...A Baltimore mother accused of joining a cult and starving her child says she was acting on her religious beliefs. What's the difference between extreme religious conviction and delusion? Between a religion and a cult? In exchange for her cooperation, Maryland prosecutors have offered Ria Ramkissoon a reduced charge in the case against Queen Antoinette who leads a West Baltimore cult known as One Mind Ministries. Ria, and other members of the group, starved Ria's son to death because he did not say "Amen" when he was directed to do so. It's troubling, but probably no worse than similar deals made in courtrooms across the nation every day. What's really troubling, at least initially, is the story of a woman willing to sacrifice her son because her faith demanded it. But is Ria Ramkissoon's story any worse than the story of a man who waits his whole life to have a child, and then, when he finally does, he carries that child to a mountaintop where he prepares him as an offering to the god who tells him to do so? Is her story worse than that of another father who sends his only son into the world just so he can watch him suffer and die an agonizing death? There "must" be a difference though, because Ria is a member of a cult and the other stories are those of Abraham's binding of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible, and Jesus' sojourn on Earth as recorded in the New Testament. And those are the founding stories not of cults, but of religions, right? Well, let's see. ------------------------------------------------- ...
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...Evaluate the view that new cults and sects are replacing traditional religion as the means for experiencing and expressing religious belief in the world today In this essay, I will be evaluating the view that cults and sects are replacing traditional religion as for expressing religious belief in the world today. To do this I will be referring to a number of sociologists view on the idea of sects and cults. New religious movements such as sects and cults have become more common over the years. Many people are becoming influenced by these religious groups which tell citizens in society if they join them they will lead a better life. Many sociologists have argued that NRMs are increasing in size and popularity due to unjust events people are seeing in modern society. To begin with, many sociologists have argued that NRMs are no big influence on society and are just really to some extent a way of showing societies change, which is sure to happen over the years anyway. Wallis identified three main kinds of new religious movements. These are world affirming, world accommodating and world rejecting groups. Sociologists have argued the one that is short lived than the rest is the world rejecting. This group is usually classed as a sect or cult in which they are always highly critical of the outside world and demand significant commitment from their members. An Example of one of these is the Unification church (the Moonies) founded in Korea. They reject the mundane the secular...
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...Mormonism is a Cult The issue I intend to research is how the modern religion of Mormonism shows the same qualities as a large cult. When we were choosing topics in class, we had discussed about a paper that a student intended to write about that was very broad. Does religion cause war? When we had to simplify that topic I wrote down something along the lines of why modern Mormons go on religious missions today? At home I had researched the means of why Mormonism is the only religion that continues to spread its works around and so on. But in most of my research a lot of associations of cults and secret groups kept popping up on my screen. Looking into these articles and conspiracies, I found small relationships of Mormonism and cults like forms of practice. What I found that really took my attention was the tie of Mormonism and politics. Fascinating conspiracies of cult-like ideas root from the election of Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. The issue of religion itself is included into the constitution and has many controversial issues within. My topic of religion matters because it is a very sensitive word that takes on a lot of meaning. People dedicate their lives for faith and frown upon certain human interactions like love and controls it. I chose this because I do not understand religion and for some reason it is wrong to question it. My basic research question stems from Mormonism and cults. Other key words when researching are religion and politics and cult definitions...
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...Religion can be defined as “a system of beliefs, traditions, and practices around sacred things, a set of shared ‘stories’ that guide belief and action” (Conley, 2011). Whereas a cult is a “religious movement that makes some new claim about the supernatural and therefore does not as easily fit within the sect-church cycle. All religions begin as movements like cults, cults however have a higher tension and antagonize the social world. The differences between the two include a cult is more persuasive by a leader claiming that they are the word of God while religion is a family affair where many young people grow into. Cults can be considered illegitimate and secretive on the other hand religion is legitimate and non-secretive. A religion can...
