List of groups referred to as cults
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This list includes groups and organizations referred to as a "cult" or a "sect" in academic sources, the media and other reliable sources.
Inclusion is based on a single reference in a reliable source that refers to the group:
- as a "cult" directly in North American English, a "sect" in British English or any equivalent foreign-language word;
- as a group (organizations and sets of individual practitioners, including those named by their technical practice of cults, qualify as groups);
- as such within the last 50 years;
- as not qualifying as a personality cult (heads of state), fan-cult of popular culture, or a group that doesn't have an actual following (fictional or self-nominated groups).
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[edit] Reliability of sources
This list of references for further research, cannot of itself reliably establish any harmful or beneficial attributes. The sources referenced must be reliable sources, with the acceptable fact-checking required for all articles. Fact-checking does not imply that referenced opinions are either true or false, only that they are correctly attributed.
To deal with the very different uses of the term "cult", this article provides distinct sections. Some references may apply the terms "cult" or "sect" in a scientific way to mainstream systems of spirituality; other references may use those terms as pejoratives, and their application to specific groups can become controversial. Because of the perceived negative sense of the word "cult", very few groups or organizations show any readiness to accept the label of "cult" for themselves. The article Cult examines in depth the different definitions and common use of the term "cult".
Inclusion in the media list does not prove, in any manner, that a group functions as a "cult" or as a "sect", and all definitions of those words not excluded by the header inclusion criteria, are accepted. Media listings are almost exclusively references to opinions. Opinions are not facts.
Inclusion in the academic list implies that scientific standards or academically authoritative opinions have been utilized in determining a well-defined cult or sect status. All academic references should be articles in peer-reviewed sociological or psychological journals, or books by academics who have published extensively in either discipline in peer-reviewed journals.
[edit] Groups referred to as "cult" in academic sources
In the sociology of religion, the term cult refers to one of four terms making up the church-sect typology. Under this definition, "cult" refers to a religious group with a high degree of tension with the surrounding society combined with novel religious beliefs. Sociologists of religion distinguish such a "cult" from "sects", which have a high degree of tension with society but whose beliefs are traditional to that society, and from "ecclesias" and "denominations" — groups with a low degree of tension and which espouse traditional beliefs.
In psychology the definition of cults is often "harmful groups." However, some psychologists use the term "cult" in a similar manner to sociologists. It is necessary to consult the sources themselves to ascertain which definition is in use in a particular instance.
- Communal/Institutional (Chafetz and Demone, 1962)[1] (Alexander and Rollins, 1984)[2] (Chaz Bufe) (Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies)
- Alexander of Abonoteichus [3] [4]
- The Benandanti, an agrarian cult of the 17th century [5]
- Buddhism[6] [7] [8]
- The Cathars [9]
- Christianity [10][11][12][13]
- Church of Scientology Beit-Hallahmi, Benjamin in the Marburg Journal of Religion in 2003;[14] Bainbridge, W.S. and Stark, R. in Sociological Analysis in 1981.
- Communism[15]
- Roman Catholicism[16]
- Erhard Seminars Training (also known as "est")[17][18][19]
- The Essenes, a monastic cult of the 2nd century BC. [20]
- Hungarian dynastic cults (Medieval Central Europe). [21] * Meher Baba (Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion)
- Macumba cult of Rio de Janeiro [22]
- Maori cults of Ratana and Lo [23]
- Norse cults of Ingvi-freyr and Borr [24]
- Pentecostal Church of Besançon[25] [26]
- Protestantism [27]
- Sathya Sai Baba[28]
- Pastophoroi, of the cult of Osiris and Isis in Rome. [29]
- Santeria (or Yoruba) cults [30]
- Selfism psychology (Jung, Fromm, Rogers, Maslow, May) (Psychology As Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship; Paul C Vitz, NYU)
- Wahhabism (or Salafism) (Charles Allen) (Stephen Schwartz)
[edit] Groups referred to as "cult" in the media
[edit] References
- ^
Chafetz, M. & Demone, H. (1962). Alcoholism and Society, New York: Oxford University Press, page 162, 165 as cited in Ragels, L. Allen An Old Question Revisited" "We are struck by the sect or cult-like aspects of AA ... This is true in terms of its history, structure, and the charisma surrounding its leader, Bill W[ilson]" transcribed to Freedom of Mind, website and retrieved on August 23, 2006.
