In common usage, "cult" has a negative connotation, and is generally applied to a group by its opponents, for a variety of possible reasons.
Examples of cults can include religious and non-religious groups. For example, the following groups have been called cults by their opponents:
Amway (a business), the Branch Davidian’s (a Christian group), Aum Shinrikyo (a mixture of religions), therapy groups (Synanon), and military organizations (Symbionese Liberation Army).
Think about these questions then answer ONE in the comments:
1. What do you think is the difference between a cult and other groups?
2. What is a cult that you know of? What do you know about them?
3. Why do you think people join cults?
.
I wanna answer question 2. I know one of cults, that is Aum Shinrikyo. Shoko Asahara was a leader of that cult. Aum Shinrikyo made its name famous by using media. However, members of this cult committed many crimes including murders. The most famous case was sarin gas attacks.After this matter, Asahara was sentenced to death, and death penalty was already conducted. Because this is an unforgettable event, my impression of cults is not so good...
ReplyDeleteRina T1
I'd like to answer q2.There is a very big cult in China,called Falungong.The leader told people not to believe Chinese government because it takes China goes down and down.The people who were in that group have very extreme minds.They won't go to hospital if they were sick,because they don't belive modern medical treatment.They believe if they pray,the leader of this group will help them recover completely.A lot of their members died because of they refused to go to a hospital.Some of them even make a small group and kill themself together to show people their strong minds.Of course the leader of the group never do things like that.While those people did those things to show the respect to him,he might be drinking tea at his summer house somewhere.
ReplyDeleteRen Liu
I answer the question 2. Although I don't know whether it is right to define it as a cult, I think KKK bears some features of a cult. Instead of adoring someone as a charisma, members of KKK assert an absolute status of WASP (white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant people). They never allow people of other races, other colors, and other religions to have rights as the same human beings, and their thought is very extreme and exclusive. Actually, many records of crimes and incidents regarding to KKK exist. In addition, the style of KKK members like a white mask and robe, and the way they gather are featured in many films and it can be said that the image of KKK has become symbolic of a cult.
ReplyDeleteT1 Yoshihiro
I'd like to answer question 1.
ReplyDeleteCult is different from other groups for their antisocial thinking and behaving. The leader of a cult brainwashes his believers to contribute to the group and make them isolated from society. Some leaders have extreme ideas which disregard of human rights. They harm their believers and the public physically and psychologically. As the worst case in Japan, the indiscriminate murder committed by Aum Shinrikyo is notorious for its cruelty.
T1 Takaho Mikami
For Question3,
ReplyDeleteI think people need a cult for a resort to alleviate their stress or feelings which they cannot relieve in the daily lives in the society. So it probably is reasonable by definition that cults are somehow thought as asocial bunches and therefore the word has "nagative connotation".
Hiroshi Funayama
I would like to answer the question 2.
ReplyDeleteThe cult I know is Aum Shinrikyo. The leader of the cult was Shoko Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto. The members of this cult was mainly hermits. The group started as a yoga training hall featureing Asahara's supernatural power and secret ceremonies. And it extended their power through Japan. However, they caused many troubles with neighbors. The biggest crime it commited happened in 1995. They scattered sarin in the underground. Many people were killed or injured by it. I was very shocked at this event although I was a child.
Satomi Yoneyama
I'd like to answer Q1. In my image, people in a groups are equall, but cults have clear hierarchy. In a cult, there are a leader and believers. The leader can hold strong power over believers, and control them as his/her like.
ReplyDeleteNana Nakamura
Let me answer the question #1. I think members of a clut tend to blindly admire their leader while those of nomal groups don't. Their admiration is so passionate that they hang a portrait of the leader on a wall in a house and buy goods touched by him at unbelievably high price. Sometimes those followers value the top person over their own lives and that leads to several incidents as we see in news reports.
ReplyDeleteMinami.O
I will answer Q1.The difference between a cult and other groups is that cult members have a peculiar belief.I,however,think the difference between people in a cult and the others is minute.This is because that probably many cult members originaly had ordinary thinking.They might be brainwashed under circumstances where most people have some belief without they realizing it.
ReplyDeleteYusuke
I will give a comment for #3. I think people join cults usually have strong will to make their life or the world better. They might have question for their current situation and seek something have super strong power to lead them something good place. That power would be certain kind of religion, teachers or goods to support/protect them. But there is nothing have super power in the earth. Every success in the world is lead by steady endeavor not by super power. So I think people join cults misunderstand their direction to effort.