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...unorthodox religions or cult practices become inhumane or unjust Introduction This research project examines when unorthodox religions or cult practices either becomes or perceived as inhumane or unjust by specifically focusing on unorthodox religions during a twenty year period between the 1950’s through the 1970’s. The research focuses on five different unorthodox religions: The People’s Temple, founded by Jim Jones, Heaven’s Gate, founded by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles, Scientology, founded by L. Ron Hubbard, Children of God, founded by David Berg, and Branch Davidians, founded by David Koresh. Langone, M. D. (1995). These five unorthodox religions or cults may have had or have different doctrines and practices, but research shows that they may all share the common trait of being inhumane or unjust. Rationale/Thesis Statement In the International Cultic Studies Association article, by Dole and Eichel (1985), a survey was conducted about dangerous practices associated with cults and referenced different actions that they deemed destructive, from coercion to enslavement, which they believe to be inhumane and unjust. This research study will attempt to uncover some of these practices and find out what draws people to these unorthodox religions or cults. Likewise, this research project also attempts to determine the point at which practices become inhumane or unjust. It’s interesting to note, that three out of the five unorthodox religions or cults included in...
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...Comp II Honors April 24, 2012 Manipulation of the Naïve Cults are not fairly common in this day and age, but most people can recall a time when they were popular. The cults were perceived as very powerful and, at times, dangerous. One such case is the cult known as the Peoples Temple. Even though most people who join cults start off with the best of intentions, they are eventually brainwashed because cults hold tremendous power over their members as a result of charismatic leaders, manipulative persuasion, and extreme isolation. Distinguishing the difference between a cult and a religion is quite hard. Any religion that defies the standards of “mainstream” religions can be considered a cult. This could confuse some people, because most of the popular religions today started out as small religious groups that were seen as cults (Tabor, par. 7). According to Charles Clark, cults have their own unique beliefs and they often differ or challenge religions in society. They may have a leader who sees himself as the chosen one, whereas most religions praise a non-living god who is not the leader of the church. There have been many different cults over the years. Some of the more well known are Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones, Heaven’s Gate led by Marshall Applewhite, and the Branch Davidians led by David Koresh. These cults are remembered more often because of the legacy they left behind. Each of these cults demonstrated a mass suicide, killing some and even all of their...
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...What is a cult? Cult Research Paper There are many types of cults in the world, cults are everywhere but you just do not see them. Every person in the world has been in contact with them in one way or another in many cases you cannot see them. The first cult I had heard about was the infamous James Warren "Jim" Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) who was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, best known for the cult murder/suicide in 1978 of 909 of its members in Jonestown, Guyana, and the murder of five individuals at a nearby airstrip. Over 300 children were murdered at Jonestown, almost all of them by cyanide poisoning. Cults can be involved in churches and even are earliest religions are called cults. Cults are not the strongest groups' sects are the strongest group. When you join a sect you cannot get out of them but a cult you can leave without having any problem or commitment. Sects will not let you out because many times it's illegal and they are afraid that you will say something to the public. Cults sometimes are illegal to. Religious cults are in every town and village there is no definition of a cult that is accepted by sociologists and psychologist or religion many types of activities will take cult like structures, an example would be any popular trend like physical exercise this is called the physical fitness cult. Famous athletes are a big figure when it comes to cults, many times Movie stars, professional athletes will endorse a product and a...
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...Discuss the differences between churches, sects and cults. A church: is a religious group that accepts the social environment in which it exists. In more plain language, a church is widely accepted by the host culture in which it resides. In America, Protestantism would be a church. It is generally accepted by the whole and is consistent with the culture's values (maybe not traditional Protestantism, but what forms we have of it today). Church may have denominations which are small changes made in the church that are still accepted by the host culture. A sect: is a religious group the rejects the social environment in which it exists. Now, it's not as extreme as that definition makes it seem. A sect doesn't necessarily share the same values as the host culture. This causes some friction between the religious group and the host culture, but we accept the group as a society because we're more tolerant to differing religions in this day and age. Many churches started as sects. One well-known example was the Nazarenes. This was an reform movement within Judaism formed by Jesus' apostles after the execution of Jesus circa 30 CE They were largely dispersed or killed some four decades later when the Romans attacked Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. Again the most obvious North American example of a sect that evolved into a denomination is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), the Mormons. Their founder, Joseph Smith, had a revelation from God that the...