- ^ Alexander, F., Rollins, R. (1984). “Alcoholics Anonymous: The Unseen Cult,” California Sociologist, Vol. 7, No. 1, Winter, page 32 as cited in Ragels, L. Allen "Is Alcoholics Anonymous a Cult? An Old Question Revisited" “AA uses all the methods of brain washing, which are also the methods employed by cults ... It is our contention that AA is a cult.” transcribed to Freedom of Mind, website and retrieved on August 23, 2006.
- ^ Kent, Stephe A., "Narcissistic Fraud in the Ancient World: Lucian's Account of Alexander of Abonuteichus and the Cult of Glycon," Ancient Narrative (University of Groningen), Vol. 6.
- ^ "Alexander the False Prophet," translated with annotation by A.M. Harmon, Loeb Classical Library, 1936 [1]
- ^ Ginzburgm Carloes., The Night Battles: Witchcraft and Agrarian Cults in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983 (original edition Giulio Einaudi, 1966), ISBN 0-801-84386-3
- ^ Dumoulin, Heinrich A History of Zen Buddhism p. 55 1963 Pantheon Books
- ^ Bleeker, C. J. and G. Widengren, Historia Religionum, Volume 2, p. 520 Brill Academic Publishers 1971
- ^ Bray, Francesca [ Technology and Gender: Fabrics of Power in Late Imperial China] p. 103, 1997 University of California Press
- ^ Sparks, Jones, The Roots Of Appalachian Christianity: The Life And Legacy Of Elder Shubal Stearns (2005), p.9, University Press of Kentucky, ISBN 0-813-19128-9
- ^ "Christianity is a cult in India" - Religion, Deviance, and Social Control By Rodney Stark, William Sims Bainbridge pp104
- ^ "christianity is a cult religion" The Painted Kipper: A Study of the Spurious in the Contemporary Scene By Harman Grisewood p65
- ^ "Christianity is a cult of death" Georges Bataille: A Critical Introduction By Benjamin Noys p26
- ^ "Christianity is a cult of poverty, despising the world, and antagonistic to labor and culture" - History Of Modern Philosophy By Richard Falckenberg p780
- ^ http://web.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/pdf/2003/breit2003.pdf
- ^ Zemtsov, Ilya Encyclopedia of Soviet Lifepp. 79, 78 1991 Transaction Publishers. Communism itself as a cult distinguished from the cults of personality which thrive within it.
- ^ The Cult of the Virgin Mary: Psychological Origins By Michael P. Carroll "Does anyone doubt that over the centuries the Mary cult has attracted a far greater number of adherents than will ever be attracted by the Church of Scientology, the Hare Krishnas and so on?"
- ^ Eileen Barker, New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1989, ISBN 0-11-340927-3, p.149
"... movements which do not fall under the definition of religion used by the Institute [for the study of American Religion], but which are sometimes called 'cults'. Examples would be est, Primal Therapy or Rebirthing." - ^ Philip Cushman, Constructing The Self, Constructing America: A Cultural History of Psychotherapy Reading, Massachusetts, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1995, p.130. ISBN 0-201-62643-8
"Even today, abundance theory is alive and well in many religious cults and in restrictive psychotherapy trainings such as est." - ^ Steven Tipton summarizes his participant-observation of est in the keywords:
"2. organization: bureaucratic cult
"3. leadership: mystagogue
"4. rites: est training, guided fantasy "schema," therapeutic "share," encounter-style confrontations with trainer."
