are the one true religion. But then again new light is shed all the time. Tell me about 1914. My whole life I was told Armageddon would come before those alive during 1914 would pass away, now you cannot get a Revelation book that shows these teachings because you change the teaching and put the book out of print (I have it!)…. tsk tsk, you know the truth and yet come here to stand by a lie. Please Wake Up.
Mr Ed: really? That must be a first for a cult!
jfrater Really. I tried to be respectful because I realized that this is what people really believed but maybe I didn’t do a good enough job.
Mr Ed: it is definitely not stereotypical of cults that’s for sure.
Wow! Fascinating list! The scientology video is amazing on how Tommy ( I think that was his name ) just pops up all over the country where ever that reporter was! I wonder what all they are hiding! And I agree with Joe Rosson…sad lonely people looking for acceptance. Or just plain insane.
All religions are cults – burning bushes? Eating and drinking the flesh and blood of Christ? Thinking doomsday will occur and the good people will ascend to heaven and the sinners (including babies who haven’t been dipped in water) will burn in hell?
Orthodox Jews religion interferes with their ability to function – on Saturdays they can’t turn on their radio or run their dishwasher – their habits are definitely outside of mainstream.
And finally, Mormonism. Oh geez and Jehovah’s Witness – they deny themselves medical treatment.
actually if you read the bible you would know that all children are innocent in the eyes of God because they have not reached the age of understanding yet
When I was around 8, my mother took me to a Missouri Synod Lutheran church that believed in babies that weren't baptized going to hell. Like George Carlin would say, I've matured & since became agnostic. I don't know if there is a god or gods or supreme beings that placed us here. If they're aliens that made us I'd like to meet them someday as they'd be much more advanced (and probably a helluva a lot more civilized) than we are.
"actually if you read the bible" I'm sure this woman has, she seems to know her stuff, unlike you. Pre-Industrial revolution, before secularisation had even begun, it was widely believed that children un baptised would burn in hell, so much so, that if a child died before being baptised they would be buried in unmarked graves, next to rapists and murderers. Do you think that's fair Gary? So actually if you read at all you'd know what this lady's saying is true.
Burning Bush- Sign from God that it was Holy ground.
Eating and drinking the flesh and blood of Christ- You don't sound uneducated and so I'm sure that you can recognise that it is symbolic and since Jesus said that whilst alive and, presumably, not dismembered, I think that it is safe to say that it fits with all of the symbolism from the OT. As for 'good people going to heaven and sinners going to hell', the whole point is that no one is worthy and that through Jesus our relationship with God can be restored. No gain for anyone else. The unbaptised babies argument is null and void.
You did not describe Christianity. You described a false view of Christianity. Last time is checked, bushes CAN catch on fire. Is nothing possible? And the body and blood of Christ is symbolic, as stated by someone else. EVERYONE is a sinner, therefore we all deserve hell because of our sinful nature. But there is forgiveness in Christ. You don't need baptism, nor the Eucharist to be saved. Only faith.
FYI
Biblically, God never says that Babies have to be dipped in water. Accepting Christ is a spiritual baptism, and we can never be for sure as to what will happen to babies and such
I believe, as a Christian, that as small children are to oyoung to truely understand the acceptance of Christ into their lives that they would go to heaven.
This was very good. I have been interested in subject of cults/sects for many yrs. I would have added the benign appearing group of Dr. Depak Chopra & the folks in IOWA affiliated w/the Maharishi Meditation groups (scuse spellings). Their spa/resort, The Raj is a fascinating place. Dr. Chopra has left the Iowa group; but his influence is felt. Chopra has gotten into some mighty deep controversy. He was so popular, it’s a classic example of when a cult gets mainstreamed into being a non-controversial religion.
I never thought Mormon's were a cult. What wrong thing have we done? I guess being one of the fastest growing christian religions could make use one. But the definition of a cult doesn't really state that does it.http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&am…
has a good set of definitions. I could see a lot of religions that fall into these frames.