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...Islam Is More Cult Then Religion Composition II 01/16/2014 Islam Is More Cult Then Religion 1 Islam - A Religious Cult Islam is usually portrayed in media as a religion of peace. In reality Islam is a cult of millions of people with a goal of complete world domination through terror and a strict adherence to a 6 century code of conduct and values. The image of the peaceful religion is a façade used to spread its twisted message and ideals. Islam was started in the 6th century by the last prophet Mohammad. The fundamental difference between the idea of a religion and a cult should depend on the influence the sect has on government and ruling of peoples. In the dark ages in Europe, the Catholic Church began to become more of a political entity and less of a religion. This went on for hundreds of years peaking when any new monarchs of the various kingdoms had to have papal approval to rule. The power of the church had grown to such an extent, that if rulers tried to go against the churches wishes he or she faced a possible revolution and expulsion from their own subjects. While there are many horrible things that can be laid at the Catholic churches feet, the church evolved to understand it is to be more of a spiritual guidance than a physical earthly power. Islam is different than most modern religions by trying to set itself up as a governing Islam Is More Cult Then Religion 2 body instead of a spiritual guidance. In the renaissance era of Western Europe...
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...SORRY, MY DYSLEXIA KICKED IN There are numerous different religions in our world, but there are only five world-recognized religions – Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism. What is the different between a cult and a religion and is it really an easy thing, to start a religion or a cult and what does it take to become a god? ‘’BECOME A DOG (I MEAN GOD, SORYY MY DYSLEXIA KIKED IN’’ is the name of the article written by Forrest Griffin, which William Morrow published in 2010. In his article, he explains the difference between a cult and a religion. He also explains how to become a god. The language is simple with some unusual words and with a lot of slang into it, even though when you normally talk about religion the language is more normally charged. The first person narrator uses a very ironic tone. He uses a lot of irony and humour in the text. We already see the use of humour in the title ‘’BECOME A DOG (I MEAN GOD, SORRY MY DYLEXIA KICKED IN’’ where he blames his dyslexia, for typing dog instead of god, but when we see him typing with no other mistakes in the rest of the article we know that he is not dyslexia. The narrator also uses some kind of provocation in the title, so those who read the article, feels some kind of provocation. He carries on with using the irony and humour in the rest of the article, for example when the narrator tries to explain the definition of religion, and a cult he explains it with a normal definition at first, but then he...
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...Modern World History Gabrielle Wilhelm September 12, 2011 Egyptian Religion Religion is defined by many people as a belief in a “greater power” as well as personal morals. Most religions usually include a system of values as well as various practices. Egyptian religion included their ancient gods, the mythology of the gods, and other parts of their religion. For example their religion explained and included creation, death and the afterlife, and the cults that worshiped the gods. In Egypt, the king or pharaoh played a very important part in their religion and what the gods expected of the people also. Egyptian religion consisted of many myths and rituals too. Religion was a very influential part of Ancient Egyptian culture and shaped their ancient civilization of the Nile greatly. Like most other cultures, the ancient Egyptians wanted to find the meaning for their existence, but there were also other influences on their religion, such as the need to justify kingship, along with many others. Egyptians have numerous Gods in there culture and they feel that the Gods walk among them, invisibly on Earth. Ra is the most central God of the Egyptian gods. Known as the sun god, Ra was the most important element of life in ancient Egypt and represented light, warmth, and growth. Ra embodies the Egyptian beliefs of order and truth, and he signifies the cycle of birth, life and death. Of all the ancient Egyptian Gods Anubis is frequently the one referred to as the gatekeeper...
