CultNEWS101 Articles: 2/5-6/2022 (Religious Research, Cult Involvement, Video, Podcast, Meth, Book Launch, Dialogue and Cultic Studies)

Religious Research, Cult Involvement, Video, Podcast, Meth, Book Launch, Dialogue and Cultic Studies

Global News: Gone by 2040': Why some religions are declining in Canada faster than ever

"Religiosity in Canada is at an all-time low, with recently released data from Statistics Canada showing only 68 per cent of Canadians 15 or older now report having a religious affiliation. It's the first time that number has dipped below 70 per cent since StatCan began tracking the data in 1985.

In response, Global News has spent the past two months speaking to members of religious communities across the country and looking at historical data to determine why this is happening. This is part one of that series.

It's important to note that this decline is not across the board; the number of Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and Hindus is increasing, and StatCan predicts the number of Canadians reporting a non-Christian religious affiliation could double by the year 2036.

Christianity, however, is in sharp decline. In 2011, 67.3 per cent (about 22.1 million people) of Canadians said they were affiliated with a Christian religion. In 2019, that number had dropped to 63.2 percent. Catholicism, Canada's largest denomination, now accounts for 32 per cent of Canadians over 15, down from 46.9 per cent in 1996."

The decline is even more precarious for Canada's United and Anglican churches.

Jon Atack :  The Dynamics of  Cult Involvement

Pat Ryan and Joe Kelly have worked helping people exit and recover from cults for many years. In this week's video, they join Jon to talk about the nature of authoritarian control, the nostalgia some 

Butterflies and Bravery: Meth And Me

"In this episode Jemima bares it all and talks about some of her previous vices, focusing on her meth addiction. She holds nothing back as she takes you down the long dark road she walked. You'll be on the edge of your seat as we delve into the world of drug addiction. Find out how Jemima got clean without attending meetings or having a religious epiphany, and how she managed to stay that way. Sometimes there's not a why, there's not a way, there's just holding on."

INFORM: Book Launch – "Radical Transformations in Minority Religions", edited by Beth Singler and Eileen Barker

(February 10,  2022, 5:30 - 7:30 pm GMT, Zoom)

About the book: All religions undergo continuous change, but minority religions tend to be less anchored in their ways than mainstream, traditional religions. This volume examines radical transformations undergone by a variety of minority religions, including the Children of God/ Family International; Gnosticism; Jediism; various manifestations of Paganism; LGBT Muslim groups; the Plymouth Brethren; Santa Muerte; and Satanism. As with other books in the Routledge/Inform series, the contributors approach the subject from a wide range of perspectives: professional scholars include legal experts and sociologists specializing in new religious movements, but there are also chapters from those who have experienced a personal involvement. The volume is divided into four thematic parts that focus on different impetuses for radical change: interactions with society, technology and institutions, efforts at legitimation, and new revelations. 

Respondents will include: 

• Professor Emeritus James A. Beckford, University of Warwick 
• Michael Langone, Executive Director, International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA), USA 
• Professor Linda Woodhead, King's College London 
• Register

ICSA E-Newsletter: ICSA's Openness to Dialogue: Historical Perspective

"From its founding in 1979, ICSA strove to apply professional perspectives and research to understand and respond to the problems posed by cults. This professionalism has made ICSA open and tolerant, and, consequently, credible. Though there were and continue to be different opinions about how open ICSA should be, the prevailing view has always been that we must not be like cults, which are closed-minded and censor or refuse to engage with those who advocate dissenting views.

The reasons for and importance of openness and dialogue was formally articulated in a document written by the ICSA Board of Directors: "Dialogue and Cultic Studies: Why Dialogue Benefits the Cultic Studies Field." Historical background can be found on ICSA's history page, especially "Changes in the North American Cult Awareness Movement."

ICSA's openness to dialogue can sometimes be difficult to reconcile with ICSA's mission of helping those adversely affected by cultic involvements. Former members, especially those who have been traumatized, may feel discomfort -- sometimes revulsion -- when ICSA's openness to divergent views exposes them to people with positive views of cults or even of religion in general. Openness may also challenge parents and helping professionals who are focused on ameliorating harm. Conversely, some academicians may interpret ICSA's focus on cult-related harm as an anti-religious bias.

Because ICSA is open to diverse and conflicting views, ICSA cannot please "all the people all the time." Some degree of tension and discord, therefore, is unfortunately unavoidable. This tension can be challenging, but it can also enhance learning and thinking creatively about cult-related problems.

ICSA is unique because it brings together in a coherent and substantial way international constituencies of victims, families, helping professionals, and researchers. The diversity within ICSA promotes an environment that is conducive to thinking broadly about the subject and to learning from those one might not ordinarily encounter. "Stress-testing" our opinions is a hallmark of critical thinking."

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What makes a cult

Lewiston Tribune
Norma Staaf for Inland 360
July 29, 2021

New religious movements or cults are found around the world and throughout history. The word cult conjures images of brainwashing, abuse and violence, although many of these groups can be fairly benign. What is a cult?

“Defining ‘cult’ is a tough one because the word has so many different definitions,” said Rob Balch, a retired sociology professor from the University of Montana in Missoula.

Balch began researching cults in the 1970s and has done in-depth case studies of groups like Heaven’s Gate. He outlined four common definitions of cults.

1. A group based on shared devotion to a person, place, object or belief. This could be the Children of God, devotees of the Virgin Mary or fans of Britney Spears.

2. A small group characterized by unconventional beliefs, charismatic leadership, extreme demands for commitment and strict separation from nonbelievers.

3. A small, loose-knit group with unconventional beliefs, with no doctrine and few demands on its members.

4. A religious group based on ideas that are new and different in a society.

Although Balch didn’t specifically study the Children of God, he believes it fits the second definition, as did many other cults that began during the same time period. These groups asked people to join on short notice and give up families and possessions to be part of a community with a charismatic leader in a communal living situation.

“The Children of God had a whole different standard of sexual morality,” Balch said.

In the early 1970s, when Children of God and groups such as Heaven’s Gate, the Moonies and the Hare Krishnas formed, there were many young, uncommitted people looking for a different way of life.

“In those days, people identified themselves as spiritual seekers,” Balch said.

They were interested in anything outside the mainstream, on the fringe and outside established religions, he said. They were rejecting capitalism, investigating alternative living arrangements and living communally and simply.

Groups like Children of God often attracted people on drugs, he said. Giving up drugs was a condition of joining.

“They helped clean them up, to get high on Jesus,” he said.

