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College Study Sets > Cults Test > Flashcards

Cults Test Flashcards

1
Q

Is it okay to say Cult?

A

Cult is problematic and individuals prefer “New Religious Movement”
Cults refer to organizations with elements such as those in mainstream religions.

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2
Q

Cults are considered Pejorative

A

*A religious group that is odd or dangerous
*Mass suicide
*Conflict between the group and
governmental officials
*The only information people generally have of new religious movements occurs in the context of what sociologist James Beckford calls the “threatening, strange, exploitative, oppressive and provocative”

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3
Q

15 Characteristics of a cult

A

*Unquestioning commitment to its leader
*Dissent forbidden
* Mind-altering practices, such as chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, etc.
* Dictated thoughts, actions and feelings including who to date, what clothes to wear, etc.
* Elitist, claiming special status for the members and/or leader
* Us vs. them mentality
* Leader is not accountable to any authorities
* Teaches the ends justify the means
* Leadership uses guilt and shame to control
* Members must cut ties with families
* Group focused on bringing in new members
* Group is preoccupied with bringing in money
* Members are expected to devote an extreme amount of time to the group
* Members are only to socialize with other members
* Members are convinced there is no life outside the group

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4
Q

When studying cults and new religious movements ask

A

*Where do they come from?
* Why do they emerge when and where they do?
* What causes their rise and fall?
* What causes people to join and leave?
*Are they as dangerous as they say?

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5
Q

Types of Cults

A

*Variations on established religions,
including Christianity
* Non-“religious” movements, like
Scientology
* Religious movements that are not
actually new, just new to the West
* Movements inspired by new ideas,
such as UFOlogy

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6
Q

Definition of Religion

A

*William James on the “life of religion”
* The belief that there is an unseen order and our goal should be to align ourselves with it
* Does not require a supreme being
* Does not decide whether the belief is true or not
* Avoids the notion that religion must be good, moral, or decent

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7
Q

How is religion expressed?

A

*The use of story-telling/myth making
* Religion is expressed through stories (myths) that describe the unseen order
* The stories direct ways of acting in the world

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8
Q

What is Scientology?

A

Scientology began as a therapeutic practice and then took on some of the aspects of a religion

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9
Q

Scientology Key words 1

A
  • L. Ron Hubbard-Is the founder of scientology. He was in the navy and wrote the book dianetics. His teachings were rejected by apa. He established Church of scientology in 1954.
  • Dianetics- The essence of the self (later called a thetan) is trapped by past traumatic experiences. Through dianetic therapy these experiences are “cleared”.
  • Hagiography- Biography of Saints or venerated person.
  • Auditing- Auditing is spiritual counseling to identify and eliminate these engram.
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10
Q

Scientology Key words 2

A

*Thetan- A person’s spirit or essence of self. A person does not have a thetan; a person is a thetan.

  • Clearing- What happens to engrams once you go through dianetics. The manner in which you restore a thetan’s original abilities.
  • Engram-The reactive mind records traumatic events as engrams.
  • Thetan, mind, and body- The three parts a human being consist of. The mind is the communication and control system for the thetan. The analytical mind is the thinking part
    of the mind.The reactive mind records traumatic events as engram.
  • David Miscavige- Leader of the Church since 1986.
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11
Q

What Characteristics of a cult does Scientology have, and is it a religion?

A
  • Yes it is a cult because they cut ties with family members, group is preoccupied with making money, and elitists.
  • It is kind of a religion because the unseen order is to clear your thetan.
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12
Q

What is TM(Transcendental
Meditation)?

A

It is accused of being a religion disguised as a business.

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13
Q

TM Key Words 1

A

*Maharishi Mahesh Yogi- Founded the Spiritual Regeneration Movement in 1958. Mahesh developed “the technique of the householder” into Transcendental Meditation and spread it through the formation of the Spiritual Regeneration Movement (SRM). He claims to have rediscovered a lost form of meditation, which incorporates teachings related to Krishna, the Buddha, and Shankara.

  • Spiritual Regeneration
    Movement-A movement based on reunification of the self with that absolute reality.
  • Swami Brahmanand Saraswati /
    Guru Dev- taught Mahesh “the knowledge of the technique of the
    householder”, and a form of hinduism known as the Advaita Vedanta.
  • Advaita Vedanta Hinduism-Teaches that Brahman (the divine universe) is the only real, though we perceive our self (atman) and the universe as
    discrete, separate things.
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14
Q

TM Key Words 2

A

*Brahman-The divine universe (Ultimate reality)

  • Atman- Our self
  • Stages of Life
    -Renunciate: In Hinduism there are four stages of life, and certain techniques of meditation are reserved only for those in the fourth stage, renunciate.
    -Householder:The claim in TM is that meditative practices are also available to those in the second stage, or householder phase of life.
  • Mantra- A motivational chant. Normal mental activity occurs on the mind’s surface, where it is cluttered and unfocused.TM calms this activity through a mantra so the practitioner can exist in the calmer deep mind and experience pure creative intelligence.
    -Om-Mantra specifically for the 4th stage of renunciate.
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15
Q

