Cults and Their Leaders Essay -- Psychology Cults Violence Essays Reli

Cults and Their LeadersFor many years, passion leaders always had a psychological hold on their chase minds. Whether it was to massacre other people or to kill themselves, they did it without question. round cult leaders accustomd fear, violence and guilt as a means of a weapon to control the minds of their followers. Other cult leaders used weighty and spiritual speeches that made their followers believe they were doing good and fulfilling Gods plan. Because cult leaders ar powerful by means of psychological offenses, the people that belong to their cults are brainwashed into doing things they wouldnt normally do in their right state of mind.For years, there have been problems surrounding the definition of the term cult. The literal and traditional meanings of the watchword cult, which are more fully explored at the entry Cult (religion), add together from the Latin cultus, meaning care or adoration, as a dodging of religious belief or ritual or the body of adherents to same. In French or Spanish, culte or culto simply means worship or religious attendance therefore an association cultuelle is an association whose goal is to elevate religious worship and practices. The word for cult in the popular position meaning is secte (French) or secta (Spanish). In formal English use, and in non-English European terms, the cognates of the English word cult are neutral, and refer mainly to divisions inside a single faith, a case where English speakers might use the word sect. Hence Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism are cults indoors Christianity. However, in common usage, cult has a very negative connotation, and is in the main applied to a group in order to criticize it. Understandably, nearly groups, if not all, that are called cults deny this term. Some groups called cults by both(prenominal) critics whitethorn consider themselves not to be cults, but may consider some other groups to be cults. Although anti-cult activists and sc holars did not agree on precise criteria that fresh religions should meet to be considered cults, two of the definitions formulated by anti-cult activists are Cults are groups that often exploit members psychologically and/or financially, typically by make members comply with leaderships demands through certain types of psychological manipulation, popularly called mind control, and through the inculcation of d... ...psychological offenses, the people that belong to their cults are brainwashed into doing things they wouldnt normally do in their right state of mind. Cult leaders used mingled ways of molding a followers mind and brainwashing them to do things for them. Some cult leaders used punishments as a way of severance the followers that were resistant to their demands. Others used and perfected the art of persuasion. Either way, the mind of their followers or family are in total control of the leader. Works CitedBugliosi, Vincent, with crisp Gentry. Helter Skelter The True Story of The Manson Murders. New York and capital of the United Kingdom Norton, 1994.Merriam-Webster Online. 2005. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 4 May 2005 Mills, Jeannie. vi Years With God Life Inside Rev. Jim Joness Peoples Temple. New York A&W Publishers, 1979.Terry, Maury. The Ultimate Evil The Truth About Cult Murders Son Of surface-to-air missile & Beyond. New York Barnes and Noble Publishing Company, 1987.Wilson, Brian R. Apostates and New religious Movements. New York and London Routledge, 1999. Zimbardo, Philip. The Psychology of Attitude Change and Social Influence. Columbus McGraw-Hill, 1991.