See: Steven M Tipton: Getting saved from the sixties: moral meaning in conversion and cultural change, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982, page 179. ISBN 0520038681 - ^ Reitmeister, Louis Aaron, A Philosophy of Freedom: An Attempt to Explain the Natural Basis of Freedom (1970), Poseidon Books
- ^ Klaniczay, Gábor Holy Rulers and Blessed Princesses: Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe (2002), p.17, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-42018-0
- ^ Holloway, Joseph H. Africanisms in American Culture (2005), p.292, Indiana University Press, ISBN 0-253-34479-4
- ^ Smith, Jonathan Z., Imagining Religion: From Babylon to Jonestown (1982), p.152,University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-76360-9
- ^ Notrh, Richard, Heathen Gods in Old English Literature (1997), p.234, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-55183-8
- ^ Réforme, "Sectes... entre panique et confusion", June 2004
- ^ Fath, Sébastien, Le religieux dans la commune - Les régulations locales du pluralisme religieux en France, "L'Église évangélique de Pentecôte de Besançon : le rôle des universitaires comme médiateurs", Labor et Fides Editions, Genève, November 13, 2001, p. 297-320
- ^ Meštrović, Stjepan Gabriel The Coming Fin de Siècle: An Application of Durkheim's Sociology to Modernity and Postmodernism p. 161 , 1991 Routledge, ISBN 0415048389
- ^ Morton Klass, Singing with Sai Baba: The Politics of Revitalization in Trinidad, p.11 , Westview Press, (1991) ISBN 0-8133-7969-5
"Opinion, it is hardly necessary to observe, is divided. In the many published volumes of his sermons and speeches, and in the writings of his devotees, his is a "religion" and sometimes a "movement." On the other hand, the two scholars who have written extensively on Sai Baba and his followers in India (Swallow 1976, 1982; Babb 1986) refer to the phenomenon as a "cult". - ^ Iles Johnson, Sarah, Mysteries, in Ancient Religions pp.104-5, The Belknap Press of Harvard University (2007), ISBN 978-0-674-02548-6
- ^ Tuner, Harol W.,Bibliography of New Religious Movements in Primal Societies (1992), p.25, Gale Group, 0-816-19089-5
- ^ "Monumental Man: The Controversial Story of poet philosopher Eli Siegel", Jewish Times, August 22, 2003, Melissa Goldman, Cover Story.
- ^ Geirt, Jean-Pierre, La France aux cent sectes, GECEP, Vauvenargues, May 1997, p. 43-46 (ISBN 2-7443-0049-7)
- ^ Centre Roger Ikor, Les sectes, état d'urgence, Albin Michel S.A. Editions, 1995, p. 45-46 (ISBN 2-226-07711-1)
- ^ "Nigerian gangs turn their guns on their own" Herald Tribune November 8, 2007
- ^ Responses To Information Requests (Rirs)
- ^ The Sun News On-line
- ^ "PHOTOS OF EARLY SIMI VALLEY RICHLY ILLUSTRATE HISTORY BOOK" Douglas Clark Daily News. Los Angeles, Calif.: Nov 29, 1997. pg. TO.2 "Three religious cults settled at different times in the secluded, mountainous terrain of east Simi Valley. The most notorious may have been the Blackburn Cult, which created a sensation in 1929 when newspapers reported "weird rituals" that included sacrificing animals and attempts to resurrect a dead 16-year-old girl. Sex scandals also haunted the leaders of the cult, May Otis Blackburn and her daughter Ruth Wieland Rizzio."