Balch thinks that cults where people live communally are far less common today than they were in the 20th century, but that the prevalence of what he calls “audience cults” has increased in recent years.

“The communal living groups have been preempted by online groups,” he said. “(A group like QAnon) is definitely a cult, and not in a good sense.”

Balch describes this phenomena as, “disconnected people who have never met reading the same thing online. They become immersed in these ideas without meeting the other people.”

https://lmtribune.com/360/what-makes-a-cult/article_30e8e7f4-efdc-11eb-9ed0-0b983adb7c43.html

What is a cult? Are all cults dangerous? Do they use brainwashing?

Eileen Barker, Ph.D.
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
January 15, 2019

Eileen Barker
Professor Emeritus of Sociology of Religion
London School of Economics
Houghton St
London WC2A 2AE
U.K.

Tel: +44 (0)208 902 2048
E.Barker@LSE.ac.uk
www.Inform.ac

Technology-oriented religions are coming

Stan Stalnaker
Quartz
October 9, 2019

Founding director, Hub Culture Group

In the beginning, technologists created the science fiction. Now the fiction was formless and empty, and darkness lay over the surface of the science, and the spirit of mathematics hovered over their creation. And the technologists said, “Let there be Internet” and there was connection. Technologists called the Internet “community” and the science they called progress. And there was community and there was progress

The first day, from The Neosecularia, 1.1-1.3

Religious ideas and powerful radical theologies pepper our science fiction. From Klingon religions in Star Trek to the Bene Gesserit in the Dune series, Cylon in Battlestar Galactica to the pervasive Cavism in Kurt Vonnegut’s works, our society has little trouble imagining the concept of new religions. We just don’t implement them.

Modern society has been unsuccessful in scaling new religions beyond the cults of personality or the niches of Scientology. But as the digital and virtual worlds evolve, this is set to change. The 21st century is setting the stage for a new type of widespread faith: technology-based religions.

Technology today is pervasive and granulated. It encompasses our world view, and people are translating it into their spiritual views. The internet acts as an accelerant on these forces, enabling cross pollination and mutation at rapid rates. This slippery-slope of transmutation provides new guardrails for how technology itself can become a new cult or religion, or at least a component of them.

Techno-oriented religious movements represent a big departure from the strategies of 20th-century-style cults, which could make them even more dangerous. The foundations for this growth are governed by three factors: the internet, which allows for rapid scale; quantified-self technologies, which promise self-betterment; and new surveillance methods, which ensure a whole new type of peer-pressured submission.
Rapid ability to scale

Today’s major religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, took hundreds of years to propagate. Their turning points from small factions to true movements happened when they addressed social injustices. The paganism of the Romans was one thing, but it was their injustices to the people of Judea that gave ground for the rise of Judaism, and later Christianity. In 1517, the sale of Roman Catholic indulgences sparked Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses on Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, kicking off the Protestant movement, and revolting against perceived corruption by the Church.

Tech-backed movements like the Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter, and #ClimateStrike scaled by tapping into a growing sense of social injustice. Right or left, economic inequality is becoming visible on a global scale, and technology is connecting all of those audiences into one digital network tasked to affect change. Instead of legal or economic changes, these movements rely on social agreement as their first outcome. Social agreement is powerful, and represents a type of group-think that can evolve quickly into action when it reaches a tipping point.

Today we have the ability to scale audiences to extremes and have instant access to whatever Reddit or Facebook group will best serve a message. No more wandering the plains of medieval Europe seeking people to convert—social media has brought billions of people right to you from the safety of your couch.

There is a huge audience of lonely people looking for spiritual answers to social injustice. A 2018 Cigna report indicated 47% of Americans feel lonely “sometimes or always,” while a PRRI 2017 study further showed that 18% of Americans are spiritual but not religious, and 69% are some combination of the two. And it’s not just in America: 84% of the global population identifies as religious, according to Pew Research Center, which makes it relevant globally, from Beijing to Lagos to Ohio.

The internet has made social injustice more visible, movements easier to start, and causes easier to join. While tech-led social movements are not yet religious movements, they lay the groundwork for mutated spiritual movements to copy similar values and conditions to gain scale.
Augmented mindfulness

Over the last several years, mindfulness—defined as paying attention to our thoughts and feelings without judging them—has exploded into popular consciousness. It is a part of a wellness movement focused on inward explanation, breath work, yoga, and meditation that has brought people tools of personal growth and empowerment.

The next phase of this obsession with self-betterment is augmented mindfulness. Quantified-self devices track all manner of biological and mental functions in the form of everything from electrocardiograms on the latest smartwatches or brainwave scanners like Emotiv promising to one day map emotions. To take it one step further again, neural interfaces such as Neuralink, Elon Musk’s project, promise mind-reading threads embedded in your brain that connect your emotions to the computer. Likewise, Facebook is building algorithms to decode brain activity into words that can be processed in real time. We’re only one big jump from a computer being able to outright read your thoughts.

Traditional religions have connected humanity to feelings of unity and higher purpose. Augmented mindfulness is set to upend our perceptions of the boundaries between ourselves and our purpose, virtual or real.

But can technology process God into something we can finally understand? The results are most evident in the upper echelons of technology’s inner circles, where blockchain builders, yogic shape shifters, and Burning Man believers turn into transhumanist experimenters actively discussing this question. If only enough computing power is thrown at the equation, the thinking goes, we will ultimately connect the dots. (Some people theorize that reality looks like a post-chaotic 248 vertice lattice structure called an E8. That’s a rabbit hole you’ll have to Google.)

Peer surveillance

The third component is related to AI and its insatiable need for large amounts of data, which coincides nicely with the work of governments around the world installing pervasive surveillance systems in the fight against terror, speeding, or human freedom, depending on your domicile. Whether it is the growing pressure of the Chinese social credit system, the parsing of billions of consumer mobile conversations by the NSA, or the elimination of cash in favor of digital wallets and identities across India, the data explosion has morphed into a shared Permanent Record (as so well articulated in Edward Snowden’s book of the same name).

Peer surveillance and group think is a hallmark of religious pressure, especially in cults, where the enforcement of principles handed down by the leadership is performed by the crowd. Setting these norms and enforcing them in this emerging world becomes the responsibility not of individual peers, but by the algorithmic decisions of vast data inputs from the crowd.

The outline of this alpha network is taking shape, with monolithic corporate tech control in the West, a party-controlled AI network in China, and even plans for a pan-Islamic AI system, announced by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman at his annual investment conference in 2018. All of these systems seek to process the large data sets of aggregated surveillance (benign or otherwise) in order to provide shared intelligence about their respective societies, and will eventually be applied in wider circles among differing actors, until it’s inescapable.

