Cult

==Anti-cult movements==

===Christian countercult movement===
{{Main|Christian countercult movement}}
In the 1940s, the long-held opposition by some established [[Christian denomination]]s to non-Christian religions and supposedly [[heresy|heretical]] or counterfeit Christian sects crystallized into a more organized [[Christian countercult movement]] in the United States. For those belonging to the movement, all religious groups claiming to be Christian, but deemed outside of Christian [[orthodoxy]], were considered cults.<ref>{{harvnb|Cowan|2003}}</ref> Christian cults are [[new religious movement]]s that have a Christian background but are considered to be theologically deviant by members of other Christian churches.<ref>[[J. Gordon Melton]], ''Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America'' (New York/London: Garland, 1986; revised edition, Garland, 1992). p. 5</ref> 

The Christian countercult movement asserts that Christian sects whose beliefs are partially or wholly not in accordance with the Bible are erroneous. It also states that a religious sect can be considered a cult if its beliefs involve a denial of what they view as any of the essential Christian teachings such as [[salvation]], the [[Trinity]], [[Historical Jesus|Jesus himself as a person]], the [[ministry of Jesus]], the [[miracles of Jesus]], the [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion]], the [[resurrection of Christ]], the [[Second Coming]], and the [[rapture]].<ref>[[Walter Ralston Martin|Martin, Walter Ralston]]. 1978. ''The Rise of the Cults'' (revised ed.). Santa Ana: Vision House. pp. 11–12.</ref><ref>[[Richard Abanes|Abanes, Richard]]. 1997. ''Defending the Faith: A Beginner's Guide to Cults and New Religions''. Grand Rapids: [[Baker Book House]]. p. 33.</ref><ref>House, H. Wayne, and Gordon Carle. 2003. ''Doctrine Twisting: How Core Biblical Truths are Distorted''. Downers Grove, IL: [[InterVarsity Press]].</ref>

Countercult literature usually expresses doctrinal or theological concerns and a [[missionary]] or [[apologetics|apologetic]] purpose.<ref>Trompf, Garry W. 1987. "Missiology, Methodology and the Study of New Religious Movements." ''Religious Traditions'' 10:95–106.</ref> It presents a rebuttal by emphasizing the teachings of the Bible against the beliefs of non-fundamental Christian sects. Christian countercult activist writers also emphasize the need for Christians to [[evangelism|evangelize]] to followers of cults.<ref>[[Ronald Enroth|Enroth, Ronald]], ed. 1990. ''Evangelising the Cults''. Milton Keynes, UK: [[Word Books]].</ref><ref>[[Norman Geisler|Geisler, Norman L.]], and Ron Rhodes. 1997. ''When Cultists Ask: A Popular Handbook on Cultic Misinterpretations''. Grand Rapids: [[Baker Book House]].</ref><ref name=":1" />{{Rp|479–493}}

In his influential book ''[[The Kingdom of the Cults]]'' (1965), Christian scholar [[Walter Ralston Martin]] defines Christian cults as groups that follow the personal interpretation of an individual, rather than the understanding of the [[Bible]] accepted by [[Nicene Christianity]], providing the examples of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], [[Christian Science]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], and the [[Unity Church]].<ref name=":1">[[Walter Ralston Martin|Martin, Walter Ralston]]. [1965] 2003. ''[[The Kingdom of the Cults]]'' (revised ed.), edited by [[Ravi Zacharias|R. Zacharias]]. US: [[Bethany House]]. {{ISBN|0764228218}}.</ref>{{Rp|18}}<ref name = "Free Lance Star">Michael J. McManus, "Eulogy for the godfather of the anti-cult movement", obituary in ''[[The Free Lance-Star]]'', Fredericksburg, VA, 26 August 1989, [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19890826&id=FuBLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=S4sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1201,1411394 p. 8].</ref>  Martin examines a large number of [[new religious movement]]s; included are major groups such as [[Christian Science]], [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[Armstrongism]], [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophy]], the [[Baháʼí Faith]], [[Unitarian Universalism]], [[Scientology]], as well as  minor groups including various [[New Age]] and groups based on [[Eastern religions]]. The beliefs of other world religions such as [[Islam]] and [[Buddhism]] are also discussed. He covers each group's history and teachings, and contrasts them with those of mainstream Christianity.<ref name = "Free Lance Star"/><ref>"unapologetically hostile to young and developing spiritual trends" {{cite journal|title=New Religious Movements in the 21st Century: Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global Perspective |author=Wendy Dackson |journal=Journal of Church and State|volume=46|issue=3 |date=Summer 2004|page=663|doi=10.1093/jcs/46.3.663}}</ref>