TM Key Words 3

A

*Puja-Hindu devotional practices

  • Unity Consciousness-The highest stage of consciousness. Beneficial effect on both a person’s physical and mental well-beings.
  • Yogic Flying- Flying in a yoga stance. Which, if done in concert with others, has significant, utopian social consequences.
  • The World Plan-If just 1% of the world’s population practices TM,
    there would be an enormous change in society, increasing social order and harmony -> The Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment.
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16
Q

What Characteristics of a cult does TM have, and is it a religion?

A

*Not a cult
*It is a religion the unseen order is “absolute reality,” or Brahman, and
the goal of the practitioner is the reunification of the self with that absolute reality.

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17
Q

Are all new religious movements dangerous?

A

New Religious Movements need to be evaluated without assuming they are all dangerous.

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18
Q

Ramtha Key Words 1

A

*New Age-Healing power of crystals, convergence of quantum physics and Eastern religion, psychic abilities such as telekinesis, past-life recall, remote viewing, etc. “Linked by a general belief that humankind stands on the verge of a massive personal and social transformation”

  • JZ Knight-Grew up a fundamentalist Baptist, but later became convinced that the God being preached in her church was not the real God. Experiences with clairvoyance and precognition preceded an experiment with pyramid power which opened up a “channel” to Ramtha. Founder of Ramtha’s school of enlightenment.
  • A Trance Channel (vs. Medium) -Another entity takes full control of a
    person, as opposed to a medium where the other entity only speaks through the person.
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19
Q

Ramtha Key Words 2

A

*Ramtha- “A 35,000-year-old warrior…from the lost continent of Atlantis”. Mounted a slave rebellion Contemplating God, he came to realize he himself was God, as were all humans.

  • School of Enlightenment-Is about knowing and experiencing for oneself the possibilities of that knowledge. “The American Gnostic School”. Through exercises, students learn to recognize that they are in control of
    the reality they create. Students realize god is within them.
  • Satanic or Fraud- Evangelical Christian groups have treated
    the RSE as a satanic deception. The media has treated the RSE (and
    Knight) as a fraud.
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20
Q

Four Fundamental Beliefs

A

*Statement: You are God
* Mandate: Make Known the
Unknown
* The Concept: Consciousness and
Energy Create Reality
* The Challenge: Conquer Yoursel

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21
Q

Audience cults; Client Cults; Cult
Movements

A

Audience Cults- No organization and participants have little or no contact with one another. Members participate through media, such as printed or recorded sources.

Client Cults- Members participate through a paid service on a singular or irregular basis. Examples include Astrologers, mediums, etc.

Cult Movements-Full-fledged religious organizations that attempt to satisfy all the religious needs of its
members. The teachings satisfy the deepest questions of their lives and get them in touch with the “unseen order”.

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22
Q

What Characteristics of a cult does Ramtha have, and is it a religion?

A

*Is a cult because Group is preoccupied with making money, Members are expected to devote an extreme amount of time to the group, and us vs. them mentality.

  • It could be considered a religion because unseen order is that you can alter reality, god is within you.
23
Q

Brainwashing in cults?

A

The argument that brainwashing is a way of recruiting members into a cult, like the Unification Church, is false.

24
Q

The Unification Church/ The family federation Key Terms 1

A

*Sun Myung Moon-Founded a charismatic church in North Korea in
1946, then under persecution, escaped to South Korea in 1950, founding the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity in 1954. Published the first edition of Divine Principle in
1956. Quickly, Unificationist centers were established around the world, but the movement did not take off in the US until he moved to the US, prompted by a divine revelation,
in 1972. Took on the title “True Father”.

  • Divine Principle- Moon communed with God, Moses, Buddha, and Jesus from whom he learned
    the ideas which he would record as the Divine Principle after he was annoyed at 16 to complete the
    spiritual mission of salvation Christ.
  • Washington Times Newspaper- Under operation of Moon, but failed.
  • The Messiah / The 4th Adam- A leader of savior. A person who will be assisted by Jesus from the spirit world. 4th Adam is the next leader after Jesus and Moon.

*The Blessing- Originally mass weddings of members of the church selected by Moon to reverse the
Fall. Members had to demonstrate significant spiritual growth, bring in at least three new members, serve a three-year mission, and endure a seven-day fast before the ceremony. The Blessing itself was a ceremony where the bride accepted a chalice of wine from Moon, sipped from it (freeing her from original sin), then passed it to her groom (freeing him) In this sinless state they can then produce spiritually perfect children.