* * *

Together, these trends point the way to fertile ground for digital cults and religions in methods and ways foreign to our past. Is Greta Thunberg’s climate revolution the beginning of a movement, and a new ecological mandate? Are the Neo-Nazi far right seeking a spiritual home for deep rhetoric? And most importantly, how will any of us resist the temptation to just follow along when everyone else in your social network has joined whatever the Fortnite-WhatsApp-TikTok-mashup of all of that becomes?

We feel pressured into joining whatever new social media platform is de jour or downloading whatever buzzy app everyone else is using—what happens when these forces coalesce into social movements that demand more from us? The technological tools are there, and so is the social pressure to enlist—as well as our lack of individual ability to resist.

At some level, everything is about control. It is worth being wary of how these technologies are being used, who is advocating for them, and who owns them, to make sure their evolution is in our best interest. Religions can be a wonderful and inclusive tool pushing society forward—but the line between the freedom to pursue religion and the pressure to conform to new one should be carefully guarded.

Beware of false technologists, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

From the Neosecularia, Machinas 7:15

https://qz.com/1723739/technology-oriented-religions-are-coming

Young True Believers: Cults or Constructive Contributions?

Older adolescents and young adults are searching for meaning.

Saul Levine M.D.
Psychology Today
October 10, 2019

Young people are often the energetic and idealistic avatars of the future. They are iconoclastic, criticize society’s deficiencies and inequities, and are frequently at the forefront of social change.

But a few decades ago thousands of young people (older adolescents and young adults) seemed enthralled by unfamiliar, sometimes flamboyant, religious groups. They captivated the imagination and adherence of many young adults, while provoking fears in their parents.

The groups were often referred to as "cults," usually with derision. I was particularly involved at the time because I was studying members of such groups, and was the father of three teenage sons.

Our research looked at members of some groups in North America (including Hare Krishna, Divine Light Mission, Unification Church, Children of God, Foundation Church, Process, 3HO, and Scientology, and interviewed members of fundamentalist sects of churches, temples, and seminaries here and abroad. I also authored a government report and book (Radical Departures) on the subject.

The groups were either unusual versions of traditional religions or had newly-minted beliefs about deities and behavior. Each was unique but they shared characteristics like charismatic leaders, intense group ethos, rituals and rites, diet and dress, and fervent beliefs and proselytizing—the very essence of “True Believers.”

They were highly visible, featured in newspapers and newscasts, held huge rallies, and demonstrated or chanted in the streets, where they tried to recruit new members.

Thousands of members left their families, schools, jobs, friends, and lovers to join the groups, and controversies raged about their pros (structure, relationships, personal growth, independence, idealism) and cons (‘brainwashing,” duping, impeding growth, dangerous activities and people).

Each group proclaimed its own pathway to “ultimate truth and inner peace,” and true believers were wholly committed to their new credos. The leaders were idolized (and idealized), often charismatic, sometimes sincere (if misguided), occasionally messianic, unstable, or exploitative.

Young people have always searched for identity, answers to existential quandaries like “Who am I?” “Where am I going?” “Where do I belong?” They often experience anxiety about themselves and their future, search for meaning in their lives and seek answers in a world they find confusing and challenging.

Those most prone to joining the groups felt alienated and demoralized. In this state of dissatisfaction and searching, if they met group members who seemed utterly happy in an idyllic life of communality, benevolence, spirituality and meaning, some were smitten. While many found the recruiting messages off-putting and walked away, others joined in.

New members embarked on paths which unfolded in stages over months:

There was initial exuberance and total involvement in their chosen groups, when they exuded happiness verging on “ecstatic bliss.” They found (at last!) their authentic selves, with meaning and purpose in their lives. There was reduction in tension and sadness, increased optimism, love for co-members and devotion to their leader. They felt genuinely benevolent and engaged in a “higher calling.” This early blissful state was particularly disturbing to families and friends, often leading to emotionally wrenching scenes, rife with anger and fears, sobbing and pain.

After a few months, blind ecstasy and idealism frequently gave way to doubts about the rigid beliefs and rituals and misgivings about abandoning their previous lives and giving themselves to the group. These doubts progressed to discomfort and mistrust, especially when leaders shed their spiritual facades and showed their "true colors." Disillusionment set in, as did longing for family and friends.

Finally, most members would make a decision to leave. These departures were difficult, with pleas and even threats expressed. There was, however, no going back: There was a final schism, over as suddenly as it begun.

The months of intense membership often wreaked havoc on family relationships, with some dramatic lawsuits, “deprogramming” attempts, and arrests. The vast majority, however, were out of their groups in well under two years.

After initial difficulties, ex-members resumed their lives and relationships, and their academic or other pursuits, sometimes with psychotherapeutic help. While relieved that the intense experience was over, some felt they’d learned a lot about themselves. (I do not wish to minimize the personal harm sometimes caused nor the exploitative behaviors of some leaders.)

While those groups are now gone or in remnants, we take no solace, because new versions have arisen. Today there are intense sects which proclaim peace and love, others which urge hate in the name of deities, and still others with messianic or even doomsday scenarios.

Searchers for meaning and fulfillment can always find zealous groups to fulfil their needs (for a while), and likewise, messianic cults will always find followers.

Young people have always been at the cusp of social change, pushing social boundaries. They have experimented with new ideas for human progress and have been engaged in the revolutions of history. They have campaigned for social equality and against racism and violence, and participated in volunteer activities and work with the poor, the aged and the dispossessed. They are active in the struggle against global warming and our carbon footprint.

By the same token, however, we have seen that same youthful energy and ideological searching for a cause directed into militant religious and political zealotry. Extreme nationalists, authoritarian populists, fascists and racists, and urban street gangs tend to attract particularly frustrated and angry young people searching for a cause.

In their search for identity, young people want to believe in captivating ideas and people. In order to feel fulfilled and meaningful, they need to achieve the “Four B’s,” senses of: Being (“I am a worthwhile being”); Belonging (“I am important to others”); Believing (“I live according to a moral code”); and Benevolence (“I am kind to others”).

A humble proposal: Why don’t we as try to captivate that idealism and energy of young people and their need for Believing to work for the common good for both the nation and themselves?

This could be in the form of constructive social actions, as in a significantly expanded AmeriCorps, which would encompass beneficial services to the country. Youth could get college credit and remuneration for work in preschools and nurseries, schools, hospitals and daycare centers, retirement communities and recreation centers, infrastructure or street projects, in the military or even in rehab for minor offenses and drug use.