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...Religion guided every aspect of Egyptian life. Egyptian religion was based on polytheism, which means the worship of many deities, except for during the reign of Akenaton. During the reign of Akenaton, more than 3,000 years of development, Egyptian religion underwent significant changes of emphasis and practice, but in all periods religion had a clear consistency in character and style. The Egyptians had as many as 2000 gods and goddesses. Some, such as Amun, Isis, Osiris, and Horus, were worshipped throughout the whole country, while others had only a local following. There were two essential foci of public religion: the king and the gods. Both are among the most characteristic features of Egyptian civilization. The king had a unique status between humanity and the gods, partook in the world of the gods, and constructed great, religiously motivated funerary monuments for his afterlife. The Egyptian "Book of the Dead" contains the major ideas and beliefs in the ancient Egyptian religion. Because their religion stressed an afterlife, Egyptians devoted much time and wealth to preparing for survival in the next world. Tombs were placed if possible in the desert. Vast resources were expended on creating prestigious burial places for absolute rulers or wealthy officials. Tombs contained elaborate grave goods (mostly plundered soon after deposition), representations of “daily life,” or less commonly of religious subjects, and some texts that were intended to help the deceased attain...
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...Heaven’s Gate Religion There are many types of religions that have been formed known as new religious movements and Heaven’s Gate Religion is one that fascinates me. Heaven's Gate was an American UFO religious Millenarian group based in San Diego, California, founded in the early 1970s and led by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. On March 26, 1997, police discovered the bodies of 39 members of the group who had committed suicide in order to reach what they believed was an alien space craft following Comet Hale–Bopp. The new religious movement sounds crazy when first reading about it and after writing this essay I hope to learn subjects such as, what are the forms of salvation within the religion and how does the religion address the problem of evil. When looki ng at different websites the first thing that popped up when searching for Heaven’s Gate was the word cult and that’s exactly what I thought about for the group because it reminded me of exactly that. I find it really hard to think of the group as a serious religion since many of them took their own life when I am a Christian and believe strongly against suicide. The first Subject that I would like to talk to you about is what the forms of salvation are when it comes to the new religious movement known as the Heaven’s Gate religion. The group led by Marshall Applewhite had a very interesting way of thinking and it showed when they became convinced that the appearance of the Hale-Bopp comet masked a spacecraft...
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...Assess the usefulness of typologies in our understanding of religious organisations (33 marks) Religions are based upon very heterogenic principles and are structured in different ways, making them different of each other and therefore proving that they are not universal as some sociologists argue. Typologies within religious organisations have helped as to define religions and prove that they are based on religious pluralism and that they can be era-dependent, or in other ways can become outdated. Troeltsch was the first sociologist to divide religions into three different typologies; churches, sects and denominations, with very different characteristics and objectives. Troeltsch proved that some aspects of religions can be very different, like the background of members, the relationship to society or the tolerance towards other faiths and based upon this principles he divided each religion into one of his tree basic typologies. Troeltsch defines churches as large organisations with a universal appeal and defines Christianity and Islam as universalistic and as the main churches with a very close relationship with the state. Churches can have as mentioned a very close relationship with the state and the government, such as the Church of England, which has `monopolised´ the demands of the British society by becoming the predominant religion in the country. The Church of England has a very close relationship with the government, but also with the monarchy and therefore `jealously...
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...Cults are intriguing and arouse curiosity in the minds of people who have accepted life in society and joined humanity the way it is. It is amazing to think that people leave their life of normalcy to put their trust in something that is alien but promises them something in return or will save their souls from whatever will harm them. There are many causes that affect people s minds to make them join cults. Cults are very promising, can be very eye-opening, and may be the only option left for some people because of what has happened to them in their life or the mental state they are in. Cults, as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary, are systems or communities of religious worship that may include obsessive devotion to a person or ideal. In our society, cults are common and have the potential to be destructive. This paper will focus on the factors such as education, stake in conformity, turning points, and strength of local religious organizations that may cause people to join cults, as determined by Stark and Bainbridge. It will also discuss the methods used by cults to influence new recruits and current members. Cult leaders employ tactics such as information deprivation, extinction of former identities, and scarcity in order to maintain their authority. All these techniques combined create an environment that can be classified as a cult. Traditionally, cults have formed after or during turbulent periods of history, when people are most vulnerable. However, not...
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