Cult

{{Short description|Group controlled by a leader and/or an idea}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date= July 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date= March 2019}}

A '''cult''' is a group which is typically led by a [[charismatic]] and self-appointed leader, who tightly controls its members, requiring unwavering devotion to a set of beliefs and practices which are considered [[Deviance (sociology)|deviant]] (outside the norms of society).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bell |first=Kenton |date=2013 |title=cult |url=https://sociologydictionary.org/cult/ |access-date=March 17, 2023 |website=Open Education Sociology Dictionary.}}</ref> It is in most contexts a [[pejorative]] term, also used for a [[new religious movement]] or other [[social group]] which is defined by its unusual [[Religion|religious]], [[spirituality|spiritual]], or [[Philosophy|philosophical]] beliefs and [[rituals]],<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|cult}}</ref> or its [[Followership|common interest]] in a particular person, object, or [[goal]]. This sense of the term is weakly defined{{snd}}having divergent definitions both in [[popular culture]] and academia{{snd}}and has also been an ongoing source of contention among scholars across several fields of study.<ref name=ZablockiRobbins/><ref name="Richardson">[[James T. Richardson|Richardson, James T.]] 1993. "Definitions of Cult: From Sociological-Technical to Popular-Negative." ''[[Review of Religious Research]]'' 34(4):348–356.  {{doi|10.2307/3511972}}. {{JSTOR|3511972}}.</ref>{{Rp|348–356}}

An [[Cult (religious practice)|older sense of the word]], which is not pejorative, involves a set of religious devotional practices that is conventional within its culture, is related to a particular figure, and is frequently associated with a particular place.<ref>{{oed | cult}} – "2.a. A particular form or system of religious worship or veneration, esp. as expressed in ceremonies or rituals which are directed towards a specified figure or object."</ref> References to the [[Roman imperial cult|imperial cult of ancient Rome]], for example, use the word in this sense.  A derived sense of "excessive devotion" arose in the 19th century.<ref group="lower-roman">Compare the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' note for usage in 1875: "cult:…b. A relatively small group of people having (esp. religious) beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister, or as exercising excessive control over members.… 1875 ''Brit. Mail 30'' Jan. 13/1 Buffaloism is, it would seem, a cult, a creed, a secret community, the members of which are bound together by strange and weird vows, and listen in hidden conclave to mysterious lore."{{Cite OED|cult}}</ref> 

Beginning in the 1930s, cults became an object of [[sociology|sociological study]] within the context of the [[Study of religion|study of religious behavior]].<ref>[[Erwin Fahlbusch|Fahlbusch, Erwin]], and [[Geoffrey W. Bromiley|Geoffrey William Bromiley]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=C5V7oyy69zgC&pg=PA897 ''The Encyclopedia of Christianity'' 4]. p. 897. Retrieved 21 March 2013.</ref> Since the 1940s, the [[Christian countercult movement]] has opposed some [[sect]]s and [[new religious movement]]s, labeling them "cults" because of their [[Heterodoxy|unorthodox beliefs]]. Since the 1970s, the secular [[anti-cult movement]] has opposed certain groups and, as a reaction to acts of violence, frequently charged those cults with practicing [[mind control]].  There are thousands of cults around the world.<ref>{{cite news |title=Why do people join cults and why is it often hard to leave? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/program/inside-story/2023/6/23/why-do-people-join-cults-and-why-is-it-often-hard-to-leave |work=Al Jazeera |date=23 June 2023}}</ref> Groups labelled "cults" range in size from local groups with a few members to international organizations with millions.<ref name="barker1999"/>

[[Sociological classifications of religious movements]] may identify a cult as a social group with [[Deviance (sociology)|socially deviant]] or [[Novelty|novel]] beliefs and practices,<ref>{{harvnb|Stark|Bainbridge|1996|p=124}}</ref> although this is often unclear.<ref>[[OED]], citing ''[[American Journal of Sociology]]'' 85 (1980). p. 1377: "Cults…like other deviant social movements, tend to recruit people with a grievance, people who suffer from a some variety of deprivation."</ref><ref name=":0">Shaw, Chuck. 2005. "[http://shawcss.tripod.com/REL101/society/sects.htm Sects and Cults]." [[Greenville Technical College]]. Retrieved 21 March 2013.</ref><ref>Olson, Paul J. 2006. "The Public Perception of 'Cults' and 'New Religious Movements'." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 45 (1): 97–106</ref> Other researchers present a less-organized picture of cults, saying that they arise spontaneously around novel beliefs and practices.<ref>{{harvnb|Stark|Bainbridge|1987}}</ref> Cults, especially nonreligious ones, have also been called '''high-control groups'''<ref>{{cite thesis |title=The Cultic Lifecycle: A Thematic Analysis of Fulfillment and Fear in Cult Membership |last1=Grant |first1=Shaelen |publisher=City University of New York John Jay College of Criminal Justice |date=2022 |url=https://academicworks.cuny.edu/jj_etds/265/}}</ref> and compared to miniature [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] political systems.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Alexandra |last1=Stein |title=Terror, Love and Brainwashing: Attachment in Cults and Totalitarian Systems |year=2016 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |isbn=9781138677951}}</ref>

==Definition and usage==
In the English-speaking world, the term ''cult'' often carries [[Pejorative|derogatory]] connotations.<ref>[[cf.]] Brink, T. L. 2008. "[https://resources.saylor.org/wwwresources/archived/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/TLBrink_PSYCH13.pdf Unit 13: Social Psychology]." Pp. 293–320 in ''Psychology: A Student Friendly Approach''. p. 320: "Cult is a somewhat derogatory term for a [[new religious movement]], especially one with unusual theological doctrine or one that is abusive of its membership."</ref> In this sense, it has been considered a [[Subjectivity|subjective]] term used as an ''[[ad hominem]]'' attack against groups with differing doctrines or practices.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Bromley, David Melton, and J. Gordon. 2002. ''Cults, Religion, and Violence''. West Nyack, NY: [[Cambridge University Press]].</ref> As such, [[religion scholar]] Megan Goodwin has defined the term ''cult'', when it is used by the layperson, as often being shorthand for a "religion I don't like".<ref>Ingram, Wayne, host. "[https://religion.ua.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Ep_-2-Turkey-Ritual.pdf Turkey Ritual]" (transcript). Ep. 2 in ''Study Religion'' (podcast). Birmingham: Dept. of Religious Studies, [[University of Alabama]].</ref>

In the 1970s, with the rise of [[Secularity|secular]] [[anti-cult movement]]s, scholars (though not the general public) began to abandon the use of the term ''cult''. According to ''The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements'', "by the end of the decade, the term 'new religions' would virtually replace the term 'cult' to describe all of those leftover groups that did not fit easily under the label of church or [[sect]]."<ref name="Lewis, 2004"/>

[[Sociology|Sociologist]] Amy Ryan (2000) has argued for the need to differentiate those groups that may be dangerous from groups that are more benign.<ref>Ryan, Amy. 2000. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20051118223258/http://rand.pratt.edu/~giannini/newreligions.html New Religions and the Anti-Cult Movement: Online Resource Guide in Social Sciences].'' Archived from the [http://rand.pratt.edu/~giannini/newreligions.html#Definitions original] on 18 November 2005.</ref> Ryan notes the sharp differences between definitions offered by cult opponents, who tend to focus on negative characteristics, and those offered by sociologists, who aim to create definitions that are [[value-free]]. The movements themselves may have different definitions of religion as well.<ref>[[Bryan R. Wilson|Wilson, Bryan]]. 2001. "[https://www.scribd.com/document/115621228/Why-the-Bruderhof-is-not-a-cult-by-Bryan-Wilson Why the Bruderhof is not a cult]." Retrieved 12 July 2017. p. 2. – via Scribd:

Wilson makes the same point, saying that the [[Bruderhof Communities|Bruderhof]] is not a cult, pointing out that the public imagination is captured by five events that have occurred in religious groups: [[Jonestown]], the [[Branch Davidians]], [[Order of the Solar Temple|Solar Temple]], [[Aum Shinrikyo]], and [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]].</ref> [[George Chryssides]] also cites a need to develop better definitions to allow for common ground in the debate. Casino (1999) presents the issue as crucial to international human rights laws. Limiting the definition of religion may interfere with freedom of religion, while too broad a definition may give some dangerous or abusive groups "a limitless excuse for avoiding all unwanted legal obligations."<ref name="Casino-DefiningReligion">Casino. Bruce J. 15 March 1999. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20051110101400/http://www.religiousfreedom.com/articles/casino.htm Defining Religion in American Law]" (lecture). ''Conference On The Controversy Concerning Sects In French-Speaking Europe''. Sponsored by [[CESNUR]] and CLIMS. Archived from the [http://www.religiousfreedom.com/articles/casino.htm original] on 10 November 2005.</ref>

==New religious movements==
{{main|New religious movement}}
[[File:Church-sect continuum.svg|right|thumb|400px|[[Howard P. Becker]]'s church–sect typology, based on [[Ernst Troeltsch]]'s original theory and providing the basis for the modern concepts of cults, [[sect]]s, and [[new religious movement]]s]]
A new religious movement (NRM) is a religious community or spiritual group of modern origins (since the mid-19th century), which has a peripheral place within its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or part of a wider religion, in which case they are distinct from pre-existing [[Religious denomination|denomination]]s.<ref name="Clarke, Peter B 2006">Clarke, Peter B. 2006. ''New Religions in Global Perspective: A Study of Religious Change in the Modern World''. New York: Routledge.</ref><ref name="siegler2007">[[Elijah Siegler|Siegler, Elijah]]. 2007. ''New Religious Movements''. [[Prentice Hall]]. {{ISBN|0131834789}}.</ref> In 1999, [[Eileen Barker]] estimated that NRMs, of which some but not all have been labelled as cults, number in the tens of thousands worldwide; and that the great majority of which have only a few members, some have thousands and only very few have more than a million.<ref name="barker1999">[[Eileen Barker|Barker, Eileen]]. 1999. "New Religious Movements: their incidence and significance." ''New Religious Movements: Challenge and Response'', edited by B. Wilson and J. Cresswell. [[Routledge]]. {{ISBN|0415200504}}.</ref> In 2007, [[Religious studies|religious scholar]] [[Elijah Siegler]] commented that, although no NRM had become the dominant faith in any country, many of the concepts which they had first introduced (often referred to as "[[New Age]]" ideas) have become part of worldwide mainstream culture.<ref name="siegler2007" />{{Rp|51}}

High-control groups may encourage their believers to disengage from so-called 'world affairs', shun or limit interaction with nonbelievers, and maintain a distinct identity separate from mainstream culture, reinforcing group cohesion and control. The emphasis on isolation and exclusivity can likewise contribute to the group's sense of identity and reinforce adherence to its beliefs and practices.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Luther |first=Rosie |title=What Happens to Those Who Exit Jehovah's Witnesses: An Investigation of the Impact of Shunning |journal=Pastoral Psychology |volume=72 |pages=105–120 |date=2023 |issue=1 |doi=10.1007/s11089-022-01051-x|pmid=36618854 |pmc=9803876 }}</ref>