All religion is cult. The people of all religions need to believe in a higher being(s) to tell them how to behave & brainwash their children since before they can reason for themselves into believing they must act in certain ways & perform rituals & songs. It's absurd and these people feel they must live on either through reincarnation or by going to heaven.
Well actually all Biblical principals are highly valued into society today, even if they don’t have the “bible” stamp, and historical accounts found there are being proved by Science today. There have been numerous spiritual movements in the natural world, and spiritual world, throughout the ages. I for one have struggled since a very young age to believe in what i cannot see, and have come to terms with a real and loving god. I think people like you only see what “christians” do, and since someof them are less than ideal, you write off the whoel notion of a loving god. So here is a hard fact:
God is real, and is awesome. He saves, he loves, he cares. Not a lot of people who believe in him understand all that there is to him, and they make mistakes.
Thankyhou.
Good thinking: God bless you. To let facts make decisions not emotions or opinions check out calvaryhomemissions.com
christian i no everything you teach and believe' dont even go there jason was in the mormon. church for thirty years you really dont want me to go there i have been in your temple;s cult yes sir' that is what anybody is that dont believe in the cross and the blood christ shed. not some 14 year old retarded yung boy named joesph smith. ex momon for JESUS brad l stemple sr
thats true i dont seeanything wrong with it
Osho and HARE RAMA HARE KRISHNA shoulda been here. But then, Rafter is probably Australian, if he was an American, OSHO would have got all the limelight!
The biggest cult of all was left off. You forgot to mention the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
you got that right jim these people believe you can work yourself up to become a god and godess and get your own planet with all these women and they have spirit babies to fill there planet . and when you look at the sky on a clear night at the moon that big bright star you see there they say that's planet KOLOB where god live's they just think with the wrong HEAD. ex mormon for jesus
Why are Seventh Day Adventists listed in the notable exclusions? I was baptised at 16 after joining the church once I was able to understand the teachings. I know they have some different views but none of them are cult-like in my opinion. They follow the bible… Too bad that Waco, Tx had to drag their name into all that…
Regarding the LDS church, I live in the heartland of the mormons and they are the largest group of hippocritical,judgmental, and otherwise strange people you’ll ever meet.(note this is a generalisasion and you can find mormons that can think for them selves, but its rare.)
secondly no one has mentioned Paul Schäfer Schneiderthe german pedofile who started a cult in chile or argentina im not sure exactly. the cult was called Colonia Dignidad (“Dignity Colony”)—later renamed Villa Baviera. It was like a religous based work camp and the man used electric shock as punishment for adults and as a sick form of sadism on the private parts of young boys and girls. the twisted perversions of this man make him one of the worst cult leaders ever I think.
Sorry its so long but I hope you take the time to read the whole thing
Hunter: thanks for the comment – I will certainly do some research on the cult you mention – I have not heard of it before.
nice work. Pretty educative and cautionary.
Marvin: thanks – people need to well aware of the dangers of these groups.
yea, Schafer is a messed up guy, he was a child molestor who established a South American orphanage to fulfull his needs. And had a compound in which people were basically held as prisoners.
Okay, Mormons may be strange, judgmental, hypocritcal, and a lot of other things…
But they are not a cult! If Mormonism (LDS) is a cult, then Christianity is. They’re a valid religion who worship God and the Savior.
and believe they can become a god and a goddess and get there own planet and have spirit babies for eternity wow now that is far out. ex mormon for JESUS brad l stemple sr
http://www.godandscience.org/cults/mormdiff.html
here is one of many sites explaining the differences between christians and mormons
Wow. Here I am twice on the Notable Exclusions. I was born and raised LDS (Mormon) and my wife was born and raised 7th Day Adventist. I've never found anything too cultish about either of them, not more than any other religion that is. I think the confusion comes from the lackadaisical attitude of most religions' doctrine versus the mandatory adherence of strict (nonstandard) doctrine in those two religions. In both SDA and LDS religions there are many hypocritical members who look down upon nonactive/non-practicing members thus leading to much resentment and eventual exodus from the religion.
