Religious Cults In The 1970's

Throughout history there has been many leaders and each and every one them has had an impact on this world.There's been leaders that has made a positive difference and made people's lives better in the process. On the other hand there has been many corrupt leaders who only led a life of deceitfulness and false hope.The leaders doing these things are only doing it for their own personal twisted benefit, masterminds of manipulating people into believing their outlandish ideals. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible displays the battle between good and bad, Reverend Parris and Abigail are the corrupted leaders in the story and how they use their dominance to convince people of the ridiculous accusations. Another leader Jim Jones of The Peoples Temple

Resocialization is defined by the dictionary as the process of learning new attitudes and norms required for a new social role. In essence, the members of Peoples Temple were certainly brainwashed and taught new values and beliefs that were in actuality the standards of Jim Jones. I believe Jim Jones appeared at a time where people desperately wanted to spread peace and love throughout their communities. He appeared at the lowest point of a lot of people’s lives like drug addicts and the less fortunate. Moreover, these people needed a clear path of guidance from a leader that could possibly grant them a miracle. In the words of a past member of Peoples Temple named Hue Fortson, “Jim Jones said If you see me as your father, I’ll be your father. If you see me as your god, I’ll be your

The concept of morality is commonly believed to be a byproduct of religion with “[n]early half of Americans believ[ing] that morality is impossible without belief in god” (Pyysiäinen 44). Yet, the correlation between the two seems to be less concrete with research showing that “[c]ountries with high rates of religiosity tend to have higher rates of homicide, juvenile mortality (including suicide), sexually transmitted diseases and adolescent pregnancy, and abortion ( 45). Moreover, a study evaluated by Pyysiäinen finds that “religiosity has little to nothing to do with how people evaluate the goodness or badness and acceptability vs. non-acceptability of particular moral judgements” (Pyysiäinen 47). Instead of religion creating morals, Broom

The Holy Ghost People by Peter Adair, was created in 1967. It exposes people of the Pentecostal religion, and their unusual rituals and ceremonies that they partake in. While watching the movie I kept on wondering why someone would want to sit through one of their services and participate in such odd rituals and behaviors. After reviewing the sociological theories we have learned in class, I concluded that Durkheim’s Social Consensus theory and Collins Interaction Ritual Chains theory both best explain the motivations for joining and staying in a religion that has such unusual rituals and extreme commitments.

What is fundamentalism? Essentially, it is an adherence to the literally interpreted Bible as fundamental to life and teaching. In his book, Fundamentalism and American Culture, George M. Marsden attacks the daunting question of “How has the fundamentalist movement managed to resist the pressures of the scientific community and the draw of modern popular culture to hold on to their ultra-conservative Christian views?” Not only does this History textbook answer that pressing question, but it also tells the incredible, encouraging tale of how Christian principles CAN survive in a godless world.

Cult members join because they seek truth, social approval, love or something to believe in. Part of these factors is also the feeling of truly believing what you're told. Cult members act in ways to appease their leaders and achieve, what are seen as, superordinate goals. Koresh's ultimate goal was to teach the "preachings and prophecies" of God as he believed he was a prophet himself.

William Appes was a wonderful writer and influencer. He wrote a book called “A Son of the Forest" to share his own experiences and opinions about racism. He believed that racism was unethical and that everyone was created equally in the eyes of God. He emphasized that the color of someones skin should not matter and God loves everyone. William tried his best to use scriptures from the Bible to show the whites that how they were treating the Indians was not something a Christian should do.

On November 18, 1978, nine hundred and fourteen people, two hundred and seventy-six of them children, were killed from the inside out in an evil disguise of retribution. Led by James Warren “Jim” Jones, the flock of followers in Jonestown, Guyana surrounded their beloved preacher unknowing of what was to come. In the gatherers punch were traces of cyanide and valium, which is deadly upon ingestion. Some of the more loyal followers drank willingly, but those that were reluctant were forced to obey. Being smaller, children were the first to succumb to the poison, followed shortly after by the elderly and then the rest of the group. The acclaimed messiah Jones decided to take a different way out with a gunshot to the head. It is still unsolved as to whether Jones pulled the trigger himself or if one of his close followers did the deed for him.

The Ku Klux Klan or KKK has created centuries of fear.They originated in Pulaski, Tennessee. The famous hate group was out to re establish white supremacy. The KKK has influenced local governments and people in power. It has also had an impact on American people and specifically black minorities. Members of the cult have promoted the agenda since 1865. The Ku Klux Klan connects to the book To kIll a Mockingbird because the men that went to the jailhouse to kill Tom Robinson, these men represented the KKK.

HUME: “No, this is why you must not believe anything that is not a definition. You must be skeptic of everything or you may end up just like the People’s Temple.”

In the book The Grapes of Wrath, the author John Steinbeck, introduces the character, Jim Casy, as a preacher who stopped preaching because he was preaching about how to be closer to God but he was doing very ungodly things behind his churches back. Although, throughout the book he keeps reminding the family by his actions that he still is a Christ like figure.Jim tries to convince the Joad family, not by telling them, but by his actions that he is still a Christ like figure. For example, Jim sacrifices himself when he turns himself in to save Tom after an altercation with a deputy.

While most studies and theories are concerned with the differences between religion and culture, Bellah (1967) spent a lot of time examining the similarities of religion specifically in America. While Rousseau is credited as the one who coined the term “civil religion”, Bellah provided an in-depth study (2007:167). Based in presidential inaugurations, he continuously recites that people in authority often cite a generalized god, one that does not belong to any set religion (Bellah 1967). He goes on to explain that in America, there are “certain common elements of religious orientation that the great majority of Americans share” (Bellah 1967:166). This is important to understand in the sociology of religion because it shows how cultures and ideas can combine to create something the majority of society agrees on, even if it’s something as strongly held as

Charles Manson, father of the ¨Manson Family¨ was born on November 12, 1934. The ¨Manson Family¨ was created in the late 60ś but gained national notoriety after the family committed a series of nine murders in July and August of 1969. All of Manson's followers lived in a single home where, they were cut off from their families, friends, and society as a whole. Manson was viewed as the single undoubted leader who held all power in the organization. Manson worked to organize his followers to commit murder for him. However, Manson's followers were only following orders to achieve a ¨wonderful, life-affirming opportunity¨ Manson had offered them.

Have you ever wondered how people seen on the news involved in a cult, ended up in one in the first place. Cults can develop from religious or social movements, often times involving; brainwashing, control, and kidnapping. In many cases social influence can leave an imprint on a person’s actions, personality, and growth. When people interact with others on a daily basis they tend to change their own behavior in order to conform with the what is relevant. Often times group thinking overrides a person’s a rational reasoning and can lead to the joining of a cult.

America and Christianity have long intertwined histories that have fostered strong parallels that can be drawn between these institutions’ ideal. It is for this reason that the modern evangelical Christian practice of televangelism emerged and thrived for much of modern American history, and, subsequently, became a profound and concentrated embodiment of American values and ideals. However, the most compelling and relevant example of televangelism as the embodiment of American ideals and values is Joel Osteen, the pastor and figurehead of the largest megachurch and religious organization, as well as one of the wealthiest American religious leaders. Building his career off these intertwined histories and ideals, Osteen’s career and preachings have greater