==Scholarly studies==
[[File:Max Weber 1894.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Max Weber]] (1864–1920), an important theorist in the study of cults]]
Sociologist [[Max Weber]] (1864–1920) is an important theorist in the academic study of cults, which often draws on his theorizations of [[Charismatic authority|charismatic authority]], and of the distinction between [[Church (congregation)|churches]] and [[Sect|sects]].<ref name="Weber">{{cite journal |last1=Weber |first1=Max |title="Churches" and "Sects" in North America: An Ecclesiastical Socio-Political Sketch |journal=Sociological Theory |date=Spring 1985 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=7–13 |doi=10.2307/202166 |jstor=202166 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/202166 |access-date=1 July 2023}}</ref> Weber theorizes that [[charisma]]tic leadership often follow the [[routinization of charisma]].<ref>[[Max Weber|Weber, Max]]. [1922] 1949. "The Nature of Charismatic Authority and its Routinization." Ch. 4§10 in ''Theory of Social and Economic Organization,'' translated by A. R. Anderson and [[Talcott Parsons|T. Parsons]]. [http://www.textlog.de/7415.html Available in its original German].</ref> These ideas have been used to theorize the dynamics of groups that have been labelled cults, including the [[People's Temple]],<ref name="Johnson">{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=Doyle Paul |title=The Case of the People's Temple |journal=Sociological Analysis |date=Winter 1978 |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=315–323 |doi=10.2307/3709960 |jstor=3709960 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3709960 |access-date=1 July 2023}}</ref> and the [[Rajneesh movement]].<ref name="Lindholm">{{cite journal |last1=Lindholm |first1=Charles |title=Culture, Charisma, and Consciousness: The Case of the Rajneeshee |journal=Ethos |date=December 2002 |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=357–375 |doi=10.1525/eth.2002.30.4.357 |jstor=3651879 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3651879 |access-date=1 July 2023}}</ref>
The concept of a ''cult'' as a [[Sociological classifications of religious movements|sociological classification]], however, was introduced in 1932 by American sociologist [[Howard P. Becker]] as an expansion of German theologian [[Ernst Troeltsch]]'s own ''[[Sociological classifications of religious movements#Church-sect typology|church–sect typology]]''. Troeltsch's aim was to distinguish between three main types of religious behaviour: churchly, [[Sectarianism|sectarian]], and [[Mysticism|mystical]].

Becker further bisected Troeltsch's first two categories: ''church'' was split into [[Christian Church|''ecclesia'']] and [[Religious denomination|''denomination'']]; and ''sect'' into ''[[sect]]'' and ''cult''.<ref name="SwatosEncy">{{cite book |chapter=Church-Sect Theory |last=Swatos |first=William H. Jr. |year=1998 |pages=90–93 |title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Society |editor=William H. Swatos Jr. |publisher=AltaMira |location=Walnut Creek, CA |isbn=978-0761989561}}</ref> Like Troeltsch's "mystical religion", Becker's ''cult'' refers to small religious groups that lack in organization and emphasize the private nature of personal beliefs.<ref name="CampbellEncy">{{cite book |chapter=Cult |last=Campbell |first=Colin |year=1998 |pages=122–123 |title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Society |editor=William H. Swatos Jr. |publisher=AltaMira |location=Walnut Creek, CA |isbn=978-0761989561}}</ref> Later sociological formulations built on such characteristics, placing an additional emphasis on cults as [[deviant]] religious groups, "deriving their inspiration from outside of the predominant religious culture."<ref name="Richardson" />{{Rp|349}} This is often thought to lead to a high degree of tension between the group and the more mainstream culture surrounding it, a characteristic shared with religious sects.<ref>{{harvnb|Stark|Bainbridge|1987|p=25}}</ref> According to this sociological terminology, ''sects'' are products of religious [[schism (religion)|schism]] and therefore maintain a continuity with traditional beliefs and practices, whereas ''cults'' arise spontaneously around novel beliefs and practices.<ref>{{harvnb|Stark|Bainbridge|1987|p=124}}</ref>

In the early 1960s, sociologist [[John Lofland (sociologist)|John Lofland]], living with South Korean [[missionary]] [[Young Oon Kim]] and some of the first American [[Unification Church]] members in California, studied their activities in trying to promote their beliefs and win new members.<ref>[http://www.uc-history.us/GalenHistory/Forward.htm The Early Unification Church History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222192756/http://www.uc-history.us/GalenHistory/Forward.htm |date=22 February 2012}}, Galen Pumphrey</ref> Lofland noted that most of their efforts were ineffective and that most of the people who joined did so because of personal relationships with other members, often family relationships.<ref>Swatos, William H., ed. "[http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/conversion.htm Conversion]"  and "[http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/Unification.htm Unification Church]" in ''Encyclopedia of Religion and Society''. Hartford, CT: [[AltaMira Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0761989561}}.

Archived from the original on 21 January 2012 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20120121122133/http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/conversion.htm Conversion]) and 13 January 2012 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20120113080905/http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/Unification.htm Unification Church]).</ref> Lofland published his findings in 1964 as a [[Thesis|doctoral thesis]] entitled "The World Savers: A Field Study of Cult Processes", and in 1966 in book form by [[Prentice-Hall]] as ''[[Doomsday Cult: A Study of Conversion, Proselytization, and Maintenance of Faith|Doomsday Cult: A Study of Conversion, Proselytization and Maintenance of Faith]]''. It is considered to be one of the most important and widely cited studies of the process of religious conversion.<ref>Ashcraft, W. Michael. 2006. ''African Diaspora Traditions and Other American Innovations'', (''Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America'' 5). [[Greenwood Publishing Group]].
{{ISBN|978-0275987176}}. p. 180.</ref><ref>[[George Chryssides|Chryssides, George D.]] [1999] 2001. ''Exploring New Religions (Issues in Contemporary Religion)''. [[Continuum International Publishing Group]].
{{ISBN|978-0826459596}}. p. 1.</ref>

Sociologist [[Roy Wallis]] (1945–1990) argued that a cult is characterized by "[[epistemology|epistemological]] [[individualism]]," meaning that "the cult has no clear locus of final authority beyond the individual member." Cults, according to Wallis, are generally described as "oriented towards the problems of individuals, loosely structured, tolerant [and] non-exclusive," making "few demands on members," without possessing a "clear distinction between members and non-members," having "a rapid turnover of membership" and as being transient collectives with vague boundaries and fluctuating belief systems. Wallis asserts that cults emerge from the "cultic [[milieu]]".<ref>[[Roy Wallis|Wallis, Roy]]. 1975. "Scientology: Therapeutic Cult to Religious Sect." ''[[British Sociological Association]]'' 9(1):89–100. {{doi|10.1177/003803857500900105}}.</ref>

[[J. Gordon Melton]] stated that, in 1970, "one could count the number of active researchers on new religions on one's hands." However, [[James R. Lewis (scholar)|James R. Lewis]] writes that the "meteoric growth" in this field of study can be attributed to the cult controversy of the early 1970s. Because of "a wave of nontraditional religiosity" in the late 1960s and early 1970s, academics perceived new religious movements as different phenomena from previous religious innovations.<ref name="Lewis, 2004">{{harvnb|Lewis|2004}}</ref>

In 1978, Bruce Campbell noted that cults are associated with beliefs in a [[divinity|divine]] [[Classical element|element]] in the [[individual]]; it is either ''[[soul]]'', ''[[self]]'', or [[Religious views on the self|''true self'']]. Cults are inherently [[Ephemerality|ephemeral]] and loosely organized. There is a major theme in many of the recent works that show the relationship between cults and [[mysticism]]. Campbell, describing ''cults'' as non-traditional religious groups based on belief in a divine element in the individual, brings two major types of such to attention{{snd}}'''mystical''' and '''instrumental'''{{snd}}dividing cults into either [[occult]] or [[Metaphysics|metaphysical]] assembly. There is also a third type, the '''service-oriented''', as Campbell states that "the kinds of stable forms which evolve in the development of religious organization will bear a significant relationship to the content of the religious experience of the founder or founders."<ref name="Bruce Campbell 1978">Campbell, Bruce. 1978. "A Typology of Cults." ''Sociology Analysis''. Santa Barbara.</ref>

[[Dick Anthony]], a [[forensic psychologist]] known for his criticism of [[brainwashing]] theory of conversion,<ref name="Oldenburg">Oldenburg, Don. [2003] 2003. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20110501144721/http://www.crimlaw.org/defbrief269.html Stressed to Kill: The Defense of Brainwashing; Sniper Suspect's Claim Triggers More Debate]." ''Defence Brief'' 269. Toronto: Steven Skurka & Associates. Archived from the [http://www.crimlaw.org/defbrief269.html original] on 1 May 2011.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Dawson|1998|p=340}}</ref><ref>[[Thomas Robbins (sociologist)|Robbins, Thomas]]. 1996. ''In Gods We Trust: New Patterns of Religious Pluralism in America''. [[Transaction Publishers]]. p. 537. {{ISBN|978-0887388002}}.</ref> has defended some so-called cults, and in 1988 argued that involvement in such movements may often have beneficial, rather than harmful effects, saying that "[t]here's a large [[research literature]] published in mainstream journals on the mental health effects of new religions. For the most part, the effects seem to be positive in any way that's measurable."<ref name="Sipchen">[[Bob Sipchen|Sipchen, Bob]]. 17 November 1988. "[https://articles.latimes.com/1988-11-17/news/vw-257_1_cult-battle/3 Ten Years After Jonestown, the Battle Intensifies Over the Influence of 'Alternative' Religions]." ''[[Los Angeles Times]].''</ref>

In their 1996 book ''Theory of Religion'', American sociologists [[Rodney Stark]] and [[William Sims Bainbridge]] propose that the formation of cults can be explained through the [[rational choice theory]].<ref name="stark1996">{{harvnb|Stark|Bainbridge|1996}}</ref> In ''The Future of Religion'' they comment that, "in the beginning, all religions are obscure, tiny, deviant cult movements."<ref>[[Eugene V. Gallagher|Gallagher, Eugene V.]] 2004. ''The New Religious Movement Experience in America''. [[Greenwood Press]], {{ISBN|0313328072}}. p. xv.</ref> According to [[Marc Galanter (psychiatrist)|Marc Galanter]], Professor of Psychiatry at [[NYU]], typical reasons why people join cults include a search for community and a [[Quest|spiritual quest]].<ref>[[Marc Galanter (psychiatrist)|Galanter, Marc]], ed. 1989. ''Cults and New Religious Movements: A Report of the Committee on Psychiatry and Religion of the American Psychiatric Association''. [[American Psychiatric Association]]. {{ISBN|0890422125}}.</ref> Stark and Bainbridge, in discussing the process by which individuals join new religious groups, have even questioned the utility of the concept of ''[[Religious conversion|conversion]]'', suggesting that ''[[Religious affiliation|affiliation]]'' is a more useful concept.<ref>Bader, Chris, and A. Demaris. 1996. "A test of the Stark-Bainbridge theory of affiliation with religious cults and sects''."'' ''[[Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion]]'' 35:285–303.</ref>