Mormons consider themselves "Christian" in that they worship Christ.
The claim that the LDS religion is "the fastest growing religion in the world" is complete and utter bull*****, but it should be noted that it has increased dramatically in popularity recently. It currently counts it total members at about 15 million worldwide though only 40-60% of those are active.
I will be the first to admit that there are some odd doctrines in LDS theology (i.e. no coffee/tea/drugs, God having a physical form, living prophets), but no more so than, say, Catholicism (i.e. the Godhead, prayers to saints, forgiveness granted by priests), or SDA (most notably, belief in following the laws of the old and new testaments).
Yeah, I no longer practice any specific religion but I'd still be wary of putting the LDS and SDA religions into the cult category. The only thing cultish about either of them is the mandatory adherence to strict doctrine. But if you think a mandatory 10% tithe (Mormon) or no activities on Saturday (SDA) is harsh, then you should lump in not eating unclean animals (Jews) and tithes paying clergy (Catholicism, Lutheranism, SDA, dozens of other religions)(Mormons are an exception to this as no Mormon clergyman is paid, not even the prophet).
I'd also like to note that the majority of hypocritical Mormons are found in Utah and Idaho. Everywhere else they are pretty accepting.
As a last word there are always break-off groups who give various religions a bad name, try studying their doctrine before labeling them as a cult. You'd be surprised how your doctrines are viewed to them.
I think I'll make a few lists of the top 10 religious misconceptions for various religions.
What you're trying to prove is that LDS theology is a lesser of all evils- where religion is concerned? If so, why follow it at all? Do you really believe that 'god' wishes us not to consume tea or coffee? I understand you no longer follow a religion and I respect you for that, but I don't believe that claim is 'utter bull*****' I think your past beliefs are, why not believe in equality and kindness, because if there is a God, I'm sure as hell that he'd prefer me to be nice to people, not conform to some religious crap that is the root of all racism and evil in this world, and I'm sure he'd even allow me a cuppa before bedtime.
Oh, good God, I just had to comment, even though this was an old post.
Religion is the root of all racism and evil in the world? I really hope that you clicked to be notified of follow up comments, because you are one of the most ignorant pieces of wasteful skin on his planet.
Yes, preaching peace between all, loving your fellow man, not killing or stealing, etc. etc. is so racist and evil.
You are a moron, pure and simple. One of the true definitions of the word.
Oh, and stop giving me the “wars committed for religion” crap. That was MAN starting those wars. False prophets using religion as a scapegoat. Religion never started the wars, HUMAN BEINGS did. Fact, end of story, cannot argue fact.
Let me put it into a context you might be able to grasp. A person can blame the winds of the 5 geese for breaking their video game controller, but the fact of the matter is that the stupid bast*rd that threw the controller on the ground (and, subsequently, blamed something else for it) is the guilty party. Understand?
correction: *this* planet
Have you never read the original religious texts of… well MOST religions? Or heard of the certain passages? Even the Bible says slavery is ok at one point.
There is no such belief, teaching, or practice among SDAs as “no activities on Saturday.” Absolutely none.
Ye humans are weird.
Did I really createth thee?
Musta’ been busy and y’all just kinda’ snuck in there.
Will be more careful next time.
Some comic relief!!! Thank the lord, or aliens, or charles manson, or whatever you may or may not believe in. This blog was getting to heated.
International Churches of Christ is also a possible contender, having been banned from over 200 college campuses worldwide.
By the way, ICoC contracted a professor from a Texas university (both the name of the prof and the uni escape me at the moment) to try to prove they aren’t a cult. He set about administering personality tests and concluded that they *are* a cult, largely in part because in most mainstream religions, adherents display diverse personality types. In cults, however, members tend to change their personalities over time until the types all converge into one type – usually that of the cult leader’s. Say what you will about organized religion, but most mainstream religions don’t do the psychological damage that cults do.
I would second that call. The ICoC are a cult, came over to the UK from Britain. I went along to one for about 6 months and was heavily discipled along with my girlfriend. Thanks to our firm foundations and education we could leave and recognise the nature of their organisation. I feel sorry for those that don't recognise it.