We could channel their energy and idealism toward their personal intellectual, emotional and social growth, while contributing meaningfully to their country.

This could be an exciting “Win-Win” for young people searching for meaning and fulfillment, and for a nation with its own existential quandaries and needs.

About the Author

Saul Levine M.D., is a professor emeritus at the University of California at San Diego.


https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/our-emotional-footprint/201910/young-true-believers-cults-or-constructive-contributions

Cult of Personality: Ties to the Fringe

Being a member of associated with some fringe groups and communities can have serious implications

ELIZABETH YUKO
Rolling Stone
JUNE 13, 2019

When we think of cults, we tend to picture charismatic leaders with legions of brainwashed followers, eager to devote their lives to the group’s mission. But in reality, most of us, at some point in our lives, have been seekers — open to discovering new ways of life and paths to enlightenment — and celebrities are no exception. Here are a few examples of some who were, at some point, either members of cults or fringe groups, or have some association with them.

Jayne Mansfield

When 20th Century Fox signed actor Jayne Mansfield in 1956, they primed her to be their next “blonde bombshell,” following in the footsteps of Marilyn Monroe. Though her films are largely forgettable, she remains one of the most iconic mid-century sex symbols, thanks to being one of the original Playboy Playmates, and a string of publicity stunts, which usually involved her in some state of undress.

But what many don’t know about her is that she was thought to be involved with the Church of Satan. She met Anton LaVey, the high priest of the sect in 1966 and they struck up an unlikely relationship. Whether this was just another publicity stunt or something Mansfield truly believed in, rumors about this connection swirled after her untimely death in a car accident at the age of 34.

Joaquin & River Phoenix

Whether you’re more familiar with Joaquin Phoenix’s work in movies like Walk the Line and Her, or grew up watching his brother River in the iconic film Stand By Me, you may not know that the brothers grew up in a cult. In a 2014 interview with Playboy, Joaquin opened up about his unconventional upbringing in the Children of God fringe religious sect and traveling around South America with the group and his family in the early 1970s.

Though the cult is best known for their recruitment technique called “flirty fishing” — where they would use young women lure in new members by having sex with them — Joaquin Phoenix said that his parents’ involvement with the group was “innocent” and they truly believed in their Christian-based message. Both Joaquin and River Phoenix decided to leave the cult — as did Rose McGowan. The activist and actor was also born into the group, but got out along with her parents once they started advocating adults having sex with children (a policy the group, now known as the Family International, has since abandoned).

Toni Braxton

In her 2014 memoir, Unbreak My Heart, R&B singer Toni Braxton wrote about her childhood in a rigid Apostolic Pentecostal congregation known as the “Pillar of Truth.” The group had many rules, including prohibiting seeing movies, listening to pop music, and celebrating holidays. Braxton did enjoy singing in the church’s children’s choir called the Sunshine Band.

Like other extremist religious sects, the Pillar of Truth believed that the rapture was quickly approaching, and that the only way to be saved was to follow the church’s strict doctrine and speaking in tongues — which was considered evidence that a person was worthy of a spot in heaven. Living in fear, Braxton began to fake speaking in tongues at the age of eight. As she grew up, her family broke ties with the church and she began her musical career.

From connections with the Church of Satan, to growing up in extremist religious sects, the association between celebrities and fringe groups is hard to ignore. Famous or not, we’re all searching for knowledge and truth, but some end up finding it in very different — sometimes dark — places.

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/cults-strange-angel-844889/

How Do People Become Indoctrinated Into Cults?

DEREK BERES
Big Think
October 13, 2016

How did it happen? No question has been uttered more often in regards to cults. Throughout recorded history (and probably much longer) humans have been susceptible to charismatic leaders that have, either by nature or training, understood the psychology of acquiring followers. Even though we’re aware of the dangerous mechanisms of cult machinery, people continue to fall, again and again.

How does it happen?

The immediate hurdle is recognizing you’ve been indoctrinated. Cults appeal to our in-group mentality. If that group has some, to borrow a term from Alan Watts, “inside dope,” then in your mind it’s not a cult at all. You’re part of a group that’s special, destined, blessed—you feel complete.

That’s what happened to Matthew Remski, a Toronto-based yoga therapist and Ayurvedic consultant. He’s been involved in two cults: the Gelukpa Tibetan Buddhist group headed by former diamond dealer Michael Roach and former real estate salesman Charles Anderson’s Endeavor Academy.

Discussing the documentary film, Holy Hell—Will Allen’s harrowing inside look at the West Hollywood Buddhafield cult led by actor and hypnotist Michel (still active in Hawaii)—Remski told me there’s no easy answer regarding indoctrination. He did, however, relate this process to the current American electoral cycle.

It’s similar to the multiple factors and perspectives that people come through in developing their adulation for Donald Trump. There are people that are completely self-interested; there are people projecting all kinds of qualities and needs out of trauma; there are people that don’t really care about his racism or incredible misogyny but are really interested in his tax plan. There’s a riot of motivations.

Some are drawn in by the leader; others for social support. Seeking a sense of purpose or a substitute family factor in. Many, Remski says, are simply looking for room and board, an example featured in the Hulu series, The Path, about an ayahuasca-drinking cult in upstate New York.

All religions begin as cults. Christianity was once a cult, as was Islam. Judaism, Buddhism, the countless local faiths now lumped under the term Hinduism—all cults. There are cults within cults, like the two thousand or so accepted faiths that borrow from Christian doctrine: Mormonism, Eastern Orthodox, Catholicism, Protestantism, Lutheranism, Scientology, Christian Science. Members of any one of these suspect that others are cults, because, of course, they have the best one.


To be clear, the term ‘cult’ was initially used for a ritual act—cultus comes from Latin, meaning ‘worship.’ Throughout the world the word is still used to cite a religious group. Americans, perpetually paranoid about foreign ideas, began using ‘cult’ to describe faith healers about a century ago. Since then it has taken on a negative meaning, essentially reserved for “any ideology I don’t subscribe to.”

Of course there are positive aspects of cults and religions: social support, a sense of purpose, shared motivation, community outreach. This happens in groups of ten or ten million. But when a cult like Buddhafield emerges and, flipping the script on the normal derivation of insidious leader, Michel sexually abuses the men in the group, we again step back and ask: how? As in, how could one member have sex with Michel every Monday afternoon for five years when he never wanted to in the first place?