==Subcategories==

===Destructive cults===
[[File:Rev. Jim Jones, 1977 (cropped)2.jpg|thumb|right|[[Jim Jones]], the leader of the [[Peoples Temple]]]]
''Destructive cult'' generally refers to groups whose members have, through deliberate action, physically injured or killed other members of their own group or other people. The [[Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance]] specifically limits the use of the term to religious groups that "have caused or are liable to cause loss of life among their membership or the general public."<ref>{{cite web |last=Robinson |first=B.A. |title=Doomsday, destructive religious cults |work=[[Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance]] |date=<!-- last updated -->25 July 2007 |url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/destruct.htm |access-date=18 November 2007}}</ref> [[Psychologist]] [[Michael Langone]], executive director of the anti-cult group [[International Cultic Studies Association]], defines a destructive cult as "a highly manipulative group which exploits and sometimes physically and/or psychologically damages members and recruits."<ref>{{cite book |last=Turner |first=Francis J. |author2=Arnold Shanon Bloch, Ron Shor |title=Differential Diagnosis & Treatment in Social Work |edition=4th |publisher=Free Press |date=1 September 1995 |page=1146| chapter =105: From Consultation to Therapy in Group Work With Parents of Cultists |isbn=0028740076}}</ref>

[[John Gordon Clark]] argued that [[totalitarianism|totalitarian]] systems of governance and an emphasis on [[money]] making are characteristics of a destructive cult.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Clark, M.D. |first=John Gordon |author-link=John Gordon Clark |title=The Effects of Religious Cults on the Health and Welfare of Their Converts |journal=[[Congressional Record]] |volume=123 |issue=181 |pages=Extensions of Remarks 37401–03 |publisher=[[United States Congress]] |date=4 November 1977 |url=http://www.csj.org/infoserv_articles/press_jones_congress.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051216095942/http://www.csj.org/infoserv_articles/press_jones_congress.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 December 2005 |access-date=18 November 2007 }}</ref> In ''Cults and the Family'', the authors cite Shapiro, who defines a ''destructive cultism'' as a [[Psychopathy|sociopathic]] [[syndrome]], whose distinctive qualities include: "behavioral and [[personality changes]], loss of [[personal identity]], cessation of scholastic activities, estrangement from family, disinterest in society and pronounced mental control and enslavement by cult leaders."<ref>{{cite book |last=Kaslow |first=Florence Whiteman |author2=Marvin B. Sussman |title=Cults and the Family |publisher=Haworth Press |year=1982 |isbn=0917724550 |page=34}}</ref>

In the opinion of sociology professor [[Benjamin Zablocki]] of [[Rutgers University]], ''destructive cults'' are at high risk of becoming abusive to members, stating that such is in part due to members' [[adulation]] of [[charismatic authority|charismatic leaders]] contributing to the leaders becoming corrupted by power.<ref>[[Benjamin Zablocki|Zablocki, Benjamin]]. 31 May 1997. "A Sociological Theory of Cults" (paper). ''Annual meeting of the [[American Family Foundation]]''. Philadelphia.

{{cite web|title=Ben Zablocki's Homepage|url=http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~zablocki/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050308091637/http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~zablocki/|archive-date=8 March 2005|access-date=29 March 2005}}</ref> According to Barrett, the most common accusation made against destructive cults is [[sexual abuse]]. According to [[Reender Kranenborg|Kranenborg]], some groups are risky when they advise their members not to use regular medical care.<ref name="Kranenborg-1996">[[Reender Kranenborg|Kranenborg, Reender]]. 1996. "Sekten... gevaarlijk of niet? [Cults... dangerous or not?]" (in Dutch). ''Religieuze bewegingen in Nederland'' 31. [[Vrije Universiteit|Free University Amsterdam]]. {{ISSN|0169-7374}}. {{ISBN|9053834265}}.</ref> This may extend to physical and psychological harm.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.reveal.org/library/psych/The%20Impact%20of%20Cults%20on%20Health.pdf|title=The impacts of cults on health}}</ref>

Writing about [[Bruderhof communities]] in the book ''[[Misunderstanding Cults (book)|Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field]]'', Julius H. Rubin said that American religious innovation created an unending diversity of sects. These "new religious movements…gathered new converts and issued challenges to the wider society. Not infrequently, public controversy, contested narratives and litigation result."<ref name=ZablockiRobbins>{{cite book |last1=Zablocki |first1=Benjamin David |author-link=Benjamin Zablocki |last2=Robbins |first2=Thomas |title=Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2001 |isbn=0802081886 |page=473|author2-link=Thomas Robbins (sociologist) |title-link=Misunderstanding Cults (book)}}</ref> In his work ''Cults in Context'' author [[Lorne L. Dawson]] writes that although the [[Unification Church]] "has not been shown to be violent or volatile," it has been described as a destructive cult by "anticult crusaders."<ref>{{harvnb|Dawson|1998|p=349}}</ref> In 2002, the German government was held by the [[Federal Constitutional Court]] to have [[defamation|defamed]] the [[Osho movement]] by referring to it, among other things, as a "destructive cult" with no factual basis.<ref>Seiwert, Hubert. 2003. "[https://archive.today/20120708164142/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_3_64/ai_109568884/pg_4 Freedom and Control in the Unified Germany: Governmental Approaches to Alternative Religions Since 1989]." ''[[Sociology of Religion (journal)|Sociology of Religion]]'' 64(3):367–375, p. 370.</ref><ref>[https://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/SharedDocs/Entscheidungen/EN/2002/06/rs20020626_1bvr067091en.html;jsessionid=1B78999D09E269D60A4E889B92797A2C.1_cid393 BVerfG, Order of the First Senate of 26 June 2002, 1 BvR 670/91, paras. 1-102]. paras. 57, 60, 62, 91–94;

"[https://web.archive.org/web/20130514063442/http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/pressemitteilungen/bvg68-02.html Zur Informationstätigkeit der Bundesregierung im religiös-weltanschaulichen Bereich]" {{in lang|de}}. ''Press release'' 68(2002). [[Federal Constitutional Court|Federal Constitutional Court Press Office]]. 30 July 2002. Archived from the [http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/pressemitteilungen/bvg68-02.html original] on 14 May 2013.</ref>

Some researchers have criticized the term ''destructive cult'', writing that it is used to describe groups which are not necessarily harmful in nature to themselves or others. In his book ''Understanding New Religious Movements'', [[John A. Saliba]] writes that the term is overgeneralized. Saliba sees the [[Peoples Temple]] as the "paradigm of a destructive cult", where those that use the term are implying that other groups will also commit [[mass suicide]].<ref name="saliba">{{cite book |last=Saliba |first=John A. |author2=[[J. Gordon Melton]], foreword |title=Understanding New Religious Movements |publisher=Rowman Altamira |year=2003 |isbn=0759103569 |page=144}}</ref>

===Doomsday cults===
{{Main|Doomsday cult}}
''Doomsday cult'' is an expression which is used to describe groups that believe in [[Apocalypticism]] and [[Millenarianism]], and it can also be used to refer both to groups that predict [[disaster]], and groups that attempt to bring it about.<ref name="jenkins">{{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Phillip |title=Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]], US |year=2000 |pages=216, 222 |isbn=0195145968}}</ref> In the 1950s, American [[social psychology|social psychologist]] [[Leon Festinger]] and his colleagues observed members of a small [[UFO religion]] called the Seekers for several months, and recorded their conversations both prior to and after a failed prophecy from their charismatic leader.<ref name="stangor">{{cite book |last=Stangor |first=Charles |title=Social Groups in Action and Interaction |publisher=Psychology Press |year=2004 |pages=42–43: "When Prophecy Fails" |isbn=184169407X}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Newman |first=Dr. David M. |title=Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life |publisher=Pine Forge Press |year=2006 |isbn=1412928141 |page=86}}</ref><ref name="petty">{{cite book |last=Petty |first=Richard E. |author2=John T. Cacioppo |title=Attitudes and Persuasion: Classic and Contemporary Approaches |publisher=Westview Press |year=1996 |isbn=081333005X |page=139: "Effect of Disconfirming an Important Belief"}}</ref> Their work was later published in the book ''[[When Prophecy Fails|When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World]]''.<ref name="festinger">{{cite book |last1=Festinger |first1=Leon |author-link2=Henry Riecken |author1-link=Leon Festinger |last2=Riecken |first2=Henry W. |last3=Schachter |first3=Stanley |author3-link=Stanley Schachter |title=When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |year=1956 |url=http://www.whenprophecyfails.org/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030203224945/http://www.whenprophecyfails.org/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2003-02-03 |isbn=1591477271 }}</ref> In the late 1980s, doomsday cults were a major topic of news reports, with some reporters and commentators considering them a serious threat to society.<ref>[[Philip Jenkins|Jenkins, Philip]]. 2000. ''Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History.'' Oxford University Press. pp. 215–216.</ref> A 1997 psychological study by Festinger, Riecken, and Schachter found that people turned to a cataclysmic [[world view]] after they had repeatedly failed to find meaning in mainstream movements.<ref name="pargament">{{cite book |last=Pargament |first=Kenneth I. |author-link=Kenneth Pargament |title=The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice |publisher=Guilford Press |year=1997 |pages=150–153, 340, section: "Compelling Coping in a Doomsday Cult" |isbn=1572306645}}</ref> People also strive to find meaning in global events such as the turn of the millennium when many predicted it prophetically marked the end of an age and thus the end of the world.<ref name=":2" /> An ancient Mayan calendar ended at the year 2012 and many anticipated [[2012 phenomenon|catastrophic disasters would rock the Earth]].<ref>[[Matthew Restall|Restall, Matthew]], and Amara Solari. 2011. ''2012 and the End of the World: the Western Roots of the Maya Apocalypse''. [[Rowman & Littlefield]].</ref>

====Aum Shinrikyo====

In 1995, members of the Japanese doomsday cult [[Aum Shinrikyo]] murdered a number of people during a [[Tokyo subway sarin attack|sarin attack on the Tokyo subway]]. Aum Shinrikyo has been involved in several violent incidents. In 1990, members of Aum Shinrikyo murdered the family of a lawyer who was involved in a legal action against them. There were several other murders besides that brought the death toll associated with this group's acts to 27. Some were surprised by the group's ability to recruit educated young people. Scholars have attempted to explain the cause of this as feelings of social alienation that make young Japanese vulnerable to mind control techniques.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bouma |first1=Gary |last2=Ling |first2=Rodney |last3=Pratt |first3=Donald |title=Religious Diversity in Southeast Asia and the Pacific: National Case Studies |date=2010 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-90-481-3388-8 |page=27}}</ref>