25
Q

Three Periods of History

A

*Creation
* The Fall (Vertical and Horizontal)
* The Restoration

26
Q

Arguments at the Core of the Brainwashing Accusations

A

*Because new members are brainwashed, their testimony
is worthless
* Conversion is done by the brainwashers, not the
brainwashed
* The brainwashed should be de-programmed by their
families

27
Q

Arguments against Brainwashing Accusations

A

*If brainwashing works, it should be more effective
* Brainwashing takes expertise, but recruitment is mostly
by inexperienced members
* Brainwashing techniques should improve over time
* If brainwashing works the cults should be more effective

28
Q

The Unreliability of Witness

A

*People who have left the cult and family members of cult
members are biased
* So, only listen to members of the cult

29
Q

What Characteristics of a cult does The Unification Church/ The family federation have, and is it a religion?

A

*It is a cult because Dictated thoughts, actions and feelings including who to date, what clothes to wear, etc, group is focused on bringing in new members, and Unquestioning commitment to its leader.
* It is a religion because the unseen order is for the restoration of the world.

30
Q

Why do new religious movements receive slander?

A

The Family International is an example of a new religious movement unjustly maligned for alternative sexual practices.

31
Q

The Children of God / The Family
International Key Terms 1

A

*David Brandt Berg / Mo-Founder of the family international in the 1960’s. Berg claimed to be God’s End time Prophet. And the most controversial revelations he has proclaimed have had to do with revolutionary sexual
practices.

  • Jane Miller / Mother Eve- David’s first wife whom people called mother eve.
  • Karen Zerby / Maria- David’s second wife he took in order to represent the new church.
  • Peter Amsterdam- A man that Maria had been in a long-term relationship with Berg’s blessing took over control of the Church after Berg’s death.
32
Q

The Children of God / The Family
International 2

A

*Evangelical Christianity- A sector of Christianity the church closely related to. The values held bye this group are Trinity, creator God, fall of humanity, substitutionary atonement through the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, required conversion and acceptance of Jesus as savior.

  • The Mo Letters- Berg directed the Church through letters which he
    would threaten to withhold from errant homes
  • Flirty Fishing- People were given “full physical love” and of these more than half accepted Jesus as their
    savior.
  • Litnessing- Distributing comics
    for small donations.
  • Law of Love- Christians should love one another as the greatest commandment. Led to physical intimacy with other Family
    members, and applying the Law to proselytization with strangers.
33
Q

What Characteristics of a cult does The Children of God / The Family
International have, and is it a religion?

A

*This group is a cult because of their us vs. them mentality, Unquestioning commitment to its leader, and group focused on bringing in new members.
* This group is a religion because their unseen order is to save your soul because end times are near.

34
Q

The Branch Davidians Key Terms 1

A

*Seventh-Day Adventism
-William Miller: He was the beginner of early Seventh-Day Adventism.
-The Great Disappointment: Expected an imminent
return of Christ.

  • Victor and Florence Houteff- Victor was kicked out of the SDA because he believed the SDA had abandoned its original focus on the imminent return of Christ and needed to return to it. He moved to Waco, where he established a self-sufficient, isolated community. This community took on the name Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists to secure conscientious objector status in 1942. Florence declared the date of the end as April 22, 1959 and many members left.
  • Benjamin and Lois Rode- Benjamin would take over the church following the death of victor, and he predicted the end would come once the elect had purified and perfected themselves. Following his death his wife Lois fought to get control and told the group that the Messiah was to be a woman.
35
Q

How does media view new religious movements?

A

The medias portrayal of new religious movements may be biased.

36
Q

The Branch Davidian’s Key Terms 2

A

*David Koresh
-King David and Cyrus the Great = Messiah but not divine
-Revelation: He claimed to understand the revelation and would say he himself was the one who would reveal the mysteries of the endtimes and bring them about.
-New Light Doctrine:As the endgame revealer it was his job to create a new lineage.

*Privilege- People would chose the voices of members over former members and the families of members

37
Q

What Characteristics of a cult does Branch Davidians have, and is it a religion?

A
  • It is a cult because there is an unquestioning commitment to it’s leader, members only socialize with other members, and teaches ends justify the means.
  • it is a religion because the unseen order is that you must perfect yourself for the end to come.
38
Q

Are all New religious movements the same?

A

Not all New Religious Movements are alike.