Remski does not like the question as it focuses on the potential psychological flaws or moral failures of the initiate. He can only answer anecdotally, which offers insight into the indoctrination process:

My attraction toward Michael Roach was primal. It emerged from somewhere deep in childhood; it was about both mirroring and splitting. I felt that he was like me, but fifteen or twenty years older. He looked like me. I felt his body in my body, the same gangly awkwardness, the same hiked-up shoulder, the same thoracic kyphosis when he sat in meditation. It was like he was me, but perfected in this way that I imagined.

Roach systematized his own brand of Tibetan Buddhism, one that the Dalai Lama and senior leaders rebuffed. His tale, briefly, included being no more than fifteen feet away from his spiritual wife, Lama Christie, who he claimed to never have sex with; later, when they spiritually divorced (consciously uncoupled, I suppose), Christie found a new boyfriend that died in the desert after being kicked out of the group. Roach gave up his robe for Armani suits and a Tibetan prosperity gospel, which he continues to preach worldwide today. (Remski documents Roach’s journey exceptionally here.)

Those robes were also part of what drew Remski in. They reminded him of his Catholic upbringing, one filled with violence and abuse, yet, as he says of Roach, “represented a demilitarized, more feminine version of the robes of my childhood.” Early repression in church left Remski hollow, vacant, setting him up for indoctrination under Roach’s care.

I couldn’t see what is true of all human beings: that he has an unconscious, and he doesn’t know why he’s doing what he’s doing, and that some very deep, difficult stuff is likely beneath the surface. I just thought that he had perfected himself. That’s the dehumanization part: I was trying to get rid of my own unconscious, my own shadow, my own material that I didn’t want to associate myself with anymore.

Remski created an alternate universe to deal with the actual reality he couldn’t deal with. This is where trauma enters. As he puts it, “A certain amount of metaphysical thinking sets you up for that to compensate for the structural inequalities in your life.” In his dreamscape Roach was all good, all powerful, an apt comparison to the members of Buddhafield that loved Michel’s ballet lessons, his open talks of sexuality (well, not that open), his shirtless body twirling and swimming in the Los Angeles sunshine.

What drew the Buddhafield members in, what drew Remski in, what continues to draw in Scientologists and Creationists and all other cults, is this ‘other’ existence. But, Remski continues,

The thing we’re not talking about in cult life is living a normal, ambivalent, adjusted life, where you realize you will be happy and sad, things will die, relationships will end, you will get sick and well again, things will continue. Most cult ideologies have a profound loathing for that description of the human condition.

Remski admits to his intense drive for “crisis-type experiences of love” that left him feeling manic. Only after leaving Roach and, later, Anderson’s group, could he understand that he had been starving even though food was right in front of him. He couldn’t understand the everyday was nutritious—the mundane and banal provide all that we need. There were so many scars to heal, too many insecurities to face. Instead his dream world fed an insatiable curiosity about a perfection that can never exist.


There’s something about the peak experience and the drive towards it that is a sign of something broken—the simplicity of daily rhythm is not enough because you were just not able to enjoy it. You couldn’t relax somehow. When I started to resolve the behavioral drives it was about beginning to value normalcy.


Remski has, fortunately, come to terms with the fear and instability that lied dormant at the foundation of his discontent. There is no single path to a cult, but there are patterns, and by recognizing his own, Remski was able to understand what Joseph Campbell famously stated regarding Arthurian tales, among other mythologies: freedom is in the wound.

Derek Beres is working on his new book, Whole Motion: Training Your Brain and Body For Optimal Health (Carrel/Skyhorse, Spring 2017). He is based in Los Angeles. Stay in touch on Facebook and Twitter.


http://bigthink.com/21st-century-spirituality/how-do-people-become-indoctrinated-into-cults

Of cults, religions and individuals

MUSTAFA AKYOL
akyol@mustafaakyol.org
Hurriyet Dailynews
August 6, 2016

The Turkey of today, since the failed coup attempt of July 15, is focused on one single group: The Islamic community (“cemaat”) led by Fethullah Gülen. The overwhelming majority of the nation, including myself, believe that the Gülenists, who have been in a bitter power struggle with the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) since 2012, were behind the bloody plot. This, of course, makes this particular community, or at least its dark side, the main enemy of the state. For me, however, it also reopens some of the deeper questions about cults, religions and individuals.

I noticed the fundamental differences between a cult and a religion in my late 20s, when I was personally trying to make up my mind after an experience with not the Gülenists but another, smaller Islamic community. Both cults and religions are based on similar metaphysical beliefs, I noticed, but there is a very big difference between them: A religion has a clear, open doctrine. As its believer, you are also free to choose how to understand it and how to apply it to your daily life.

A cult, however, has a secretive doctrine, and does not allow you to practice your religion in the way you understand it. It rather tells you that you can be “saved” only when you join the tight-knit community of “the chosen.” It tells you to cut yourself off from the outside world and to show full obedience to the charismatic leader who supposedly knows everything better. It destroys your individual mind and soul, making you, in other words, an apparatchik of a totalitarian whole.

Some people, especially secularists, can suggest that religion kills individuality, too. After all, religion also imposes norms on the individual and tells him how to think and live. However, the individual is still free to interpret these norms and commandments and to apply them to his life as he deems fit. (Notably, the same thing is true for secular philosophies as well, from Marxism to environmentalism. They also teach “truths,” but do not destroy your individuality, unless you make cults out of them – like, say, the Khmer Rouge.)
For an example, consider the institution of marriage. Most religions bring norms to marriage, from defining the wedding ceremony to fixing the categories of people whom you can or cannot marry. (According to traditional Islam, for example, a Muslim man can marry Muslim, Christian or Jewish women, but not idolaters or atheists.) Yet, besides archaic societal norms, it is still the individuals who meet each other, fall in love, propose and get married. In most cults, however, marriage will be regulated. The cult will tell you whom to marry, whom to divorce, or whom not to marry in the first place.

Similarly, religions will tell you to use a part of your wealth for charitable purposes. In Islam, you are called to pay the “zakat,” which is one-fortieth of your wealth. In most Christian churches, you are called to pay a “tithe,” which is 10 percent of your income. In most cults, however, your whole economy is controlled by the group, which gives the group leader the power to render you penniless if you go “astray.”

In my view, religions are here with us to stay, and there should be nothing worrying about that. But cults are threats to human freedom, and if they grow too much, even to the broader society. That is why we should strive for a post-cultish society – including a post-cultish Turkey.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=449&nID=102534&NewsCatID=411

On Clover Road

San Francisco Playhouse

The Strand / Rueff Theater (Upstairs)
Written by Steven Dietz
Directed by Susi Damilano

sfplayhouse.org

“Children are made of glass. Children shatter.”