===Political cults===
{{further information|Political extremism}}
[[File:EAP demonstrerar mot EU - 2008-05-01 - 1.jpg|thumb|[[LaRouche Movement]] members in [[Stockholm]] protesting against the [[Treaty of Lisbon]]]]
A political cult is a cult with a primary interest in [[Politics|political action]] and [[ideology]].<ref name=":3">Tourish, Dennis, and [[Tim Wohlforth]]. 2000. ''[[On the Edge: Political Cults Right and Left]]''. Armonk, NY: [[M. E. Sharpe]].</ref><ref>[[Janja Lalich|Lalich, Janja]]. 2003. "'[https://web.archive.org/web/20131029210722/http://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_bookreviews/bkrev_onedgeandtabernaclehate.htm On the Edge' and 'Tabernacle of Hate']" (review). ''[[Cultic Studies Review]]'' 2(2). Archived from the [http://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_bookreviews/bkrev_onedgeandtabernaclehate.htm original] on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2020.</ref>  Groups that some have described as "political cults", mostly advocating [[Far-left politics|far-left]] or [[Far-right politics|far-right]] agendas, have received some attention from journalists and scholars. In their 2000 book ''[[On the Edge: Political Cults Right and Left]]'', Dennis Tourish and [[Tim Wohlforth]] discuss about a dozen organizations in the United States and Great Britain that they characterize as cults.<ref name=":3" /><ref>Tourish, Dennis. 1998. "[https://www.academia.edu/24768857/Ideological_Intransigence_Democratic_Centralism_and_Cultism_A_Case_Study Ideological Intransigence, Democratic Centralism and Cultism: A Case Study from the Political Left]." ''[[Cultic Studies Journal]]'' 15:33–67.</ref> In a separate article, Tourish says that in his usage:<ref>Tourish, Dennis. [1998] 2003. "[http://www.whatnextjournal.org.uk/Pages/Back/Wnext27/Intro.html Introduction to 'Ideological Intransigence, Democratic Centralism and Cultism']." ''What Next?'' 27. {{ISSN|1479-4322}}.</ref> {{blockquote|The word cult is not a term of abuse, as this paper tries to explain. It is nothing more than a shorthand expression for a particular set of practices that have been observed in a variety of dysfunctional organisations. }}

In 1990, Lucy Patrick commented:<ref>Patrick, Lucy. 1990. ''[[Library Journal]]'' 115(21):144. Mag.Coll.: 58A2543.</ref>{{blockquote|Although we live in a democracy, cult behavior manifests itself in our unwillingness to question the judgment of our leaders, our tendency to devalue outsiders and to avoid dissent. We can overcome cult behavior, he says, by recognizing that we have dependency needs that are inappropriate for mature people, by increasing anti-authoritarian education, and by encouraging personal autonomy and the free exchange of ideas.}}

====Ayn Rand Institute====
{{Main|Ayn Rand Institute}}
Followers of [[Ayn Rand]] have been characterized as a cult by economist [[Murray N. Rothbard]], and later by [[Michael Shermer]].<ref name="rothbard">[[Murray Rothbard|Rothbard, Murray]]. 1972. "[https://www.lewrockwell.com/1970/01/murray-n-rothbard/understanding-ayn-randianism/ The Sociology of the Ayn Rand Cult]." Retrieved 6 June 2020. Revised editions: ''[[Liberty (1987)|Liberty]]'' magazine (1987), and [[Center for Libertarian Studies]] (1990).</ref><ref>[[Michael Shermer|Shermer, Michael]]. 1993. "The Unlikeliest Cult in History." ''[[Skeptic (U.S. magazine)|Skeptic]]'' 2(2):74–81.</ref><ref>[[Michael Shermer|Shermer, Michael]]. [1993] 1997. "The Unlikeliest Cult." In ''[[Why People Believe Weird Things]]''. New York: [[W.H. Freeman and Company|W. H. Freeman and Company]]. {{ISBN|0716730901}}.</ref> The core group around Rand was called the "Collective", which are now defunct; the chief group which is disseminating Rand's ideas today is the [[Ayn Rand Institute]]. Although the Collective advocated an [[Individualism|individualist philosophy]], Rothbard claimed that it was organized in the manner of a "[[Leninism|Leninist]]" organization.<ref name="rothbard" />

====LaRouche movement====
{{Main|LaRouche movement}}
The [[LaRouche movement]] is a political and cultural network promoting the late [[Lyndon LaRouche]] and [[Views of Lyndon LaRouche and the LaRouche movement|his ideas]]. It has included many organizations and companies around the world, which campaign, gather information and publish books and periodicals. It has been called "cult-like" by ''The New York Times''.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Severo|first=Richard|date=2019-02-13|title=Lyndon LaRouche, Cult Figure Who Ran for President 8 Times, Dies at 96|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/13/obituaries/lyndon-larouche-dead.html|access-date=2021-07-07|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The movement originated within the radical leftist student politics of the 1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of candidates ran in state [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] primaries in the United States on the 'LaRouche platform', while Lyndon LaRouche repeatedly campaigned for [[Lyndon LaRouche U.S. presidential campaigns|presidential nomination]]. However, the LaRouche movement is often considered far-right.<ref name=King132-133>King 1989, pp.&nbsp;132–133.</ref><ref>{{cite news |newspaper = The New York Times |last=Toner|first=Robin |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/04/us/larouche-savors-fame-that-may-ruin-him.html |title=LaRouche savors fame that may ruin him |date=April 4, 1986 |page=A1 }}</ref><ref name="Bennett1988">{{cite book |last=Bennett|first=David Harry|title=The party of fear: from nativist movements to the New Right in American history |year=1988|publisher=UNC Press Books|isbn=978-0807817728|page=362}}</ref><ref name="King1984">{{Cite news|last1=King|first1=Dennis|last2=Radosh|first2=Ronald|date=19 November 1984|title=The LaRouche Connection|magazine=[[The New Republic]]}}</ref> During its peak in the 1970s and 1980s, the LaRouche movement developed a private intelligence agency and contacts with foreign governments.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mintz|first=John|date=1985|title=Some Officials Find Intelligence Network 'Useful'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/larouche/larou1.htm|access-date=2021-07-07|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Jindia|first=Shilpa|title=Here's an insane story about Roger Stone, Lyndon LaRouche, Vladimir Putin, and the Queen of England |work=Mother Jones |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/12/lyndon-larouche-roger-stone-russia-robert-mueller/|access-date=2021-07-07 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="King1984" />

====New Acropolis====
{{Main|New Acropolis}}
An Argentinian [[esoteric]] group founded in 1957 by former [[theosophist]]<ref name="ts">{{cite web|title=The Theosophical Society's Position on New Acropolis|url=http://www.kelebekler.com/cesnur/txt/theosophy.htm|date=2004-06-09|publisher=International Secretary Office The Theosophical Society Adyar|via=Centre for the Study of New Religions|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205002148/http://www.kelebekler.com/cesnur/txt/theosophy.htm|archive-date=2020-02-05|access-date=2020-05-25}}</ref> [[Jorge Ángel Livraga Rizzi|Jorge Angel Livraga]], the New Acropolis Cultural Association has been described by scholars as an ultra-conservative, [[neo-fascist]] and [[white supremacist]] [[paramilitary group]].<ref name="país">{{cite news |last1=Martínez |first1=Jan |title=Un profesor de instituto enseña teorías racistas a menores |url=https://elpais.com/diario/1997/02/14/madrid/855923054_850215.html |access-date=29 January 2019 |newspaper=El País}}</ref><ref name="theos 2">{{cite web|title=Letter to the Vice-Chairman of the European Council from Theosophical Society Secretary General|url=http://theos-talk.com/archives/199802/tt00311.html|last=Palmeri|first=Juan Carlos|date=1998-02-22|via=Theos Talk|access-date=2020-05-25}}</ref><ref name="goodrick-clarke2003">{{cite book|last=Goodrick-Clarke|first=Nicholas|author-link=Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke|year=2003|title=Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism, and the Politics of Identity|publisher=New York University Press|isbn=978-0814731550|page=86|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xaiaM77s6N4C&pg=PA86|quote=A recent example of the neo-fascist potential in Theosophy is provided by Nouvelle Acropole movement of Jorge Angel Livraga (b. 1930), the charismatic Argentinian Theosophist who by the 1980s had built up an argent youth following in more than thirty countries. The structure, organization and symbolism of the Nouvelle Acropole is clearly indebted to fascist models.}}</ref> The group itself denies such descriptions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.acropolis.org/en/frequently-asked-questions|title=New Acropolis – Frequently Asked Questions|website=acropolis.org|access-date=2019-01-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.acropolis.org/en/assembly-resolutions|title=New Acropolis – Assembly Resolutions|website=acropolis.org|access-date=2019-01-29}}</ref>

====Unification Church====
{{Main|Unification Church}}
Founded by North Korea-born [[Sun Myung Moon]], the [[Unification Church]] (also known as the Unification movement) holds a strong anti-Communist position.<ref name="moon-peace">{{cite book |last=Moon |first=Sun Myung |title=As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen |publisher=Gimm-Young Publishers |year=2009 |isbn=978-0716602996}}</ref><ref>[http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Books/sm-gww/GWW-07.htm The Way of Restoration], (April, 1972)</ref>  In the 1940s, Moon cooperated with members of the [[Communist Party of Korea]] in the [[Korean independence movement]] against [[Imperial Japan]]. However, after the [[Korean War]] (1950–1953), he became an outspoken anti-communist.<ref name="moon-peace"/>  Moon viewed the [[Cold War]]  between democracy and communism as the final conflict between [[God]] and [[Satan]], with divided Korea as its primary [[front line]].<ref>''Christianity: A Global History'', David Chidester, HarperCollins, 2001, {{ISBN|978-0062517708}}, pp. 514–515</ref>  Soon after its founding the Unification movement began supporting anti-communist organizations, including the [[World League for Freedom and Democracy]] founded in 1966 in [[Taipei]], [[Republic of China]] (Taiwan), by [[Chiang Kai-shek]],<ref>''The World's Religions: Continuities and Transformations'', Peter B Clarke, Peter Beyer, Taylor & Francis, 2008 {{ISBN|978-1135211004}}</ref>  and the [[Korean Culture and Freedom Foundation]], an international [[public diplomacy]] organization  which also  sponsored Radio Free Asia.<ref name="Korean denies influence peddling">{{cite news|title=Korean denies influence peddling|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=19761102&id=y6kzAAAAIBAJ&pg=3422,903462|newspaper=Bangor Daily News|access-date=21 March 2012}}</ref>