===Secular anti-cult movement===
{{Main|Anti-cult movement}}
[[File:Anti-Aum Shinrikyo protest.JPG|thumb|An anti-[[Aum Shinrikyo]] protest in Japan, 2009]]
In the early 1970s, a [[Secularity|secular]] opposition movement to groups considered cults had taken shape. The organizations that formed the secular [[anti-cult movement]] (ACM) often acted on behalf of relatives of "cult" [[religious conversion|converts]] who did not believe their loved ones could have altered their lives so drastically by their own [[free will]]. A few [[psychologist]]s and [[Sociology|sociologists]] working in this field suggested that [[brainwashing]] techniques were used to maintain the loyalty of cult members.<ref name="refRichardsonIntrovigne">{{harvnb|Richardson|Introvigne|2001}}</ref> The belief that cults brainwashed their members became a unifying theme among cult critics and in the more extreme corners of the anti-cult movement techniques like the sometimes forceful "[[deprogramming]]" of cult members was practised.<ref name="ShupeEncy">{{cite book |chapter=Anti-Cult Movement |last=Shupe |first=Anson |year=1998 |page=27 |title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Society |editor=William H. Swatos Jr.|publisher=AltaMira |location=Walnut Creek, CA |isbn=978-0761989561}}</ref>

Secular cult opponents belonging to the anti-cult movement usually define a cult as a group that tends to manipulate, exploit, and control its members. Specific factors in cult behaviour are said to include manipulative and authoritarian [[mind control]] over members, [[Intentional community|communal]] and totalistic organization, aggressive [[proselytizing]], systematic programs of [[indoctrination]], and perpetuation in [[Middle class|middle-class]] communities.<ref>"[C]ertain manipulative and authoritarian groups which allegedly employ mind control and pose a threat to mental health are universally labeled cults. These groups are usually 1) authoritarian in their leadership; 2) communal and totalistic in their organization; 3) aggressive in their proselytizing; 4) systematic in their programs of indoctrination; 5) relatively new and unfamiliar in the United States; 6) middle class in their clientele" (Robbins and Anthony (1982:283), as qtd. in Richardson 1993:351).</ref><ref name="BromleyEncy">{{cite book |chapter=Brainwashing |last=Bromley |first=David G. |year=1998 |pages=61–62 |title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Society |editor=William H. Swatos Jr. |publisher=AltaMira |location=Walnut Creek, CA |isbn=978-0761989561}}</ref><ref>[[Eileen Barker|Barker, Eileen]]. 1989. ''New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction''. London: [[Her Majesty's Stationery Office]].</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.csj.org/infoserv_cult101/checklis.htm |title=Characteristics Associated with Cultic Groups – Revised |last1=Janja |first1=Lalich |last2=Langone |first2=Michael |website=International_Cultic_Studies_Association |publisher=International Cultic Studies Association |access-date=23 May 2014 |archive-date=30 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070430071731/http://www.csj.org/infoserv_cult101/checklis.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[[Charles A. O'Reilly III|O'Reilly, Charles A.]], and [[Jennifer Chatman|Jennifer A. Chatman]]. 1996. "[http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/chatman/papers/30_CultureAsSocialControl.pdf Culture as Social Control: Corporations, Cults and Commitment]." ''[[Research in Organizational Behavior]]'' 18:157–200. {{ISBN|1559389389}}. Retrieved 6 June 2020.</ref> In the [[mass media]], and among average citizens, "cult" gained an increasingly negative connotation, becoming associated with things like [[kidnapping]], brainwashing, [[psychological abuse]], [[sexual abuse]] and other [[crime|criminal activity]], and [[mass suicide]]. While most of these negative qualities usually have real documented precedents in the activities of a very small minority of new religious groups, mass culture often extends them to any religious group viewed as culturally [[Deviance (sociology)|deviant]], however peaceful or law abiding it may be.<ref>Wright, Stewart A. 1997. "Media Coverage of Unconventional Religion: Any 'Good News' for Minority Faiths?" ''[[Review of Religious Research]]'' 39(2):101–115. {{doi|10.2307/3512176}}. {{JSTOR|3512176}}.</ref><ref>van Driel, Barend, and J. Richardson. 1988. "Cult versus sect: Categorization of new religions in American print media." ''Sociological Analysis'' 49(2):171–183. {{doi|10.2307/3711011}}. {{JSTOR|3711011}}.</ref><ref name=":2">Hill, Harvey, John Hickman, and Joel McLendon. 2001. "Cults and Sects and Doomsday Groups, Oh My: Media Treatment of Religion on the Eve of the Millennium." ''[[Review of Religious Research]]'' 43(1):24–38. {{doi|10.2307/3512241}}. {{JSTOR|3512241}}.</ref><ref name="Richardson" />{{Rp|348–356}}