ReplyDeleteSatomi Yoshida
I'd like to answer number 1. Cult and relision seem to be totally different. Members of cults often commit a crime, however relisious groups have never committed a serious crime. For example, in Japan, Oumushinrikiyou has committed an act of terrorism and it was horrible.
ReplyDeleteT1 Akiko Yamaoka
I will answer the Q1. In mi opinion, groups called 'cult' are religious corporation which have conflict with a society. A group has been accused by neighbors or families of the believers many times, or commit a grave crime, then it comes to be called 'cult'.
ReplyDeleteYohei Yasuhara
I will answer Q3. I think that people join cults because they feel some kind of anxiety in their lives, and want the strong belief that will support them. Their sense of instability might come from the stress or solitude that they feel in daily lives. By joining the cults and believing blindly what the leaders say, they feel relief and some people even think that they get a strong power to change the society.
ReplyDeleteRie Nishimura
I'd like to answer the question 3.
ReplyDeleteI think that people join cults to have a peace of mind. They try to gain relief by being lead by an absolute leader and depending on him or her. They also set their mind at ease by joining the tight group and sharing the same belief with the member of it. They can feel that they are doing a right thing through taking part in activities of cults strongly united.
Minami
Q3.Why do you think people join cults?
ReplyDeleteI think mostly weak people join cults. People, who:
a) are empty inside;
b) lost someone they loved;
c) have nothing to believe in;
d) need love.
When they join a cult, they understand that they are not alone in this world, that there are people who understand them. I think they just need understanding, love and belief. A cult gives everything. It has its own belief about God, about society, about what is right and what is wrong. Often, a leader of a cult is worshiped as a god. This love of a leader or God fulfils emptiness inside them. Plus, members of a cult understand and love each other, and, as a result, the whole society becomes a huge family.
Anna
I would like to answer question 3. I think people ,who seek a relief, tend join cults. When people weaken meantally or physically, they try to escape from reality and find a kind of belief. As a result, some people join cults.
ReplyDeleteT1 syunta
I would like to answer question3. I think the reason people join cults is that they need a source of emotional support to get by in life. When people face to harsh reality that they can't manage, they sometimes pray for divine aids. They regard cults as salavation for their souls and join them.
ReplyDeleteMickie Yamanari
I think people need something to depend on, such as families, friends or works. For people joining cults, I think they depend on their cults.
ReplyDeleteQ.3
ReplyDeleteI think cult groups have their own view of the world and they decide almost all of things depending on their view. However, it applies to not only cult groups but all religions and some of the societies. I think there is no difference between them from the point of scientific truth. So, the reason why people decide to join a cult group is just same as the reason people believe in a religion. There is surely enormous difference between the groups in the point of their feature.
Sentaro
Answer to question 1.
ReplyDeleteI think people in cult groups are obsessed with a paticular ,usually extreme, idea, cannot associate themselves with society and like to stay in their groups all the time.
Yurika
I'd like to answer Q1.
ReplyDeleteI think the differences between a cult and other groups is that a cult has a firm belief which is beyond people's comprehension.
For example, members of some cult may believe their leader is God.
Although the belief is unacceptable for most people, members of the cult group believe it from their heart and they strongly band together under the belief.
Yuko
I would like to answer the third question. If people don't have anything to rely on, they are likely to join cults, I think. When they join cults, they can get rid of their uneasiness and can be satisfied.
ReplyDeleteT1 Hideto
I would like to answer Q1.
ReplyDeleteI think that people who join cult strongly believe in the existence of their leader. Of course, in any groups, a leader should be a reliable person. However, in cult, members always listen what their leader say and sometimes sacrifice theirselves. The case of sarin by Aumu-shinrikyo is one of the examples.
Misato
I would like to asnwer Q1.
ReplyDeleteI think that people who join cult strongly believe in the existence of their leader. Of course, in any groups, leaders should be reliable. However, in cult, members always listen what their leader says and sometimes sacrifice themselve for their leader. The case of sarin by Aumu-Shinrikyo is one of the examples.
Misato Noto
I would like to answer Q3. I think everyone is possible to be a member of a cult. As you are persistently talked into joining cults for many times, you can be brainwashed into believing what cults members say. And I think most of them,who are easy to be influenced,are those who have some troubles in their lives.Also,those who are not satisfied with the present social conditions tend to join cults in order to change the situation, so they sometimes behave anti-socially.