In 1974 the Unification Church supported [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[President of the United States|President]] [[Richard Nixon]] and rallied in his favor after the [[Watergate scandal]], with Nixon thanking personally for it.<ref>Introvigne, Massimo, 2000, ''The Unification Church Studies in Contemporary Religion'', Signature Books, Salt Lake City, Utah, {{ISBN|1560851457}}, [http://www.signaturebooks.com/excerpts/unification.htm excerpt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030429161208/http://www.signaturebooks.com/excerpts/unification.htm |date=2003-04-29}} page 16</ref>  In 1975 Moon spoke at a government sponsored rally against potential North Korean military aggression on [[Yeouido Island]] in Seoul to an audience of around 1 million.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8t-9yx3oG4kC&q=yoido+rally |title=Richard Quebedeaux, Lifestyle : Conversations with Members of Unification Church |access-date=9 October 2012|isbn=978-0932894182 |last1=Quebedeaux |first1=Richard |year=1982 |publisher=Erick Rodriguez }}</ref>  The Unification movement was criticized by both the [[mainstream media]] and the [[Alternative media|alternative press]] for its anti-communist activism, which many said could lead to [[World War Three]] and a [[nuclear holocaust]].<ref name="Give and Forget">Thomas Ward, 2006, [http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Publications/SMM-Communism-060300/giveforget.html#chap2a Give and Forget]</ref><ref name="The Resurrection of Reverend Moon">{{cite web |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/originals/moontranscript2.shtml |title=The Resurrection of Reverend Moon |date=21 January 1992 |work=Frontline |publisher=PBS | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107084418/http://www.mediachannel.org/originals/moontranscript2.shtml|archive-date=7 January 2011}}</ref><ref name="Sun Myung Moon Changes Robes">[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CEEDB1F3FF932A15752C0A964958260 Sun Myung Moon Changes Robes], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 21 January 1992</ref>

In 1977, the [[Subcommittee on International Organizations of the Committee on International Relations]], of the [[United States House of Representatives]], found that the South Korean intelligence agency, the [[National Intelligence Service (South Korea)|KCIA]], had used the movement to gain political influence with the United States and that some members had worked as volunteers in Congressional offices. Together they founded the Korean Cultural Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit organization which acted as a [[public diplomacy]] campaign for the [[Republic of Korea]].<ref name="books.google.com">[https://books.google.com/books?id=AabywLOknbsC&pg=PA59&q=fraser%20kcia Spiritual warfare: the politics of the Christian right], [[Sara Diamond (sociologist)|Sara Diamond]], 1989, [[Pluto Press]], Page 58</ref> The committee also investigated possible KCIA influence on the Unification Church's campaign in support of Nixon.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=f7ITAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KeADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6935,979096 Ex-aide of Moon Faces Citation for Contempt], [[Associated Press]], ''[[Eugene Register-Guard]]'', August 5, 1977</ref>

In 1980, members founded [[CAUSA International]], an [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] educational organization based in [[New York City]].<ref name="ReferenceE">"Moon's 'Cause' Takes Aim At Communism in Americas." ''[[The Washington Post]]''. August 28, 1983</ref> In the 1980s, it was active in 21 countries. In the United States, it sponsored educational conferences for [[Evangelical Christianity|evangelical]] and [[Fundamentalist Christianity|fundamentalist]] Christian leaders<ref name=christianitytoday37>[http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/augustweb-only/8-6-37.0.html Sun Myung Moon's Followers Recruit Christians to Assist in Battle Against Communism] ''[[Christianity Today]]'', June 15, 1985</ref> as well as seminars and conferences for [[United States Senate|Senate]] staffers, [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic Americans]] and conservative activists.<ref name="washingtonpost.com">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/image.htm Church Spends Millions On Its Image], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', 1984-09-17. "Another church political arm, Causa International, which preaches a philosophy it calls "God-ism," has been spending millions of dollars on expense-paid seminars and conferences for Senate staffers, Hispanic Americans and conservative activists. It also has contributed $500,000 to finance an anticommunist lobbying campaign headed by John T. (Terry) Dolan, chairman of the National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC)."</ref> In 1986, CAUSA International sponsored the documentary film ''[[Nicaragua Was Our Home]]'', about the [[Miskito people|Miskito]] Indians of [[Nicaragua]] and their persecution at the hands of the Nicaraguan government. It was filmed and produced by USA-UWC member [[Lee Shapiro]], who later died while filming with anti-Soviet forces during the [[Soviet–Afghan War]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/29/movies/on-13-sandinistas-vs-miskitos.html|title=On 13, Sandinistas Vs. Miskitos|first=John|last=Corry|newspaper=The New York Times|date=29 July 1986|access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/3245|title=Revista Envío – How to Read the Reagan Administration: The Miskito Case|website=envio.org.ni|access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://fair.org/|title=FAIR|access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref><ref>[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40717F738590C7B8EDDA90994DF484D81 2 Americans Reported Killed In an Ambush in Afghanistan] ''[[The New York Times]]'', 1987-10-28</ref>

In 1983, some American members joined a public protest against the [[Soviet Union]] over its shooting down of [[Korean Airlines Flight 007]].<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/29/PK2812ETF2.DTL] ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', September 3, 1983 "For a second day, the Soviet Consulate in Pacific Heights was the scene of emotional protests against the shooting down of a Korean Air Lines jumbo jet. About 300 people held demonstration yesterday morning. Among them were members of the Unification Church, or "Moonies," whose founder is the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the controversial South Korean who has melded a fierce anti-communism into his ideology. Eldridge Cleaver, the onetime black radical who recently has had ties with the Moonies, spoke at the rally. Many pickets carried signs accusing the Soviet Union of murdering the 269 passengers and crew aboard the airliner. In another development, San Francisco attorney Melvin Belli filed a $109 billion lawsuit against the Soviet Union on behalf of the 269 victims."</ref> In 1984, the HSA–UWC founded the Washington Institute for Values in Public Policy, a [[Washington D.C.]] [[think tank]] that underwrites conservative-oriented research and seminars at [[Stanford University]], the [[University of Chicago]], and other institutions.<ref name="Church Spends Millions On Its Image">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/image.htm Church Spends Millions On Its Image], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', 1984-09-17.</ref> In the same year, member [[Dan Fefferman]] founded the International Coalition for Religious Freedom in [[Virginia]], which is active in protesting what it considers to be threats to [[religious freedom]] by governmental agencies.<ref name="Ribadeneira-ire">{{cite news |last=Ribadeneira |first=Diego |title=Ire at school Star of David ruling unites ACLU, Pat Robertson |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |page=B2 |publisher=[[The New York Times Company]] |date=August 21, 1999}}</ref> In August 1985 the [[Professors World Peace Academy]], an organization founded by Moon, sponsored a conference in [[Geneva]] to debate the theme "The situation in the world after the fall of the communist empire."<ref name="goliath.ecnext.com">[http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-14440148/Projections-about-a-post-Soviet.html Projections about a post-Soviet world-twenty-five years later.] // Goliath Business News</ref>

In April 1990, Moon visited the [[Soviet Union]] and met with President [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]. Moon expressed support for the political and economic transformations underway in the Soviet Union. At the same time, the movement was expanding into formerly communist nations.<ref name="query.nytimes.com">[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE5D61F39F937A25752C1A966958260&sec=&spon= EVOLUTION IN EUROPE; New Flock for Moon Church: The Changing Soviet Student] from ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref>  In 1994, ''[[The New York Times]]'' recognized the movement's political influence, saying it was "a theocratic powerhouse that is pouring foreign fortunes into conservative causes in the United States."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goodman |first=Walter |date=January 21, 1992 |title=Review/Television; Sun Myung Moon Changes Robes |periodical=New York Times |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CEEDB1F3FF932A15752C0A964958260&sec=&spon=}}</ref> In 1998, the Egyptian newspaper ''[[Al-Ahram]]'' criticized Moon's "ultra-right leanings" and suggested a personal relationship with conservative Israeli prime minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]].<ref>[http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1998/403/op1.htm The same old game] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215193404/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1998/403/op1.htm |date=2009-02-15}}, ''[[Al-Ahram]]'', November 12–18, 1998, "The Washington Times is a mouthpiece for the ultra conservative Republican right, unquestioning supporters of Israel's [[Likud]] government. The newspaper is owned by Sun Myung Moon, originally a native of North Korea and head of the Unification Church, whose ultra-right leanings make him a ready ally for Netanyahu. Whether or not Netanyahu is personally acquainted with Moon is unclear, though there is no doubt that he has established close friendships with several staff members on The Washington Times, whose editorial policy is rabidly anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and pro-Israel."</ref>

During the presidency of [[George W. Bush]], [[Dong Moon Joo]], a Unification movement member and then president of ''The Washington Times'', undertook unofficial diplomatic missions to North Korea in an effort to improve its relationship with the United States.<ref name = "beast2712">[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/02/07/the-bush-administration-s-secret-link-to-north-korea.html The Bush Administration's Secret Link to North Korea], Aram Roston, ''[[The Daily Beast]]'', February 7, 2012</ref> Joo was born in North Korea and is a citizen of the United States.<ref name = "yonhap122611">[http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2011/12/26/79/0401000000AEN20111226008351315F.HTML Unification Church president on condolence visit to N. Korea], ''[[Yonhap News]]'', December 26, 2011</ref>

The Unification Church also owns several news outlets including ''[[The Washington Times]]'', ''[[Insight on the News]]'',<ref>[https://www.cjr.org/politics/insightmag_a_mustread.php Insightmag, a Mustread] ''Columbia Journalism Review'' 2007-01-27</ref> [[United Press International]]<ref name="in sorrow">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/24/books/upi-look-back-in-sorrow.html|title=U.P.I.: Look Back in Sorrow (book review of ''Down to the Wire: UPI's Fight for Survival'' By Gregory Gordon and Ronald E. Cohen)|author=Atwater, James D.|date=December 24, 1989|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 15, 2011}}</ref><ref name="old dog">{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/1998/0601/6111047a.html|title=Old dog, new tricks?|author=Spiegel, Peter|date=June 1, 1998|work=Forbes|access-date=March 15, 2011}}</ref> and the [[News World Communications]] network.<ref name="Washington Post-ghosts">{{cite news |first= Frank |last=Ahrens |title=Moon Speech Raises Old Ghosts as the Times Turns 20 |date=May 23, 2002|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A60061-2002May22 |access-date=2009-08-16}}</ref><ref name="wrmea.com">[http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/1297/9712060.html As U.S. Media Ownership Shrinks, Who Covers Islam?], ''[[Washington Report on Middle East Affairs]]'', December 1997</ref> ''The Washington Times'' [[opinion editor]] [[Charles Hurt]] was one of [[Donald Trump]]'s earliest supporters in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lowry|first=Rich|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/07/the-trump-show-214075|title=The Trump Dynasty Takes Over the GOP|date=July 20, 2016|work=[[Politico Magazine]]|access-date=May 3, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027122711/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/07/the-trump-show-214075|archive-date=October 27, 2016|author-link=Rich Lowry}}</ref> In 2018, he included Trump with Ronald Reagan, [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], [[Margaret Thatcher]], and [[Pope John Paul II]] as "great champions of freedom."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Boot|first=Max|title=The Corrosion of Conservatism: Why I Left the Right|publisher=Liveright Publishing|year=2018|isbn=978-1631495670|page=124|chapter=The Cost of Capitulation|lccn=2018036979|author-link=Max Boot}}</ref> In 2016 ''The Washington Times'' did not endorse a  candidate for United States president, but endorsed Trump for reelection in 2020.<ref>''The Washington Times'', 10/26/2020, [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/oct/26/editorial-donald-trump-for-reelection Donald Trump for Reelection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027152248/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/oct/26/editorial-donald-trump-for-reelection/ |date=October 27, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Campbell |first1=Joe |last2=Fogarty |first2=Kevin |title=In Pennsylvania woods, church in 'spiritual battle' to re-elect Trump |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-church-idUSKBN27E2U2 |access-date=19 December 2020 |publisher=Reuters |date=29 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Story about Moon church 'alarming' |url=https://www.mcall.com/opinion/readers-react/mc-omalley-sanctuary-church-ar15-20180609-story.html |access-date=19 December 2020 |newspaper=Morning Call |date=10 June 2018}}</ref>