Maybe their parents do too.

On Clover Road could have been a straight-ahead story about cults we’ve seen so many times before: parent searches for runaway child, finds them in remote location under the spell of a spiritual leader, proceeds to rescue them, and then attempts the arduous task of de-programming. Yes, Steven Dietz’s thriller gives us those basic elements — and they’re intriguing enough in their own right. But this play turns convention on its head, several times over. The twists come increasingly fast, and causes us to not only re-think proceeding scenes, but to question belief systems in general. What election year?

San Francisco’s re-born Strand Theater played host to the San Francisco edition, and last leg, of the rolling world premiere. Upstairs in the 1,500 square foot “Rueff” space (which offers gorgeous views of City Hall… when the windows aren’t blacked out for a show), San Francisco Playhouse unveiled the new show to a full house.

Director (and SF Playhouse co-founder) Susi Damilano noted that the play was part of the “Sandbox Series.” Started seven years ago, the program aims to discover new playwrights, and bring otherwise underexposed works to the stage (Glickman award-winning alumn Ideation is now playing New York to raves). It seems to be the perfect partnership. After all, the vision for Carey Perloff’s Strand — aka Market Street’s Red Box — reclamation was to revitalize the arts along Central Market, and to also reinvigorate the scene with newer, non-traditional, perhaps edgier material. Later, departing out the back of the Strand into the balmy San Francisco evening I couldn’t help, but feel this play, the Sandbox Series, and the Strand as essential components to the next chapter of live theater, to the next few decades, to ones where Millennials and Gen Zers will bring their very connected, very mobile lives into buildings wherever they go.

And on this evening, that building would be an old, abandoned motel on… Clover Road. Flea ridden, unkempt, decrepit and the kind of place where a single, barely standing lamp seems to begrudge its duty. Its here that private investigator Stine (Michael Storm) meets the desperate mother (Sally Dana). Her daughter, “the girl” (Rachel Goldberg) has fallen prey to “the farm” and hasn’t been home in four years. Stine professes to know how to execute a rescue, and has seemingly dealt with cults many times before — kind of how The Wolf knew how to expertly clean a crime scene in Quentin Tarentino’s Pulp Fiction.

On Clover Road - San Francisco Playhouse

Kate (Sally Dana), tied up by cult leader Harris McLain (Adam Elder) begs The Girl (Nancy Kimball) for help.

On Clover Road - The Strand Theater San Francisco

Kate Hunter (Sally Dana) tries to jog The Girl (Rachel Goldberg)’s memory with a game of cat’s cradle.

To go much further into the story, however, would be to reveal too much of the unexpected and entertaining twists and turns. The magic in the script is that it keeps us guessing, and, several times by my count, swiftly pulls the proverbial rug beneath us. By the time the (somewhat awkwardly paced) ending rolls around, we think we know where this thing is headed. Cult leader Harris, as they say: once a salesman, always a salesman. And if a mother-daughter can’t bring themselves to express with words, perhaps a childhood game would.

On Clover Road is a fun 80-minute ride. While some of the pacing is at times uneven, and the ending might have been too obvious, especially after all the interesting pretext, it’s exactly the kind of play that deserves to see the light of day. And we can thank San Francisco Playhouse’s Sandbox Series and the wonderful new Strand Theater for that. That post-show champagne tasted especially sweet on what feels like the beginning of a new era of theater in San Francisco.

http://www.starkinsider.com/2016/03/cult-on-clover-road-san-francisco-playhouse-strand-review.html

What Are Some Examples Of Religious Cults?

March 24, 2016
Patheos
Jack Wellman

Here are a few examples of religious cults.

What is a Cult?

One cult expert defined a cult as “a highly manipulative group which exploits and sometimes physically and/or psychologically damages members and recruits.” [1] The world defines a cult as any particular group’s beliefs and practices that are sufficiently deviant or novel from that of the mainstream and often have ambiguous laws or requirements, so making a precise definition of a cult is rather difficult. Former members describe the cult that they trapped in as a tight-knit group that followed and never deviated from the leader who is often very charismatic yet authoritarian. Two former members of a cult said that the leader caused the members to lose almost all of their privacy, personal property, and civil rights. Some describe Mormonism as a cult. Others see the Jehovah Witnesses as being one, but any so-called church or “Christian” organization that claims to have the truth that no one else has, but ignores biblical truth, could well be a cult. One thing that most cults and the world’s false religions have in common are that they both require works which is absolutely contrary to the biblical doctrine of the free gift of grace by God that no works could ever merit (Eph 2:8-9). Eternal life is always a free gift; if it involves works and if it does, you don’t have the gospel that the Bible teaches.

The Moonies

Reverend Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, is one of the world’s largest cults. At least it used to be. The adherents or followers are extremely focused on political activism and seek to change and are unabashedly anti-Communist and pro-American but this is only part of what has recently been called the NRM or the New Religious Movements. This false teacher teaches that Christ was crucified before he was able to fulfill his mission of marrying and having perfect children so Moon saw himself as the Messiah but perhaps the most obvious and glaring of all of Moon’s false teachings are that he is the second coming of Christ, which is completely unorthodox theology.

Rajneeshpuram

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh came to the U.S. in 1981 to gain a following after largely being rejected by his own nation, India. This unorthodox Indian guru promoted a “religion” of pleasure and that whatever felt good must be good. This included indulging in sex. His following became so large that Rajneesh’s followers built their own town in Oregon and wanted to so influence the Wasco County court system that the Rajneesh’s sent in 2,500 of their residents to the town of Dalles to have them all be registered as voters so that they could take over the county by electing their own people. They went so far as to sicken 750 residents by poisoning the restaurant’s food to keep them from voting.

Children of God

The Children of God (COG) began in 1968 in Huntington Beach, California and the earliest converts came from the hippies and Jesus Movement of the late 60’s and early 70’s. Their method of evangelism was anything but normal. They called it “Flirty Fishing” because they used sexual enticement to draw people in to hear the gospel, using sex to show God’s love and mercy. David Berg, the founder, came to be referred to as Moses after moving to Arizona in, convinced most of the “Children of God” to sell their The Turkey of today, since the failed coup attempt of July 15, is focused on one single group: The Islamic community (“cemaat”) led by Fethullah Gülen. The overwhelming majority of the nation, including myself, believe that the Gülenists, who have been in a bitter power struggle with the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) since 2012, were behind the bloody plot. This, of course, makes this particular community, or at least its dark side, the main enemy of the state. For me, however, it also reopens some of the deeper questions about cults, religions and individuals.

houses, their properties, and their possessions to donate them to the communal center that was called Berg’s House, but there were dozens of accusations of child sexual abuse since this group, or this cult, was so focused on free sex, including having open, sexual relations with others but when the children became involved, it would mark the end, for the most part, of the Children of God. After Berg’s death in 1994, it became known as The Family and later went international and was changed to The Family International.