39
Q

Heavens Gate Key Terms 1

A

*Bonnie Lu Nettles- One founder of the Heavens Gate movement. Eventually she and Applewhite would believe that they were two members of the Kingdom of Heaven …incarnated into two unsuspecting humans…”

  • Marshall Herff Applewhite Jr.- He was the other founder of Heavens Gate. He began hearing voices and this is how he met Nettles.
  • Ti and Do- These are the names that Nettles and Applewhite are referred to as. Their first statement explained their notion that leaving the material body was the way to reach the next level of existence. This transition is reached through education, not religious faith.
  • Hale-Bopp comet- This was the sign that they were to leave their bodies behind and continue their spiritual journey on another plane of existence, and they would take new bodies upon a spacecraft and become members of its
    crew
40
Q

Heavens Gate Key Terms 2

A

*Two Witnesses in Revelation- The first moment in the development of Heavens Gate. They were the Two Witnesses described in Revelation, who as prophets will be assassinated and then ascend to Heaven in a cloud (which they understood to be a spaceship).

  • Kingdom of Heaven- Nettles would be Applewhite’s link to the kingdom of heaven once she died.
  • Next Level-This is how you reach the next level of existence. There was no death, but another level.
41
Q

What Characteristics of a cult does Heaven Gate have, and is it a religion?

A

*Heaven Gate has characteristics of a cult including unquestioning commitment to the leader, using guilt and shame to control, and an us vs. them attitude.

*This is a religion because the unseen order is going to the next level.

42
Q

Are all anti-Christian groups Satanic?

A

Despite the fact that Paganism and Wicca are incredibly benign, anti-cult Christian groups attack them as Satanic.

43
Q

Wicca and witchcraft key terms 1

A

*Three principles
-Sacredness of nature
-Immanence of divinity
-Ability to manipulate the energies of the universe

*Sabbats (8)- A seasonal festival. Solstices and equinoxes
and midpoints
- Cycle of death and rebirth
-Open to outsiders

  • Esbats (13)- A lunar gathering. 13-month lunar cycle.
    -Regular meeting times of many covens
    -Only for insiders
44
Q

Wicca and witchcraft key terms 2

A

*The Great Goddess and her
consort the Horned God
-Drawing Down the Moon: calling the power of the Goddess (embodied as the Moon) to enter into the High Priestess.
-The Great Rite: the sacred marriage of Goddess and God, re-enacted by the High Priestess and High Priest or as part of an initiation ceremony.

*The Wiccan Rede- Rede = rule, “An it harm none, do as thou will”, and An = if.

  • The Rule of Three- Whatever a person puts out into the world will return threefold.
45
Q

Wicca and witchcraft key terms 3

A

*Gerald Brosseau Gardner- credited for making the religion public.
-Dorothy Clutterbuck: Initiated Gardner into a coven.
-Operation Cone of Power: Hitler’s planned invasion of England Gardner claimed to prevent with magic.
-Doreen Valiente: She Created the Guardian Book of Shadows.
-Gardnerian Book of Shadow: Text for many modern witchcraft covens.

*Covens and solitaries- Covens are groups that contain elder witches teaching younger witches. Solitaries are by themselves trained through books and the internet.

*Satanic Panic- People began to believe that witches were in league with Satan. Wicca is “one of the more seductive deceptions Satan has ever come up with”. People were consumed with the idea that Satanists were sexually abusing children, women were held as breeders to have children for rituals, and Christians were opposed to Wicca, pentagrams, Halloween, and Harry Potter.

*Images of witches and witchcraft were often seen in pop culture in Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Many witches come from well-educated, middle-class backgrounds, revere nature, and have an ethic of non-violence, making them much more acceptable than most new religious movements.

46
Q

Cult Stereotype

A
  • 1)They are all dangerous and destructive
  • 2) They are all in league with the Devil
  • 3) They are all brainwashing organizations
47
Q

The Cult Characteristics

A

*Us vs. Them mentality
*Mind-altering practices
*Preoccupied with making money and bringing in more people
*Members are expected to devote an inordinate amount of time to the group and group activities

48
Q

NRMs as New Religion

A
  • 1) All historical religions have murky origins
  • 2) All have developed over time
  • 3) Many have begun with a charismatic leader who challenges the established practices and beliefs
  • 4) People are associated with the groups in a variety of ways –members, students, practitioners
49
Q

Santa Muerte

A

*Beginnings as a rural devotion
to a folk saint (maybe)

*Rival of the roman catholic church and saints such as St. Jude

*Denounced by the RCC as
illegitimate and satanic

  • Popular among those
    involved in drug trafficking
    and those opposed to drug
    trafficking
50
Q

Burning Man

A
  • A festival that is more spiritual than religious.

*A long tradition of events where social conventions are turned upside down.

51
Q

Trucker Churches/Cowboy Churches

A
  • Considered “Unchurched Harrys”

*Traditional, conservative, evangelical Christianity directed at men who live
lifestyles not conducive to traditional churches.

52
Q

Sunday Assembly

A

*Atheist Church
* Social support and community
* “Elevate the human experience”
* Compare Reconstructionist Judais

53
Q

Entheogenic Churches

A

*Religious groups using psychoactive substances (“drugs”) in religious ceremonies
* Think Indigenous practices with peyote
* Also, Rastafarian use of cannabis

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