Assess the view that cults‚ sects and New Age movements are fringe organisations that are inevitably short-lived and of little influence in contemporary society. (33 marks) There are in fact a range of debates about the nature of cults‚ sects and New Age movements. Some sociologists suggest that they are fringe organisations in the sense that they appeal to only a minority of the population‚ however Heelas found a large increase in New Age activity in his Kendal research. Other sociologists‚
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Cultism * Secret cult * Secret societies * Indecent dressing Cultism: The Oxford Advanced Learner ’s Dictionary defined cult as a small group of people who have extreme religious beliefs and who are not part of any established religion. Secret Cult: Ogunade (2002) defined a secret cult as an enclosed organized association or group devoted to the same cause. It is an enclosed group having an exclusive sacred ideology and a series of rites centred on their sacred symbols. Secret cult is a terminology
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benefit society and to destroy it. This is why some of history’s more charismatic leaders are also symbols of destruction and evil. One of the most famous examples of charisma used for destruction is Jim Jones. Jim Jones was the founder and leader of a cult called the Peoples Temple‚ which is best known for the November 18‚ 1978 mass suicide of 914 members in Jonestown. The mass suicide consisted of Jim Jones having his followers knowingly drink cyanide-laced Kool-Aid. Not only was he able to accomplish
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WorldCom: Can you hear the Lawsuits Now 1. Why do suppose Bernie Ebbers was treated more like the leader of a cult than a CEO? Explain. Bernie Ebbers was considered a cult leader for various reasons the total number of people affected by his behavior and direction of individual who just simply did as he requested which is what cult leaders do. He was known as a leader with charismatic is why a lot of his unethical actions were not challenged. Bernie Ebbers was ordered to pay back $6.13 billion
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evil. Evil is what makes human society imperfect‚ and through Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby‚ we were able to face evil first hand‚ in both a bestseller novel and critically acclaimed film adaptation. This novel redefined horror at its finest; satanic cults‚ scary hotels‚ and even mysterious herbs. It had it all‚ which made readers even more eager to pick up a copy. It proved that true evil can (and literally) will show itself when it needs to. Sometimes the people you trust most will not always be
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someone to give up basic political‚ social‚ or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas”. In Orwell’s 1984 this definition is followed to the letter. The definition is also reflected in the child army in Cambodia‚ and cults like Jonestown and the Symbionese Liberation Army. Like in Orwell’s 1984‚ children in Cambodia are brainwashed from a young age by their leaders or other soldiers. The brainwashing of the children and adult citizens started when “The Communist
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Problem/question: Why would seemingly normal individuals decide to join cults such as ‘Heaven’s Gate’? I believe that the topic of cults (such as Heaven’s Gate) is a clear example of Collective Behaviour because the group displays abnormal behaviour and beliefs‚ which are inconsistent with the norms of society. This is coherent with Locher’s definition (Locher‚ 2002‚ pp. 1-2). Schwartz‚ L. L.‚ & Kaslow‚ F. W. (1979). Religious Cults‚ the Individual and the Family. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy
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They can and will try anything to persuade anyone they can that what they are doing is for a good reason‚ and should not be seen as wrong. They often try to recruit others to help them with their task. It’s not surprising that they can be seen as cult leaders. They do not have any problem with telling people any kind of lie in order to get the help they need or to have someone accept their behavior in society. Assassins are similar to terrorists because they both make it a priority to kill others
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Anti-Cult Week Symposium organised by the University of Lagos on Wednesday‚ November 3‚ 1999 This Anti-Cult week marks another important step towards dealing with one of the contemporary problems facing higher education in Nigeria. The problems of the violence associated with "cultism" in higher institutions reached a climax with the cruel massacre of five students of the Obafemi Awolowo University‚ Ile-Ife in the early hours of July 10. I can say authoritatively that the trend towards cult violence
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Jim Jones – Individuals Report The widely known leader I have chosen to present in my report is the American religious cult leader‚ responsible for the Jonestown massacre in 1978; Jim Jones. Born as James Warren Jones on May 13‚ 1931‚ he was an extremely influential leader of his cult church‚ The People’s Temple. His influence over this group led to a series of quite horrific events and eventually a mass suicide which Jones called “revolutionary suicide"‚ killing more than 900 people‚ including
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