Conclusion

Any religion that teaches that there is salvation by works or by any other method or person but Jesus Christ, is a religion that is straight out of hell because Jesus Christ is the one and only way that we can be saved (Acts 4:12). If they don’t believe in the free, unearned gift of grace from God then it’s time to leave that church because no one can be saved by works, chants, or even offering your body (Eph 2:8-9). Remember that Satan has his own ministers behind the pulpits and “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2nd Cor 11:14) so just because someone looks good on the outside, is a powerful, charismatic speaker, and potent persuader, if they don’t have the right gospel, then they’ve got the wrong Savior, and that’s going to be the worst of all news on Judgment Day (Rev 20:12-15).

ARTICLE BY JACK WELLMAN

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

1. Turner, Francis J.; Arnold Shanon Bloch, Ron Shor (1 September 1995). Differential Diagnosis & Treatment in Social Work, 4th Edition. Free Press. pp. 1146: Chapter 105: “From Consultation to Therapy in Group Work With Parents of Cultists”. ISBN 0-02-874007-6

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2016/03/24/what-are-some-examples-of-religious-cults/

DEALING WITH CULTS: QUESTION OF BALANCE - Mike Kropveld

The recent attempt to pass a law in Israel dealing with cults and a forthcoming bill to curb sects in Russia reminds me of a response to an editorial in La Presse newspaper that I wrote in 2000. This text which I feel is pertinent can also be can be found on the following page of our website : http://infosect.freeshell.org/infocult/ICPubs.html


Mike Kropveld
Executive Director, Info-Cult
www.infocult.org

-----------------------------------------

November 17, 2000

DEALING WITH CULTS: QUESTION OF BALANCE

Pierre Gravel's editorial, "Sectes: l'information avant les lois" which appeared on Sunday October 29, 2000, in La Presse raises a number of important points.

M. Gravel mentions France`s initiative to give the government the right to disband groups and to consider mind manipulation (manipulation mentale) as an offence. He indicates that such an initiative would be difficult to accomplish in Canada because of the Charters of Rights and Freedoms. Instead of new laws, he states that public support should be given to organizations that provide information that will enable people to make informed choices.

Info-Cult has been doing this throughout Quebec for the past 20 years.

We agree with Mr. Gravel's idea of limiting the government's power to legislate in this area. Existing laws are sufficient in dealing with the multiple problems associated with cults and cultic groups. There are laws in place to deal with fraud, physical and sexual abuse etc. What is lacking, however, is a political willingness on the part of those responsible to pursue cases involving "cults" when they occur. This means that they must be informed about the cult issue so as to aid those who are in distress or who have complaints. Creating new laws is not the answer.

To begin with, the "cult" phenomena begs to be examined more closely in all its nuanced complexities. In recent years, whenever the word "cult" is used to describe a group, images of death and destruction, like those associated with the Branch Davidians in Waco, Aum Shinri Kyo in Japan, and the Order of The Solar Temple in Quebec, most often come to mind. It is these gruesome and tragic acts that reinforce the public's perception of cults as being dangerous. This leads people to look to the government to resolve the problem.

Pierre Gravel points out that Quebec has had its share of cult-related incidents, using as examples the Solar Temple, the disciples of Roch "Moise" Theriault and the Apostles of Infinite Love. But, it is important to realize that these events represent a very small percentage of the landscape of movements. The majority of new groups, even those that may be considered cults, are not potential tragedies waiting to happen; neither will every person involved in such a group be harmed. Every year there are new groups that form - religious, spiritual, educational, therapeutic, human potential, occult etc. A number of them may, at first glance, appear bizarre because their beliefs or lifestyles are different from the norm. This does not necessarily mean that the group is a "cult" and constitutes a threat to its members or others. The issue is not a group's belief, but rather its actions and conduct. Does the group harm individuals, physically or psychologically? Do they pose a threat to society? If the response to these questions is in the affirmative, the government can and should intervene.

In responding, one of the important challenges facing democratic government bodies is that fine line between implementing Draconian measures which would infringe on individual freedoms, and doing nothing.

Information, as M. Gravel states is one remedy open to a democracy. We strongly support the idea of making information about "cults" available to the public, as well as implementing educational programs about this issue.

As early as 1980, a 780-page government report , entitled "The Study of Mind Development Groups, Sects and Cults in Ontario", highlighted the need for information and public education. These recommendations have been echoed by our own provincial government representatives, professional organizations and others, here in Quebec. Other countries have produced similar reports. With such a broad consensus regarding the need for information and education, what has been the stumbling block toward providing such a service to the public?

Government agencies can play a more active role and consult with groups and individuals already providing this much needed public service. The government could also serve as a catalyst in:
providing adequate professional mental health services to "cult" members, former members, and their families,
providing funding for research to study the impact of "cults" in Quebec,
encouraging public debates and discussions on the cult phenomena.

By taking these important preventative measures, unnecessary tragedies and abuse in all its forms, might be prevented or significantly limited. The time has come to address the concerns raised by the actions of "cults" and to respond in a democratic fashion respecting the rights and needs of everyone.

15 cults from across the world that have mind-blowing agendas

MARISHA KARWA
DNA India
January 31, 2016

It takes all kinds to make the world — even if that means a group that believes in living on only fresh air or committing suicide to save the planet. Marisha Karwa looks at some odd-ball groups that make our world (and heads) go around

1 Flying Spaghetti Monster
Let's start at the very beginning of the universe. In 2005, pretty well known Bobby Henderson wrote, in jest, a letter to protest a state decision in Kansas, US, allowing the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in science classes. Henderson contended that whenever a scientist carbon-dates an object, a supernatural creator that closely resembles spaghetti and meatballs is there "changing the results with His Noodly Appendage." This gave rise to the cult of the Flying Spaghetti Monster — considered to be the deity of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Pastafarianism. The social movement, whose central belief is that an invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe, promotes a light-hearted view of religion and opposes the teaching of intelligent design and creationism in public schools.
"I don't have a problem with religion. What I have a problem with is religion posing as science. If there is a god and he's intelligent, then I would guess he has a sense of humour," he has said.

