Workers Revolutionary Party
In Britain, the Workers Revolutionary Party (WRP), a
Trotskyist group which was led by Gerry Healy and strongly supported by actress
Vanessa Redgrave, has been described by others, who have been involved in the
Trotskyist movement, as having been a cult or a group which displayed cult-like
characteristics during the 1970s and 1980s. It is also described as such by
Wohlforth and Tourish, to whom Bob Pitt, a former member of the WRP, concedes
that it had a "cult-like
character" though arguing that rather than being typical of the far
left, this feature actually made the WRP atypical and "led to its being treated as a pariah within the revolutionary
left itself."
Other political
groups
Gino Perente's National Labor Federation (NATLFED) and
Marlene Dixon's now-defunct Democratic Workers Party are examples of political
groups that have been described as "cults".
A critical history of the DWP is given in Bounded Choice by Janja Lalich, a
sociologist and former DWP member. Lutte Ouvrière (LO; "Workers' Struggle") in France, publicly headed by
Arlette Laguiller but revealed in the 1990s to be directed by Robert Barcia,
has often been criticized as a cult, for example, by Daniel Cohn-Bendit and his
older brother Gabriel Cohn-Bendit, as well as by L'Humanité and Libération.
In his book Les Sectes Politiques: 1965–1995 (Political
cults: 1965–1995), French writer Cyril Le Tallec considers some religious
groups that were involved in politics at that time. He included the Cultural
Office of Cluny, New Acropolis, the Divine Light Mission, Tradition Family
Property (TFP), Longo Maï, the Supermen Club, and the Association for Promotion
of the Industrial Arts (Solazaref).
Several former leaders of the Groyper movement – an
alt-right faction that infuses white supremacy, Christian nationalism, and
Incel ideology – have accused Nick Fuentes of leading it like a cult, describing
him as abusing and demanding absolute loyalty from his followers. Fuentes
praised having a "cult-like...
mentality" and admitted to "ironically"
describing his own movement as a cult.
Polygamist cults
Cults that teach and practice polygamy, marriage between
more than two people, most often polygyny, one man having multiple wives, have
long been noted, although they are a minority. It has been estimated that there
are around 50,000 members of polygamist cults in North America. Often,
polygamist cults are viewed negatively by both legal authorities and mainstream
society, and this view sometimes includes negative perceptions of related
mainstream denominations, because of their perceived links to possible domestic
violence and child abuse.
From the 1830s to 1904, members of Mormonism's largest
denomination, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church),
performed polygamous marriages. These were called plural marriages by the
church. In 1890, the president of the LDS Church, Wilford Woodruff, issued a
public manifesto announcing the cessation of new plural marriages. Anti-Mormon
sentiment waned, as did opposition to statehood for Utah.
The Smoot Hearings in 1904, which documented that members of
the LDS Church were still performing new polygamous marriages, spurred the
church to issue a Second Manifesto, again claiming that it had ceased the
practice. By 1910, the LDS Church excommunicated those who entered into or
performed new polygamous marriages. Enforcement of the 1890 Manifesto caused
various splinter groups to leave the LDS Church in order to continue the practice
of religious polygamy. Such groups are known as Mormon fundamentalists. For
example, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is
often described as a polygamist cult.
Racist cults
Sociologist and historian Orlando Patterson has described
the Ku Klux Klan, which arose in the American South after the Civil War, as a
heretical Christian cult, and he has also described its persecution of African
Americans and others as a form of human sacrifice. During the nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries, the existence of secret Aryan cults in Germany and
Austria strongly influenced the Völkisch movement and the rise of Nazism.
Modern-day white power skinhead groups in the United States tend to use the
same recruitment techniques as groups which are characterized as destructive
cults.
Vibert L. White, Jr., a former member of the Nation of Islam
and a former leading advisor to it, characterized the organization as a cult,
accusing its leader Louis Farrakhan, along with other organizational leaders,
of using Black Nationalism and religious dogma to exploit black people for personal
and political gain. The Nation of Islam preaches black supremacy, that its
founder Wallace Fard Muhammad was a Messiah and his successor Elijah Muhammad
was a divine messenger, and that white people were a race of devils to be overthrown
apocalyptically.
Terrorist cults
In the book Jihad and Sacred Vengeance: Psychological
Undercurrents of History, psychiatrist Peter A. Olsson compares Osama bin Laden
to certain cult leaders including Jim Jones, David Koresh, Shoko Asahara,
Marshall Applewhite, Luc Jouret, and Joseph Di Mambro, and he also says that
each of these individuals fit at least eight of the nine criteria for people
with narcissistic personality disorders. In the book Seeking the Compassionate
Life: The Moral Crisis for Psychotherapy and Society authors Goldberg and
Crespo also refer to Osama bin Laden as a "destructive
cult leader."
At a 2002 meeting of the American Psychological Association
(APA), anti-cultist Steven Hassan said that Al-Qaeda fulfills the
characteristics of a destructive cult, adding, in addition:
We need to apply what
we know about destructive mind-control cults, and this should be a priority in
the War on Terrorism. We need to understand the psychological aspects of how
people are recruited and indoctrinated so we can slow down recruitment. We need
to help counsel former cult members and possibly use some of them in the war
against terrorism.