While some psychologists were receptive to these theories, sociologists were for the most part sceptical of their ability to explain conversion to [[New religious movement|NRMs]].<ref name="BarkerAReview">{{cite journal |author=Barker, Eileen |year=1986 |title=Religious Movements: Cult and Anti-Cult Since Jonestown |journal=Annual Review of Sociology |volume=12 |pages=329–346 |doi=10.1146/annurev.so.12.080186.001553}}</ref> In the late 1980s, psychologists and sociologists started to abandon theories like brainwashing and mind control. While scholars may believe that various less dramatic [[coercion|coercive]] psychological mechanisms could influence group members, they came to see conversion to new religious movements principally as an act of a [[Rational choice theory|rational choice]].<ref name="Ayella">{{cite journal |doi=10.1177/0002764290033005005 |author=Ayella, Marybeth |year=1990 |title=They Must Be Crazy: Some of the Difficulties in Researching 'Cults' |journal=American Behavioral Scientist |volume=33 |issue=5 |pages=562–577|s2cid=144181163}}</ref><ref>[[#Cowan2003|Cowan]], 2003 ix</ref>

===Reactions to the anti-cult movements===
Because of the increasingly pejorative use of the word ''cult'' since the 1970s, some academics argue that its use is prejudicial and should be avoided, particularly, according to Richardson, in scholarly literature and legal proceedings involving an issue related to an unconventional religious movement.<ref name="Richardson" />{{Rp|348–356}} [[Catherine Wessinger]] ([[Loyola University New Orleans]]) has stated that the word ''cult'' represents just as much [[prejudice]] and antagonism as [[racial slurs]] or derogatory words for women and [[Lgbt slur|homosexuals]].<ref name="Wessinger" /> She has argued that it is important for people to become aware of the [[bigotry]] conveyed by the word, drawing attention to the way it dehumanizes the group's members and their children.<ref name="Wessinger">{{cite book| last = Wessinger| first = Catherine Lowman| author-link = Catherine Wessinger| title = How the Millennium Comes Violently| publisher = Seven Bridges Press| year = 2000| location = New York/London
| isbn = 1889119245 |ol=8712028M | page = 4}}</ref> Labelling a group as [[Dehumanization|subhuman]], she says, becomes a justification for violence against it.<ref name="Wessinger" /> She also says that labelling a group a "cult" makes people feel safe, because the "violence associated with religion is split off from conventional religions, projected onto others, and imagined to involve only aberrant groups."<ref name="Wessinger" /> According to her, this fails to take into account that child abuse, sexual abuse, financial extortion and warfare have also been committed by believers of mainstream religions, but the pejorative "cult" stereotype makes it easier to avoid confronting this uncomfortable fact.<ref name="Wessinger" />