2 Raelism (UFO religion)
Before you start praying to the Flying Spaghetti Monster, spare a thought for the Raelians. Guided by a former French auto racing journalist, Claude Vorilhon, members of the Raelian movement believe that life on Earth was scientifically created by a species of extraterrestrials, which they call the Elohim. Members says that Elohim earlier intentionally misinformed us that they were angels, cherubim or gods. Raelism strives for world peace and cloning. Getting membership requires an official apostasy from other religions.

3 Cargo cult
If it's hard for you to imagine UFOs and extraterrestrials, think of the tribals inhabiting remote islands in vast oceans. For these primitive groups, even 'cargo' is a manifestation of the God's will. The movement encompasses a range of practices, such as making replicas of desired goods, after coming in contact with colonising societies. According to Wikipedia, the earliest recorded cargo cult was the Tuka Movement that began in Fiji in 1885 after the British colonials made their presence there. Cargo cults exemplify the third law of Arthur C. Clarke: that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

4 Ho No Hana Sanpogyo
Also in the realm of magic and clairvoyance existed the now non-existent sect Ho No Hana Sanpogyo, founded by Hogen Fukunaga. He claimed that he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and the Buddha and could tell people's fortunes by reading the soles of their feet. Eventually though, Fukunaga was charged with fraud and came under debt for millions of yen.

5 Happy Science
Considering fortune telling is always riddled with risk, perhaps it's better to always be happy. And guess what, there's a religion for that too. 'Master' Ryuho Okawa founded the Happy Science religion and movement in Japan on 6 October, 1986. Happy Science claims that El Cantare is the true hidden name of the Heavenly Father in the Old Testament and that Jesus is the incarnation of the supreme spiritual being called El Cantare.

6 Poro
Poro is a male-only society in Liberia, Sierra Leone and a few other African nations that believe in the intervention of mysterious forces in human affairs. So, whatever happens in the physical world is a manifestation of what's happening in the spirit world. Boys are initiated into this society on reaching puberty, by being taken behind the bushes and undergoing some rituals that are kept secret.

7 Black Jesus
Stephen Tari gave up his studies to be a Lutheran minister, and travelled in the mountains of New Guinea. He started his own cult and called himself "Black Jesus." The cult had all kinds of rituals, made sacrificial offerings and even used 'Flower Girls'— especially chosen young girls who served as concubines for Tari and other cult leaders. At some point the Black Jesus cult grew so popular that it has 6,000 members. Although Tari was charged for rape and managed to escape from a prison, he was eventually hacked to death and buried in a pit by the villagers of Gal.

8 Bikerni
No doubt beliefs and religion are very important matters, but what about the pursuit of interests for the sake of pure, unadulterated joy? Bikerni is a group of all women bikers that started in Pune to "encourage women to go on adventures they would've never thought to go on before." Talk about women empowerment, ah!

9 Gadget Hackwrench
Forget Jedi, this character from Chip 'n Dale has a cult following in Russia. Her fans pray to large cut-out posters of her, pen and sing songs in her praise and think of this female mouse as a divine being. "She is strict, cute, optimistic and her level of technical knowledge is unachievable for a mortal being," is what her followers are known to have said.

10 4chan
And then the force turns to the worldwide web. While 4chan isn't quite a grouping or even an association of like-minded individuals, we felt it qualifies to be a cult of all-things-Internet. This seemingly-simple, image-based bulletin board has single-handedly spawned some of the best creations in the digital world. Think Lolcats, memes and (hold your breath) hacktivist group, Anonymous.

11 Heaven's Gate cult
Led by Marshall Applewhite, the followers thought that Earth was about to be "recycled" into a clean slate, and that they could escape doom by hitching a ride on comet Hale-Bopp in March 1997. Applewhite and 39 members, wearing armbands and Nike sneakers, poisoned themselves in shifts in a California mansion.

12 Church of Euthanasia
And while on the subject of death, here's a cult that actively promotes dying. Wikipedia says that the Church of Euthanasia was inspired by a dream, in which Rev. Chris Korda confronted an alien known as The Being who speaks for the inhabitants of Earth in other dimensions. The Being warned that our planet's ecosystem is failing, and that our leaders deny this. The Being asked why our leaders lie to us, and why so many of us believe these lies. Rev. Korda awoke from the dream moaning the Church's infamous slogan, 'Save the Planet — Kill Yourself'.' The Church's sole commandment: Thou shalt not procreate. And understandably, its four pillars are suicide, abortion, cannibalism and sodomy!

13 Breatharian
Is that too much information? Perhaps you want to stop and breathe. And live on that — on fresh air that is (if you are lucky enough to be in Switzerland). Breatharianism is the belief that we humans don't need to eat for our nutrition, that is possible to live on fresh air alone. Before you roll your eyes, do note that quite a few people are already living the Breatharian life: People like Prahlad Jani and Hira Ratan Manek in India, the Nepalese monk Ram Bahadur Bomjon and Wiley Brooks, the founder of the Breatharian Institute of America, whose website is a must-read (http://breatharian.com/breatharians.html).

14 Santa Muerte
On the other hand, if you are sure that living on fresh air is going to lead to certain death, then just bow to Santa Muerte, whose following, many claim, is growing by the millions (ever since she appeared in a cameo in Breaking Bad). A personification of death, the skeletal, female folk saint is venerated primarily in Mexico (and as far as in Australia too), and is associated with healing, protection and safe delivery to the afterlife. Some of her most devoted followers are drug dealers and pick-pocketers!

15 Missionary Church of Kopimi
And the best for the last! Sweden has officially recognised this congregation of file-sharers as a religious community. But only after their application was rejected in three earlier attempts! The followers, Kopimists, are intellectual persons who believe that all information should be freely distributed. This philosophy opposes the monopolisation of knowledge in all forms of copyright, and encourages file sharing of media including music, movies, TV shows, and software.
Incidentally, the Missionary Church of Kopimism held its first wedding on April 28, 2012, in Belgrade, Serbia, between a Romanian woman and an Italian man. It was conducted by a Kopimistic Op, wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, while a computer read vows and some of Kopimism's central beliefs aloud.
The church said, "Hopefully, they will copy and remix some DNA cells and create a new human being. That's the spirit of Kopimism. Feel the love and share that information. Copy all of its holiness."

http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-15-cults-from-across-the-world-that-have-mind-blowing-agendas-2172068