====Workers Revolutionary Party====
{{Main|Workers Revolutionary Party (UK)}}
In Britain, the [[Workers Revolutionary Party (UK)|Workers Revolutionary Party]] (WRP), a [[Trotskyism|Trotskyist]] group which was led by [[Gerry Healy]] and strongly supported by actress [[Vanessa Redgrave]], has been described by others, who have been involved in the Trotskyist movement, as having been a cult or a group which displayed cult-like characteristics during the 1970s and 1980s.<ref>[[David North (socialist)|North, David]]. 1991. ''Gerry Healy and His Place in the History of the Fourth International''. [[Mehring Books]]. {{ISBN|0929087585}}.</ref> It is also described as such by Wohlforth and Tourish,<ref>Wohlforth, Tim, and Dennis Tourish. 2000. "Gerry Healy: Guru to a Star." pp. 156–172 in ''[[On the Edge: Political Cults Right and Left]]''. Armonk, NY: [[M. E. Sharpe]].</ref> to whom Bob Pitt, a former member of the WRP, concedes that it had a "cult-like character" though arguing that rather than being typical of the [[Far-left politics|far left]], this feature actually made the WRP atypical and "led to its being treated as a pariah within the revolutionary left itself."<ref name="Pitt">Pitt, Bob. 2000. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20051229051436/http://www.whatnextjournal.co.uk/Pages/Back/Wnext17/Reviews.html 'Cults, Sects and the Far Left']" (review). ''What Next?'' 17. {{ISSN|1479-4322}}.</ref>

====Other groups====
[[Gino Perente]]'s [[National Labor Federation]] (NATLFED)<ref>Solomon, Alisa. 26 November 1996. "Commie Fiends of Brooklyn." ''[[The Village Voice]]''.</ref> and Marlene Dixon's now-defunct [[Democratic Workers Party]] are an examples of political groups that have been described as "cults". A critical history of the DWP is given in ''[[Bounded Choice]]'' by [[Janja Lalich]], a sociologist and former DWP member.<ref>[[Janja Lalich|Lalich, Janja A.]] 2004. ''[[Bounded Choice|Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults]]''. Berkeley: [[University of California Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0520240186}}.</ref> [[Lutte Ouvrière]] (LO; "Workers' Struggle") in France, publicly headed by [[Arlette Laguiller]] but revealed in the 1990s to be directed by [[Robert Barcia]], has often been criticized as a cult, for example, by [[Daniel Cohn-Bendit]] and his older brother Gabriel Cohn-Bendit, as well as by ''[[L'Humanité]]'' and ''[[Libération]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Arlette Laguiller n'aime pas le débat |date=11 April 2002 |work=[[L'Humanité]] |url=http://www.humanite.presse.fr/journal/2002-04-11/2002-04-11-32049 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050629070722/http://www.humanite.presse.fr/journal/2002-04-11/2002-04-11-32049 |archive-date=29 June 2005}}</ref>

In his book ''Les Sectes Politiques: 1965–1995'' (''Political cults: 1965–1995''), French writer Cyril Le Tallec considers some religious groups that were involved in politics at that time. He included the [[Cultural Office of Cluny]], [[New Acropolis]], the [[Divine Light Mission]], [[American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property|Tradition Family Property (TFP)]], [[Longo Maï]], the Supermen Club, and the Association for Promotion of the Industrial Arts (Solazaref).<ref>{{cite book |author=Cyril Le Tallec |title=Les sectes politiques: 1965–1995 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-l1QQOEQKXUC&q=%22les+sectes+politiques%22 |language=fr |year=2006 |publisher=Harmattan |access-date=28 August 2009|isbn=978-2296003477}}</ref>

Several former leaders of the [[Groyper]] movement{{snd}}an [[alt-right]] faction that infuses [[white supremacy]], [[Christian nationalism]], and [[Incel]] ideology{{snd}}have accused [[Nick Fuentes]] of leading it like a cult, describing him as abusing and demanding absolute loyalty from his followers.<ref>Hayden, M. E. (2022, June 2). Pro-trump white nationalist group facing key desertions. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved August 21, 2022, from https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2022/06/02/pro-trump-white-nationalist-group-facing-key-desertions</ref><ref>Owen, T. (2022, June 7). They Love Jesus, Bon Iver, and Incels. Inside America's New Ultranationalist Youth Movement. VICE. Retrieved August 21, 2022, from https://www.vice.com/en/article/epzgb4/groyper-young-christian-nationalists-movement</ref> Fuentes praised having a "cult-like... mentality" and admitted to "ironically" describing his own movement as a cult.<ref>Gais, H. (2021, March 11). Far-right extremists gather in Florida for CPAC spinoff alongside sitting congressman. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved August 21, 2022, from https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/03/11/far-right-extremists-gather-florida-cpac-spinoff-alongside-sitting-congressman</ref>

===Polygamist cults===
{{further information|Polygamy}}
{{see also|Mormonism and polygamy|Mormon fundamentalism|Current state of polygamy in the Latter Day Saint movement}}

Cults that teach and practice [[polygamy]], marriage between more than two people, most often [[polygyny]], one man having multiple wives, have long been noted, although they are a minority.  It has been estimated that there are around 50,000 members of polygamist cults in North America.<ref>Bridgstock, Robert. 2014. ''The Youngest Bishop in England: Beneath the Surface of Mormonism''. [[See Sharp Press]]. p. 102.</ref> Often, polygamist cults are viewed negatively by both legal authorities and mainstream society, and this view sometimes includes negative perceptions of related mainstream denominations, because of their perceived links to possible [[domestic violence]] and [[child abuse]].<ref>Cusack, C. 2015. ''Laws Relating to Sex, Pregnancy, and Infancy: Issues in Criminal Justice''. [[Springer books|Springer]].</ref>

From the 1830s to 1904, members of [[Mormonism]]'s largest denomination, [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church), performed polygamous marriages. These were called [[Mormonism and polygamy|plural marriages]] by the church. In 1890, the [[president of the Church (LDS Church)|president]] of the LDS Church, [[Wilford Woodruff]], issued [[1890 Manifesto|a public manifesto]] announcing the cessation of new plural marriages. [[Anti-Mormonism|Anti-Mormon sentiment]] waned, as did opposition to statehood for Utah. The [[Smoot Hearings]] in 1904, which documented that members of the LDS Church were still performing new polygamous marriages, spurred the church to issue a [[Second Manifesto]], again claiming that it had ceased the practice. By 1910, the LDS Church [[excommunicate]]d those who entered into or performed new polygamous marriages.<ref name="UHE-Polygamy">Embry, Jessie L. 1994. "Polygamy." In ''Utah History Encyclopedia'', edited by A. K. Powell. Salt Lake City: [[University of Utah Press]]. {{ISBN|0874804256}}. {{OCLC|30473917}}.</ref> Enforcement of the 1890 Manifesto caused various [[Schism (religion)|splinter groups]] to leave the LDS Church in order to continue the practice of religious polygamy.<ref>[http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/polygamy/The_Primer.pdf "The Primer"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050111224555/http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/polygamy/The_Primer.pdf |date=11 January 2005}} – Helping Victims of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in Polygamous Communities. A joint report from the offices of the Attorneys General of Arizona and Utah. (2006)</ref> Such groups are known as [[Mormon fundamentalism|Mormon fundamentalists]]. For example, the [[Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]] is often described as a polygamist cult.<ref>Alex Hannaford, [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/13/woman-escaped-cult-hq-flds-refuge "The woman who escaped a polygamous cult – and turned its HQ into a refuge"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 13 October 2018.</ref>

===Racist cults===
{{further information|Racism}}
[[File:Ku Klux Klan members and a burning cross, Denver, Colorado, 1921.jpg|thumb|[[Cross burning]] by [[Ku Klux Klan]] members in 1921]]

Sociologist and historian [[Orlando Patterson]] has described the [[Ku Klux Klan]], which arose in the [[Southern United States|American South]] after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], as a heretical Christian cult, and he has also described its persecution of [[African Americans]] and others as a form of [[human sacrifice]].<ref>[[Orlando Patterson|Patterson, Orlando]]. 1998. ''Rituals of Blood: Consequences of Slavery in Two American Centuries.'' New York: [[Basic Civitas Books]].</ref> During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the existence of secret [[Aryan race|Aryan]] cults in Germany and Austria strongly influenced the [[Völkisch movement]] and the rise of [[Nazism]].<ref>[[Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke|Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas]]. 1993. ''[[The Occult Roots of Nazism]]''. New York: [[New York University Press|NYU Press]].</ref> Modern-day [[white power skinhead]] groups in the United States tend to use the same recruitment techniques as groups which are characterized as destructive cults.<ref>Perry, Barbara. 2012. ''Hate and Bias Crime: A Reader''. [[Routledge]]. pp. 330–331.</ref>

Vibert L. White, Jr., a former member of the [[Nation of Islam]] and a former leading advisor to it, characterized the organization as a cult, accusing its leader [[Louis Farrakhan]], along with other organizational leaders, of using [[black nationalism]] and religious dogma to exploit [[black people]] for personal and political gain.<ref>White, V. L. (n.d.). Inside the nation of Islam : A historical and personal testimony by a Black Muslim. University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries. Retrieved August 21, 2022, from http://link.umsl.edu/portal/Inside-the-Nation-of-Islam--a-historical-and/_dVsNFm_eaM/{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The Nation of Islam preaches black supremacy, that its founder [[Wallace Fard Muhammad]] was a Messiah and his successor [[Elijah Muhammad]] was a divine messenger, and that white people were a race of devils to be overthrown apocalyptically.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nation-of-Islam | title=Nation of Islam &#124; History, Founder, Beliefs, & Facts &#124; Britannica }}</ref><ref>Southern Poverty Law Center. (2022). Nation of Islam. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved August 21, 2022, from https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/nation-islam</ref>