In an article on Al-Qaeda published in The Times, journalist
Mary Ann Sieghart wrote that al-Qaeda resembles a "classic cult". She stated:
Al-Qaeda fits all the
official definitions of a cult. It indoctrinates its members; it forms a
closed, totalitarian society; it has a self-appointed, messianic and
charismatic leader; and it believes that the ends justify the means.
Similar to Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant adheres to an even more extremist and puritanical ideology, in which the
goal is to create a state governed by shari'ah as interpreted by its religious
leadership, who then brainwash and command their able-bodied male subjects to
go on suicide missions, with such devices as car bombs, against its enemies,
including deliberately selected civilian targets, such as churches and Shi'ite
mosques, among others. Subjects view this as a legitimate action; an
obligation, even. The ultimate goal of this political-military endeavor is to
eventually usher in the end of the world in accordance with their Islamic
beliefs and have the chance to participate in their version of the apocalyptic
final battle, in which all of their enemies would be annihilated. Such an endeavor
ultimately failed in 2017. The Shining Path guerrilla movement, active in Peru
in the 1980s and 1990s, has variously been described as a "cult", as well as an intense "cult of personality". The Tamil Tigers have also been
described as such by the French magazine L'Express.
Anti-cult movements
and reaction
Christian countercult
movement
In the 1940s, the long-held opposition by some established
Christian denominations to non-Christian religions and supposedly heretical or
counterfeit Christian sects crystallized into a more organized Christian
countercult movement in the United States. For those belonging to the movement,
all religious groups claiming to be Christian, but deemed outside of Christian
orthodoxy, were considered cults. Christian cults are new religious movements
that have a Christian background but are considered to be theologically deviant
by members of other Christian churches.
The Christian countercult movement asserts that Christian
sects whose beliefs are partially or wholly not in accordance with the Bible
are erroneous. It also states that a religious sect can be considered a cult if
its beliefs involve a denial of what they view as any of the essential
Christian teachings such as salvation, the Trinity, Jesus himself as a person,
the ministry of Jesus, the miracles of Jesus, the crucifixion, the resurrection
of Christ, the Second Coming, and the rapture.
Countercult literature usually expresses doctrinal or
theological concerns and a missionary or apologetic purpose. It presents a
rebuttal by emphasizing the teachings of the Bible against the beliefs of
non-fundamental Christian sects. Christian countercult activist writers also
emphasize the need for Christians to evangelize to followers of cults.
In his influential book The Kingdom of the Cults (1965),
Christian scholar Walter Ralston Martin defines Christian cults as groups that
follow the personal interpretation of an individual, rather than the
understanding of the Bible accepted by Nicene Christianity, providing the
examples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Christian Science,
Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Unity Church].Martin examines a large number of
new religious movements; included are major groups such as Christian Science,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses,
Armstrongism, Theosophy, the Baháʼí Faith, Unitarian Universalism, Scientology,
as well as minor groups including various New Age and groups based on Eastern
religions. The beliefs of other world religions such as Islam and Buddhism are
also discussed. He covers each group's history and teachings, and contrasts
them with those of mainstream Christianity.
Secular anti-cult
movement
In the early 1970s, a secular opposition movement to groups
considered cults had taken shape. The organizations that formed the secular
anti-cult movement (ACM) often acted on behalf of relatives of "cult" converts who did not
believe their loved ones could have altered their lives so drastically by their
own free will. A few psychologists and sociologists working in this field
suggested that brainwashing techniques were used to maintain the loyalty of
cult members. The belief that cults brainwashed their members became a unifying
theme among cult critics and in the more extreme corners of the anti-cult
movement techniques like the sometimes forceful "deprogramming" of cult members was practiced.
Secular cult opponents belonging to the anti-cult movement
usually define a cult as a group that tends to manipulate, exploit, and control
its members. Specific factors in cult behaviour are said to include
manipulative and authoritarian mind control over members, communal and
totalistic organization, aggressive proselytizing, systematic programs of
indoctrination, and perpetuation in middle-class communities. In the mass
media, and among average citizens, "cult"
gained an increasingly negative connotation, becoming associated with things
like kidnapping, brainwashing, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, and other
criminal activity, and mass suicide. While most of these negative qualities
usually have real documented precedents in the activities of a very small
minority of new religious groups, mass culture often extends them to any
religious group viewed as culturally deviant, however peaceful or law abiding
it may be.
While some psychologists were receptive to these theories,
sociologists were for the most part skeptical of their ability to explain
conversion to NRMs. In the late 1980s, psychologists and sociologists started
to abandon theories like brainwashing and mind control. While scholars may
believe that various less dramatic coercive psychological mechanisms could
influence group members, they came to see conversion to new religious movements
principally as an act of a rational choice.
Reactions to the
anti-cult movements
Because of the increasingly pejorative use of the word cult
since the 1970s, some academics argue that its use is prejudicial and should be
avoided, particularly, according to Richardson, in scholarly literature and
legal proceedings involving an issue related to an unconventional religious movement.
