World Religions Week 28 Flashcards
Cults are…
Secret societies of people who have cut themselves off from modern societies
Members usually…
- have a shared belief system
- sustain high level of social cohesiveness
- strongly influenced by groups behavioral norms
- charismatic (divine) power to group or leaders
Usually have leaders that…
Highly influential who inspire people to follow them
Usually claim knowledge that…
Is esoteric and lost, repressed, or newly found
Members are willing to fully commit themselves because…
The secret knowledge usually meets desire or need and hope of fulfillment is promised
Cults share much with being compared to…
Sectarian forms of religion
Just like different denominations, cults lie on a ______
Spectrum
However cults are usually…
Surprisingly similar in their methods and means
Sometimes mistaken as…
Sects of Christianity
Will keep some aspects of the church but…
Implement different beliefs and practices to distinguish themselves
Opposite of established faith, cults offer…
Surer, shorter, and swifter way to salvation
How cults get people to commit themselves is…
Offer empty promises that appeal to what humans want
Groups usually emerge…
When values of society considered inadequate to for addressing major issues
Usually built of those…
Who are desperate to meet their spiritual needs
Cults members often…
Suspend rational thought and follow any orders of leader, even murder or suicide
Cults signify a more ________ mode of religious expression
Unconventional
They display no intention of….but instead focus on…
Broadening society, spiritual development of their members
Some debate on whether cults should…
Be considered a new religious movement
New religion movements often grow out of…
desire to satisfy spiritual needs of humanity that have importance independent of other needs
New religious movements have the potential…
to reveal significant things about societies in which they emerge
Two examples of cults later classified as religious movements were…
Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventists
One of largest anti-cult groups is…
International Cultic Studies Association
Some common features include…
- us vs. them mentality
- mind-altering practices (meditation, chanting)
- preoccupied with making money and bringing new members in
- active members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time
Highest rates of cult activity are…
in California and surrounding states (New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona)
________ and _______ ______ both play significant role within cults
members and social structure
Members are often exalted over…
those who are not in the cult
_____ always plays noteworthy part in keeping control of members
isolation
______ is redefined as being the cult members
family
Cults ultimately about grasping and preserving _______ and __________ __________
absolute and unconditional control