- ^ Cults, Religion & Violence 2002 ISBN 0-521-66898-0 5
- ^ Millennium, Messiahs, and Mayhem, Contemporary Apocalyptic Movements 1997 ISBN 0-415-91649-6
- ^ The Encyclopedia of CULTS, SECTS, AND NEW RELIGIONS 2002 ISBN 1-57392-888-7
- ^ Religions in the Modern World pg 266, 2002 ISBN 0-415-21783-0
- ^ Spying in Guru Land, Inside Britain’s Cults 1993 ISBN 1-85702-329-3
- ^ Gomes, Alan W.: "Unmasking the Cults", page 26. Zondervan Publishing, 1995
- ^ Tucker, Bruce: "Oneness Pentecostal Churches", page 17. Xlibris Corporation, 2002
- ^ "Vatican excommunicates Mary cult"
- ^ "A cult for Chinese furniture: Susan Moore on the controversial sect behind Christie's New York sale on Thursday;" Moore, Susan. Financial Times. London (UK): September 17, 1996. pg. 15. "Leaders of esoteric sects are usually thought to have a penchant for apocalyptic predictions and expensive motor cars and for exploiting - sexually and financially - their brainwashed acolytes...It is a non-proselytising, publicity-shy sect and its spiritual or philosophical system is difficult to determine,..."
- ^ "Art Market: Zen and the art of furniture" Geraldine Norman. The Independent. London (UK): September 15, 1996. pg. 72. "A cult's collection of Chinese furniture set to break auction records...But in 1988 cult leader, Robert Burton, saw a Chinese hardwood chair in a Paris antique shop and fell in love with it."
- ^ "Iowan tells cult experience", Des Moines, Iowa: Des Moines Register, 1985-01-12.
- ^ Jaw Merwin. "Cult Corner: Student survivor of one sect's manipulation and coercion tells her story in support group to help others escape cult clutches", Baltimore, MD: The Sun, 1992-2-21, p. 1D.
- ^ "ISU Bible Study group: 'Wonderful' or 'a cult'?", Des Moines, Iowa: Des Moines Register, 1980-03-13.
- ^ "Cult label follows new church: Cult watcher calls GCI "shepherding cult"", Wheaton, IL: The Sunday Journal (Wheaton, IL edition), 1988-11-6. "The Cult Awareness Network calls Great Commission International (GCI) a shepherding cult ... Among CAN's criteria for a cult: the group's procedures, use of mind control and degree of consent by members. ... Another cult criterion: "some kind of controlling or thought-stopping technique," Kisser said. GCI discourages its members from listening to outside criticism. Ex-members say it also discourages questioning church elders. ... The Chicago-based National Cult Awareness Network (CAN) labels GCI a "Bible-based cult" that deceives its members and exercises tight control over members' lives without their clear consent. "We feel there's sufficient complaints about the group," said CAN Executive Director Cynthia Kisser. "We feel that it meets our criteria." ... Former members of GCI churches from different parts of the country describe GCI as subtle and dangerous. They tell of being manipulated into a deepening commitment to the church and of turning control of their lives over to church leaders. "Basic everyday decisions of your life are pretty much dictated by the leadership," said Larry Pile, a graduate of Wheaton College, who belonged to GCI for 5 1/2 years and now helps counsel former GCI members."
- ^ "Silver Spring Fundamentalists: Church Or "Cult"?", Montgomery County, Maryland: The Montgomery County Sentinel, 1986-2-6.
- ^ . "
- Santeria (or Yoruba) cults [30]
- Pastophoroi, of the cult of Osiris and Isis in Rome. [29]
- Sathya Sai Baba[28]
- Protestantism [27]
- Pentecostal Church of Besançon[25] [26]
- Norse cults of Ingvi-freyr and Borr [24]
- Maori cults of Ratana and Lo [23]
- Macumba cult of Rio de Janeiro [22]
- Hungarian dynastic cults (Medieval Central Europe). [21] * Meher Baba (Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion)
- The Essenes, a monastic cult of the 2nd century BC. [20]
- Erhard Seminars Training (also known as "est")[17][18][19]
- Roman Catholicism[16]
- Communism[15]
- Church of Scientology Beit-Hallahmi, Benjamin in the Marburg Journal of Religion in 2003;[14] Bainbridge, W.S. and Stark, R. in Sociological Analysis in 1981.
- Christianity [10][11][12][13]
- The Cathars [9]
- Buddhism[6] [7] [8]
- The Benandanti, an agrarian cult of the 17th century [5]
- Alexander of Abonoteichus [3] [4]