===Terrorist cults===
{{further information|Terrorism}}
In the book ''Jihad and Sacred Vengeance: Psychological Undercurrents of History'', [[psychiatrist]] [[Peter A. Olsson]] compares [[Osama bin Laden]] to certain cult leaders including [[Jim Jones]], [[David Koresh]], [[Shoko Asahara]], [[Marshall Applewhite]], [[Luc Jouret]] and [[Joseph Di Mambro]], and he also says that each of these individuals fit at least eight of the nine criteria for people with [[narcissistic personality disorder]]s.<ref name="piven">{{cite book |last=Piven |first=Jerry S. |title=Jihad and Sacred Vengeance: Psychological Undercurrents of History |publisher=iUniverse |year=2002 |pages=104–114 |isbn=0595251048}}</ref> In the book ''Seeking the Compassionate Life: The Moral Crisis for Psychotherapy and Society'' authors Goldberg and Crespo also refer to Osama bin Laden as a "destructive cult leader."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goldberg |first1=Carl |last2=Crespo |first2=Virginia |title=Seeking the Compassionate Life: The Moral Crisis for Psychotherapy and Society |publisher=Praeger/Greenwood |year=2004 |isbn=0275981967 |page=161}}</ref>

At a 2002 meeting of the [[American Psychological Association]] (APA), [[Anti-cult movement|anti-cultist]] [[Steven Hassan]] said that [[Al-Qaeda]] fulfills the characteristics of a destructive cult, adding, in addition:<ref name="dittmann">{{cite news|last=Dittmann|first=Melissa|date=10 November 2002|title=Cults of hatred: Panelists at a convention session on hatred asked APA to form a task force to investigate mind control among destructive cults.|volume=33|page=30|work=Monitor on Psychology|publisher=[[American Psychological Association]]|number=10|url=http://www.apa.org/monitor/nov02/cults.html|access-date=18 November 2007}}</ref>

{{blockquote|We need to apply what we know about destructive mind-control cults, and this should be a priority in the [[War on Terror]]ism. We need to understand the psychological aspects of how people are recruited and indoctrinated so we can slow down recruitment. We need to help counsel former cult members and possibly use some of them in the war against terrorism.}}

In an article on Al-Qaeda published in ''[[The Times]]'', journalist [[Mary Ann Sieghart]] wrote that al-Qaeda resembles a "classic cult:"<ref>{{cite news|last=Sieghart|first=Mary Ann|author-link=Mary Ann Sieghart|date=26 October 2001|title=The cult figure we could do without|work=[[The Times]]}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Al-Qaeda fits all the official definitions of a cult. It indoctrinates its members; it forms a closed, [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] society; it has a self-appointed, messianic and charismatic leader; and it believes that the ends justify the means.}}

Similar to Al-Qaeda, the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] adheres to an even more extremist and [[Puritans|puritanical]] ideology, in which the goal is to create a [[Sovereign state|state]] governed by ''[[shari'ah]]'' as interpreted by its religious leadership, who then [[Brainwashing|brainwash]] and command their able-bodied male subjects to go on [[Suicide attack|suicide missions]], with such devices as [[car bomb]]s, against its enemies, including deliberately selected civilian targets, such as churches and [[Shia Islam|Shi'ite]] [[mosque]]s, among others. Subjects view this as a legitimate action; an [[obligation]], even. The ultimate goal of this [[Stratocracy|political-military]] endeavour is to eventually usher in the [[Islamic eschatology|end of the world in accordance with their Islamic beliefs]] and have the chance to participate in their version of the [[Last Judgment#In Islam|apocalyptic final battle]], in which all of their enemies (i.e. anyone who is not on their side) would be annihilated.<ref>Barron, Maye. 2017. ''18JTR'' 8(1).</ref> Such endeavour ultimately failed in 2017,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/21/isis-caliphate-islamic-state-raqqa-iraq-islamist |title=Rise and fall of Isis: its dream of a caliphate is over, so what now? |work=The Guardian |last=Burke |first=Jason |date=21 October 2017 |access-date=22 July 2021 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021230705/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/21/isis-caliphate-islamic-state-raqqa-iraq-islamist |archive-date=21 October 2017 }}</ref> though hardcore survivors have largely returned to [[insurgency]] terrorism (i.e., [[Iraqi insurgency (2017–present)|Iraqi insurgency, 2017–present]]).

The [[Shining Path]] [[guerrilla]] movement, active in [[Peru]] in the 1980s and 1990s, has variously been described as a "cult"<ref>Stern, Steven J., ed. 1998. ''Shining and Other Paths: War and Society in Peru, 1980–1995''. Durham, NC: [[Duke University Press]].</ref> and an intense "[[cult of personality]]".<ref>Palmer, David Scott. 1994. ''Shining Path of Peru'' (2nd ed.). New York: [[St. Martin's Press]].</ref> The [[Tamil Tigers]] have also been described as such by the French magazine {{Lang|fr|[[L'Express (France)|L'Express]]}}.<ref>[[Gérard Chaliand]]. "[http://livres.lexpress.fr/entretien.asp/idC=8382/idR=5/idTC=4/idG=0 Interview]." ''[[L'Express (France)|L'Express]]'' {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

==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" />

==Governmental policies and actions==
{{main|Governmental lists of cults and sects}}
The application of the labels ''cult'' or ''sect'' to religious movements in government documents signifies the popular and negative use of the term ''cult'' in English and a functionally similar use of words translated as 'sect' in several European languages.<ref name="Richardson01">{{harvnb|Richardson|Introvigne|2001|pp=143–168}}</ref> [[Sociologists]] critical to this negative politicized use of the word ''cult'' argue that it may adversely impact the religious freedoms of group members.<ref name="Davis1996" /> At the height of the counter-cult movement and ritual abuse scare of the 1990s, some governments published [[Governmental lists of cults and sects|lists of cults]].<ref group="lower-roman">Or "sects" in German-speaking countries, the German term ''sekten'' having assumed the same derogatory meaning as English "cult".</ref> While these documents utilize similar terminology, they do not necessarily include the same groups nor is their assessment of these groups based on agreed criteria.<ref name="Richardson01" /> Other governments and world bodies also report on new religious movements but do not use these terms to describe the groups.<ref name="Richardson01" /> Since the 2000s, some governments have again distanced themselves from such classifications of religious movements.<ref group="lower-roman">* Austria: Beginning in 2011, the [[Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor]]'s [[International Religious Freedom Report]] no longer distinguishes sects in Austria as a separate group. {{cite web|title=International Religious Freedom Report for 2012|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=208288|access-date=3 September 2013|publisher=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor}}
* Belgium: The Justice Commission of the [[Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)|Belgian House of Representatives]] published a report on cults in 1997. A Brussels Appeals Court in 2005 condemned the House of Representatives on the grounds that it had damaged the image of an organization listed.
* France: A parliamentary commission of the National Assembly compiled a list of purported cults in 1995. In 2005, the Prime Minister stated that the concerns addressed in the list "had become less pertinent" and that the government needed to balance its concern with cults with respect for public freedoms and [[laїcité]].
* Germany: The legitimacy of a [[Governmental lists of cults and sects#Germany|1997 Berlin Senate report]] listing cults (''sekten'') was defended in a court decision of 2003 (Oberverwaltungsgericht Berlin [OVG 5 B 26.00] 25 September 2003). The list is still maintained by Berlin city authorities: [http://www.berlin.de/sen/familie/sekten-psychogruppen/ Sekten und Psychogruppen – Leitstelle Berlin].</ref> While the official response to new religious groups has been mixed across the globe, some governments aligned more with the critics of these groups to the extent of distinguishing between "legitimate" religion and "dangerous", "unwanted" cults in [[public policy]].<ref name="refRichardsonIntrovigne"/><ref name="Edelman"/>

=== China ===
{{Main articles|Heterodox teachings (Chinese law)|Persecution of Falun Gong}}
[[File:Destruction d'ouvrages du Falun Gong lors de la répression de 1999 en Chine.jpg|thumb|right|[[Falun Gong]] books being symbolically destroyed by the [[Chinese government]]]]
For centuries, governments in China have categorized certain religions as ''[[Heterodox teachings (Chinese law)|xiéjiào]]'' ({{Zh|c=[[wikt:邪教|邪教]]|s=|t=|p=|labels=no}}), sometimes translated as "evil cults" or "[[Heterodox teachings (Chinese law)|heterodox teachings]]".<ref name="Pennyreligion">{{Cite book |last=Penny |first=Benjamin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P6Z6fQ7Fg3QC |title=The Religion of Falun Gong |date=2012 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0226655017 |language=en}}</ref> In [[imperial China]], the classification of a religion as {{Lang|zh-latn|xiejiao}} did not necessarily mean that a religion's teachings were believed to be false or inauthentic, rather, the label was applied to religious groups that were not authorized by the state, or it was applied to religious groups that were believed to challenge the legitimacy of the state.<ref name="Pennyreligion" /> In [[modern China]], the term ''{{Lang|zh-latn|xiejiao}}'' continues to be used to denote teachings that the government disapproves of, and these groups face suppression and punishment by authorities. Fourteen different groups in China have been listed by the ministry of public security as ''{{Lang|zh-latn|xiejiao}}''.<ref>Center for Religious Freedom. February 2002. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20120402165033/http://www.hudson.org/files/publications/Analysis_of_China_Docs_1_to_7.pdf Report Analyzing Seven Secret Chinese Government Documents]." Washington: [[Freedom House]].</ref> Additionally, in 1999, Chinese Communist Party authorities denounced the [[Falun Gong]] spiritual practice as a heretical teaching, and they launched a campaign to eliminate it. However, such claims only exist in party resolutions, and has not been legitimized by Chinese own law systems. This actually made such denouncement confusing and as outlawed actions secretly conducted by Communist Party's secret policemen. According to [[Amnesty International]], the [[persecution of Falun Gong]] includes a multifaceted [[Propaganda in the People's Republic of China|propaganda campaign]],<ref name="CRS2006">{{cite web |url=https://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/67820.pdf |title=CRS Report for Congress: China and Falun Gong |publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]] |last=Lum |first=Thomas |date=25 May 2006}}</ref> a program of enforced ideological conversion and re-education, as well as a variety of extralegal coercive measures, such as [[arbitrary arrest]]s, [[forced labour]], and physical [[torture]], sometimes resulting in death.<ref name="Amnesty1">{{cite web|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engASA170112000 |title=China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organizations" |date=23 March 2000 |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=17 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030711022606/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engASA170112000 |archive-date=11 July 2003}}</ref>

===Russia===
In 2008 the [[Russian Interior Ministry]] prepared a list of "extremist groups".  At the top of the list were Islamic groups outside of "traditional Islam", which is supervised by the Russian government. Next listed were "[[Neopaganism|Pagan cults]]".<ref>[[Andrei Soldatov|Soldatov, Andreĭ]], and I. Borogan. 2010. ''The new nobility : the restoration of Russia's security state and the enduring legacy of the KGB''. New York: [[PublicAffairs]]. pp. 65–66.</ref>  In 2009 the [[Russian Ministry of Justice]] created a council which it named the "Council of Experts Conducting State Religious Studies Expert Analysis."  The new council listed 80 large sects which it considered potentially dangerous to Russian society, and it also mentioned that there were thousands of smaller ones.  The large sects which were listed included: [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], the [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], and other sects which were loosely referred to as "[[neo-Pentecostal]]s".<ref>Marshall, Paul. 2013. ''Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians''. [[Thomas Nelson Inc]].</ref>