Anya : ” Say what you will about organized religion, but most mainstream religions don’t do the psychological damage that cults do.”
I forget what channel its on but there is a t.v. documentary/mini series called gods children or somthing to that effect, anyway its this lady training kids to be gods army. crazy $#!% if you ask me.
Anew: I have heard about it, and it [i]is[/i] frightening. For what it’s worth, though, I did qualify my statement with the words ‘most’ and ‘mainstream.’ There are always zealots and extremists who will corrupt a theology or doctrine for their own purposes. My main point was that it is possible to quantify what makes a cult, and as far as I’m concerned, people will have a hard time convincing me that [i]all[/i] organized religions do as much damage as cults do.
I am biased, of course – a very close friend of mine committed suicide after being severely undertreated for schizophrenia and becoming involved with ICoC.
Poop. I guess I can’t html in comments.
Poop. I guess I forgot the difference between square brackets and angle brackets. *sigh*
Scientology and Heavens Gate should be #1 and #2 in my opinion…
“This is a list of the top ten cults. In no particular order:”
i’m ugandan,so no.4 in particular creeps me out.i remember that story vaguely,it caused quite a stir in my country.
Fun fact about mormomism : They believe that the angels who fought against god became demons, that the angels who fought along side god became white aryans, and that the angels who didn’t fight at all became black people. Oh yea, they also believe that Jesus hung out with the native americans.
Tardly: the “Jesus lived in America” thing is hilarious.
Tardly: Woah. Don’t go spreading hearsay about Mormons just cause it makes a good story. Technically, they believe angels to be spirits. The spirits who fought alongside God were given bodies and sent to earth (i.e. you and me). The spirits who fought against God were cast down to the earth without bodies (along with Lucifer). And the mark that was placed upon Cain and all his descendants was dark skin.
As for hanging out with the Native Americans, yeah, they do believe that. But only during the time after the resurrection.
so exactly what 'Tardly' said then? Most religion is racist drivel, and I don't just argue against this because I'm one of the oppressed. I'm a middle class white girl, but I can still see that all this is rubbish.
Wow, I had no idea that the mormon religion was based on such racist claims!
You want to talk about Mormon racism? Let’s talk about the fact that black men were not allowed to have the priesthood until 1978.
Tardly: I owe you an apology, you are correct that Mormons claim those who were “less valiant” in the “pre-existence” were born black people. But they also believe that there were no bystanders in the war in heaven.
I never said that other religions are not or were not racist what I said is that I had no idea that the Mormon religion was as well… that is ALL I meant.
See this is exactly why I do not believe in organized religion…
SocialButterfly: Sorry for the tone of my comment. It was not directed at you. And I can see how that could be misinterpreted. I meant that Mormon black men were not allowed the Mormon priesthood until 1978
Oh… I am very sorry Mystern. I thought you were defending Mormonism.
Please accept my apologies.
I don’t know why you’re apologizing. It was my fault. Just so we’re on the same page I’m very disillusioned by religion in general right now and especially the Mormon religion. If you insist though, apology accepted.
anyone ever hear of the F.L.D.S.? they are the shiites of the mormon religion. Warren Jeffs is insane, he was recently arrested for his outlandish beliefs.
Good point Hunter! And that’s pretty recent too.
speaking of the mormons they recently lost their president Gordon B. Hinkley.
and they lowered the american flag for him
I like the list, I think it makes for great conversation … but I gotta make a suggestion: what if there were TWO lists: one for religion-based cults and one for non-religion based cults? As in “Human Potential” groups like ESP/NXIVM, Landmark, Sterling, PSI, etc. Some would say Scientology falls into that category except for the fact that they SAY they are a religion, I guess Dianetics is the Human Potential part of it?
Anyway this is just a suggestion! And check out
http://www.rickross.com (I am in no way affiliated with the website, just have learned a lot from it) for LOTS of info on all types of cults!