Catherine Wessinger (Loyola University New Orleans) has stated that the word
cult represents just as much prejudice and antagonism as racial slurs or
derogatory words for women and homosexuals. She argued that it is important for
people to become aware of the bigotry conveyed by the word, drawing attention
to the way it dehumanizes the group's members and their children. Labelling a
group as subhuman, she says, becomes a justification for violence against it.
She also says that labelling a group a "cult"
makes people feel safe, because the "violence
associated with religion is split off from conventional religions, projected
onto others, and imagined to involve only aberrant groups." According
to her, this fails to take into account that child abuse, sexual abuse,
financial extortion and warfare have also been committed by believers of
mainstream religions, but the pejorative "cult"
stereotype makes it easier to avoid confronting this uncomfortable fact.
Governmental policies
and actions
The application of the labels cult or sect to religious
movements in government documents signifies the popular and negative use of the
term cult in English and a functionally similar use of words translated as 'sect' in several European languages. Sociologists’
critical to this negative politicized use of the word cult argues that it may
adversely impact the religious freedoms of group members. At the height of the
counter-cult movement and ritual abuse scare of the 1990s, some governments
published lists of cults.
While these documents utilize similar terminology, they do
not necessarily include the same groups nor is their assessment of these groups
based on agreed criteria. Other governments and world bodies also report on new
religious movements but do not use these terms to describe the groups. Since
the 2000s, some governments have again distanced themselves from such
classifications of religious movements. While the official response to new
religious groups has been mixed across the globe, some governments aligned more
with the critics of these groups to the extent of distinguishing between "legitimate" religion and "dangerous", "unwanted"
cults in public policy.
China
For centuries, governments in China have categorized certain
religions as xiéjiào (邪教), sometimes translated as "evil cults" or "heterodox
teachings". In imperial China, the classification of a religion as
xiejiao did not necessarily mean that a religion's teachings were believed to
be false or inauthentic; rather, the label was applied to religious groups that
were not authorized by the state, or it was applied to religious groups that
were believed to challenge the legitimacy of the state. In modern China, the
term xiejiao continues to be used to denote teachings that the government
disapproves of, and these groups face suppression and punishment by authorities.
Fourteen different groups in China have been listed by the ministry of public
security as xiejiao.
Additionally, in 1999, Chinese Communist Party authorities
denounced the Falun Gong spiritual practice as a heretical teaching, and they
launched a campaign to eliminate it. However, such claims only exist in party
resolutions, and have not been legitimized by China's own law systems.
According to Amnesty International, the persecution of Falun Gong includes a
multifaceted propaganda campaign, a program of enforced ideological conversion
and re-education, as well as a variety of extralegal coercive measures, such as
arbitrary arrests, forced labour, and physical torture, sometimes resulting in
death.
Russia
In 2008 the Russian Interior Ministry prepared a list of "extremist groups". At the top
of the list were Islamic groups outside of "traditional
Islam", which is supervised by the Russian government. Next listed
were "Pagan cults". In 2009
the Russian Ministry of Justice created a council which it named the "Council of Experts Conducting State
Religious Studies Expert Analysis." The new council listed 80 large
sects which it considered potentially dangerous to Russian society, and it also
mentioned that there were thousands of smaller ones. The large sects which were
listed included: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Jehovah's
Witnesses, and other sects which were loosely referred to as "neo-Pentecostals".
United States
In the 1970s, the scientific status of the "brainwashing theory" became a
central topic in U.S. court cases where the theory was used to try to justify
the use of the forceful deprogramming of cult members. Meanwhile, sociologists
who were critical of these theories assisted advocates of religious freedom in
defending the legitimacy of new religious movements in court. In the United
States the religious activities of cults are protected under the First
Amendment of the United States Constitution, which prohibits governmental establishment
of religion and protects freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the
press, and freedom of assembly; however, no members of religious groups or
cults are granted any special immunity from criminal prosecution.
In 1990, the court case of United States v. Fishman (1990)
ended the usage of brainwashing theories by expert witnesses such as Margaret
Singer and Richard Ofshe. In the case's ruling, the court cited the Frye
standard, which states that the scientific theory which is utilized by expert
witnesses must be generally accepted in their respective fields. The court
deemed brainwashing to be inadmissible in expert testimonies, using supporting
documents which were published by the APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect
Methods of Persuasion and Control, literature from previous court cases in
which brainwashing theories were used, and expert testimonies which were
delivered by scholars such as Dick Anthony.
Western Europe
The governments of France and Belgium have taken policy
positions which accept "brainwashing"
theories uncritically, while the governments of other European nations, such as
those of Sweden and Italy, are cautious with regard to brainwashing and as a
result, they have responded more neutrally with regard to new religions.
Scholars have suggested that the outrage which followed the mass
murder/suicides, which were perpetuated by the Solar Temple, have significantly
contributed to European anti-cult positions as well as more latent xenophobic
and anti-American attitudes which are widespread on the continent. In the
1980s, clergymen and officials of the French government expressed concern that
some orders and other groups within the Roman Catholic Church would be
adversely affected by anti-cult laws which were then being considered.
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