=== United States ===
In the 1970s, the scientific status of the "[[Mind control|brainwashing theory]]" became a central topic in [[List of courts of the United States|U.S. court]] cases where the theory was used to try to justify the use of the forceful [[deprogramming]] of cult members.<ref name="Lewis, 2004"/><ref name="Davis1996">Davis, Dena S. 1996. "Joining a Cult: Religious Choice or Psychological Aberration." ''Journal of Law and Health''.</ref> Meanwhile, [[List of sociologists|sociologists]] who were critical of these theories assisted advocates of [[religious freedom]] in defending the legitimacy of new religious movements in court.<ref name="refRichardsonIntrovigne" /><ref name="Edelman">{{cite journal |doi=10.1525/nr.2003.6.2.312 |last1=Edelman |first1=Bryan |last2=Richardson |first2=James T. |year=2003 |title=Falun Gong and the Law: Development of Legal Social Control in China |journal=Nova Religio |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=312–331}}</ref> In the United States the religious activities of cults are protected under the [[First Amendment of the United States Constitution]], which prohibits governmental [[establishment of religion]] and protects [[freedom of religion]], [[freedom of speech]], [[freedom of the press]], and [[freedom of assembly]]. However, no members of religious groups or cults are granted any special [[Legal immunity|immunity]] from [[Prosecutor|criminal prosecution]].<ref name="Ogloff92">
{{cite journal|last= Ogloff|first= J. R.|author2= Pfeifer, J. E.|title= Cults and the law: A discussion of the legality of alleged cult activities.|journal= Behavioral Sciences & the Law|year= 1992|volume= 10|issue= 1|pages= 117–140|doi= 10.1002/bsl.2370100111}}</ref> In 1990, the [[Legal case|court case]] of ''United States v. Fishman'' (1990) ended the usage of brainwashing theories by expert witnesses such as [[Margaret Singer]] and [[Richard Ofshe]].<ref name=":4">''[https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/743/713/2593631/ United States v. Fishman]'', 743 [[Federal Supplement|F. Supp]]. 713 ([[United States District Court for the Northern District of California|N.D. Cal.]] 1990).</ref> In the case's ruling, the court cited the [[Frye standard]], which states that the [[scientific theory]] which is utilized by expert witnesses must be generally accepted in their respective fields. The court deemed [[brainwashing]] to be inadmissible in expert testimonies, using supporting documents which were published by the [[APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Methods of Persuasion and Control]], literature from previous court cases in which brainwashing theories were used, and expert testimonies which were delivered by scholars such as [[Dick Anthony]].<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Introvigne |first1=Massimo |title=Advocacy, brainwashing theories, and new religious movements |journal=Religion |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=303–319 |doi=10.1080/0048721X.2014.888021 |year=2014 |s2cid=144440076}}</ref>

=== Western Europe ===
{{See also|MIVILUDES|Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu|Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France}}
The governments of France and Belgium have taken policy positions which accept "brainwashing" theories uncritically, while the governments of other European nations, such as those of Sweden and Italy, are cautious with regard to brainwashing and as a result, they have responded more neutrally with regard to new religions.<ref>{{harvnb|Richardson|Introvigne|2001|pp=144–146}}</ref> Scholars have suggested that the outrage which followed the mass murder/suicides which were perpetuated by the [[Order of the Solar Temple|Solar Temple]]<ref name="refRichardsonIntrovigne" /><ref name="Robbins2002">{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/0021-8294.00047 |author=Robbins, Thomas |year=2002 |title=Combating 'Cults' and 'Brainwashing' in the United States and Europe: A Comment on Richardson and Introvigne's Report |journal=Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=169–176}}</ref> have significantly contributed to European anti-cult positions as well as more latent [[Xenophobia|xenophobic]] and [[Anti-Americanism|anti-American]] attitudes which are widespread on the continent.<ref name="Beckford1998">{{cite journal |author=Beckford, James A. |year=1998 |title='Cult' Controversies in Three European Countries |journal=Journal of Oriental Studies |volume=8 |pages=174–184}}</ref> In the 1980s clergymen and officials of the French government expressed concern that some [[Religious order|orders]] and other groups within the [[Roman Catholic Church]] would be adversely affected by anti-cult laws which were then being considered.<ref>{{cite book|title=Regulating religion: case studies from around the globe|last=Richardson|first=James T.|publisher=Kluwer Acad. / Plenum Publ.|year=2004|isbn=0306478862|location=New York |author-link=James T. Richardson}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Cabal]]
* [[Cargo cult]]
* [[Clique]]
* [[Cult of personality]]
* [[Cult (religious practice)]]
* [[Cult following]]
* [[Fanaticism]]
* [[Gang]]
* [[Greco-Roman mysteries]]
* [[Secret society]]
* [[Western esotericism]]

==References==

=== Explanatory notes ===
{{Reflist|group=lower-roman}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== General and cited sources ===
* {{Cite book |last=Cowan |first=Douglas E. |author-link=Douglas E. Cowan |year=2003 |title=Bearing False Witness? An Introduction to the Christian Countercult |location=Westport, CT |publisher=[[Praeger Paperback|Praeger]] |isbn=978-0275974596}}
* {{Cite book |last=Dawson |first=Lorne L. |author-link=Lorne L. Dawson |year=1998 |title=Cults in Context: Readings in the Study of New Religious Movements |publisher=[[Transaction Publishers]] |isbn=0765804786}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=James R. |author-link=James R. Lewis (scholar) |year=2004 |title=The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements |location=US |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=0195149866}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Richardson |first=James T. |author-link=James T. Richardson |year=1993 |title=Definitions of Cult: From Sociological-Technical to Popular-Negative. |journal=[[Review of Religious Research]] |volume=34 |number=4 |pages=348–356 |doi=10.2307/3511972 |jstor=3511972}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Richardson |first1=James T. |last2=Introvigne |first2=Massimo |author-link2=Massimo Introvigne |year=2001 |title='Brainwashing' Theories in European Parliamentary and Administrative Reports on 'Cults' and 'Sects'. |journal=[[Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion]] |volume=40 |number=2 |pages=143–168 |doi=10.1111/0021-8294.00046}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Stark |first1=Rodney |author-link1=Rodney Stark |last2=Bainbridge |first2=William Sims |author-link2=William Sims Bainbridge |year=1987 |title=The Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival and Cult Formation |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520057319}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Stark |first1=Rodney |author-link1=Rodney Stark |last2=Bainbridge |first2=William Sims |author-link2=William Sims Bainbridge |author-mask1=1 |author-mask2=1 |year=1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xi9j4vCOtPQC |title=A Theory of Religion |publisher=[[Peter Lang Publishing]] |isbn=0813523303}}

==Further reading==
===Books===
{{refbegin}}
* [[Eileen Barker|Barker, E.]] (1989) ''New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction'', London, HMSO
* Bromley, David et al.: ''Cults, Religion, and Violence'', 2002, {{ISBN|0521668980}}
* Enroth, Ronald. (1992) ''[[Churches that Abuse]]'', Zondervan, {{ISBN|0310532906}} [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/716-churches-that-abuse-online-book Full text online]
* Esquerre, Arnaud: ''La manipulation mentale. Sociologie des sectes en France'', Fayard, Paris, 2009.
* House, Wayne: ''Charts of Cults, Sects, and Religious Movements'', 2000, {{ISBN|0310385512}}
* Kramer, Joel and Alstad, Diane: ''The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power'', 1993.
* Lalich, Janja: ''Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults'', 2004, {{ISBN|0520240189}}
* Landau Tobias, Madeleine et al. : ''Captive Hearts, Captive Minds'', 1994, {{ISBN|0897931440}}
* [[James R. Lewis (scholar)|Lewis, James R.]] ''Odd Gods: New Religions and the Cult Controversy'', [[Prometheus Books]], 2001
* Martin, Walter et al.: ''[[The Kingdom of the Cults]]'', 2003, {{ISBN|0764228218}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |surname=Melton |given=J. Gordon |authorlink=J. Gordon Melton |title=Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America |series=Religious Information Series, 7 |edition=Rev. and updated |place=New York; London |publisher=Garland Publ. |year=1992 |orig-year=1986 |url={{Google books|id=KRTGzgpDvL4C|plainurl=y|page=}} |isbn=0-8153-0502-8}}
* Oakes, Len: ''Prophetic Charisma: The Psychology of Revolutionary Religious Personalities'', 1997, {{ISBN|0815603983}}
* [[Margaret Singer|Singer, Margaret Thaler]]: ''Cults in Our Midst: The Continuing Fight Against Their Hidden Menace'', 1992, {{ISBN|0787967416}}
* Tourish, Dennis: '''On the Edge: Political Cults Right and Left'', 2000, {{ISBN|0765606399}}
* Zablocki, Benjamin et al.: ''Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field'', 2001, {{ISBN|0802081886}}
{{refend}}
===Articles===
{{refbegin}}
* Aronoff, Jodi; Lynn, Steven Jay; Malinosky, Peter. ''Are cultic environments psychologically harmful?'', ''Clinical Psychology Review'', 2000, Vol. 20 No. 1 pp.&nbsp;91–111
* Langone, Michael: Cults: [https://web.archive.org/web/20040514055256/http://www.csj.org/infoserv_articles/langone_michael_cultsqa.htm Questions and Answers]
* [[Robert Jay Lifton|Lifton, Robert Jay]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20040624204743/http://csj.org/infoserv_articles/lifton_robert.htm "Cult Formation"], ''The Harvard Mental Health Letter'', February 1991
* Robbins, T. and D. Anthony, 1982. "Deprogramming, brainwashing and the medicalization of deviant religious groups" ''Social Problems'' '''29''' pp.&nbsp;283–297.
* Rosedale, Herbert et al.: [https://web.archive.org/web/20040514072433/http://www.csj.org/infoserv_articles/langone_michael_term_cult.htm "On Using the Term 'Cult{{'"}}]
* Van Hoey, Sara: [https://web.archive.org/web/20041216002202/http://www.csj.org/infoserv_articles/van_hoey_sara_cults_in_court.htm "Cults in Court"]. ''The Los Angeles Lawyer'', February 1991
* [[Philip Zimbardo|Zimbardo, Philip]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20041118073343/http://www.csj.org/infoserv_articles/zimbardo_philip_messeges.htm "What messages are behind today's cults?"], ''American Psychological Association Monitor'', May 1997
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{Wiktionary inline}}
* {{Wikiquote inline|Cult}}

{{New Religious Movements}}
{{Opposition_to_NRMs}}

[[Category:Cults| ]]
[[Category:Pejorative terms]]