NCJ Number
93290
Date Published
1983
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Religious cult members are both producers and recipients of victimzation, in that they exercise complete control over their members' lives and are also the victims of a variety of efforts directed against them.
Abstract
Sects and cults have always existed alongside the dominant religious culture. People join cults to gain a sense of community, to fill their spiritual emptiness, and to provide structure for their lives. Once they join, they become involved in a process of hidden control. They can suffer both physical abuse and psychological pain, and they are asked to give money, time, and energy to the organization for very little in return. Contact with the outside world is ended. To cult members, reality no longer makes sense: they feel that attempts to release them from the grip of these groups are irrational. Since the 1970's, public pressure has focused on getting the Government more involved in confronting cults without infringing upon the doctrine of relgious freedom. However, cults have used the protections of the legal system and have filed suit against deprogrammers for violations of civil rights and false imprisonment. While this struggle continues, the precious commodity of reason is lost. Cults' main accomplishment is their ability to influence people through religious ideals, but an all-encompassing dogma is a dangerous force. Most contemporary cults should disappear, but unless sects and cults are opposed, we will become the victims of their irrational view of the world as a simple place where all problems can be understood and solved by faith alone. One note and a list of 13 references are provided.