ReplyDeleteT1 Saki
I would like to answer Q3. I think everyone is possible to be a member of a cult. As you persistently talked into joining into cults for many times, you can be brainwashed into believing what they say. I think those who are easy to influenced by others often tend to have some troubles in their lives.Also, those who are not satisfied with the present social conditions tend to join cults in order to change the situation, so they sometimes behave anti-socially.
ReplyDeleteSaki, T1
I would like to answer Question 3. I do not have any experiences of joining cults but I think people join these cult groups because they can depend on the group and it can be their stabilizer, or it can be their home. Even when they feel sad or depressed they can get over depending on the groups. It will be more effective than joining other ordinary groups.
ReplyDeleteT1 Yumi Mizuno
I would like to answer question3.
ReplyDeleteI think one reason why people join cults, is because they are drawn to the strong belief and connection that the members share. People who feel lonely or have an indistinct purpose in life are probably easily brainwashed into believing that joining a certain cult is a good decision.
Kaori Itakura
I'd like to answer Q1. I think there are some differences between cults and other groups. The leader(s) of cults don't think much of saving members. He thinks members as target for exploiting money and doesn't permit them to disobey him.
ReplyDeleteT1 Yumiko
I would like to answer Question 3. I do not have any experiences of joining such groups but I think people joining cults want something to depend on. Or those groups effect them as their stabilizer. So even when they feel sad or depressed, people joining cults can get over those times. It is more effective for them than joining some ordinary groups.
ReplyDeleteT1 Yumi Mizuno
I would like to answer Question 3. I do not have any experiences of joining such groups but I think people joining cults want something to depend on. Or those groups effect them as their stabilizer. So even when they feel sad or depressed, people joining cults can get over those times. It is more effective for them than joining some ordinary groups.
ReplyDeleteT1 Yumi Mizuno
I'd like to answer Q1. It's just a image and I don't know exactly what cults is like,but I guess cults try to brainwash all the members and make them think what the leader says is everthing and sometimes go extreme or like that. On the other hand, other groups are also united, but they're more rational than cults.
ReplyDeleteSayaka Umamori
Q2
ReplyDeleteNumber of the well-known cults that I can think of are Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, Mormons, Shakers, Mennonites, and Quakers. Of course we do have our own famous one: Aum Shinrikyo. All of them have different ideologies organized in different ways; however, they all do have charismatic leaders, require followers than church attendances, and make converts upon younr people.
I would like to answer the first question. I think the difference between a cult and other groups is that people in a cult are fanatical about a certain idea that the members share. The idea usually sounds unrealistic and mostly hard for people in general to understand.
ReplyDeleteT1 Ayaka. M
To question 1,
ReplyDeleteI think the difference between people who joined cults and people who are in other groups are that the people in cults are mind-controlled in some ways and others are not. For the case of Aum Shinrikyo; they want to be depended on something, and that is pretty much one of the same reasons that religious people believes in a religion. However, the people in cults are too depended on it to make their own choices and to know what is right and wrong as a human being.
Miho T1
Hi Matt!
ReplyDeleteMy answer to Q3: when somebody becomes vulnerable against the outside world, then he wants to fulfill that vagant part of his heart. If he believes a cult is something that heals him, then he will believe in the cult.
I'll answer Q1. I think one of differences between cult and other groups is that to believers a thught of the cult group they belong to is the most important, rather almost absolute. That is why they can do anything for their belief even if it is a crime. Non-cult groups, on the other hand, don't force them to believe and contribute to thier thoughts.
ReplyDeleteT1 Akihiro Yamaguchi
I'll answer Q1. I think one of differences between a cult and other groups is that to believers a thught of a cult they belong to is the most impotant, alomost absolute. That's why they do anything for their belief even if it is a crime. Non-cult groups, on the other hand, don't force them to believe and contribute to their thoughts.
ReplyDeleteT1 Akihiro Yamaguchi
To question no.3
ReplyDeleteI think there are some reasons for people joining cults, but the main reason is they need something to rely on. When they are worried or terrified, they want to cling to something. Once they are caught in this thought, they are easily deceived.
Miyu Yoshikawa
I answer the Q3. I think people join the cults because they feel anxious with society or their status. They want to have something to believe in so that they feel stable. When people are not satisfied with the temporary situation, they might join the cults to have another thought.
ReplyDeleteEri
I answer the Q3. I think people join the cults because they feel anxious with society or their status. They want to have something to believe in so that they feel stable. When people are not satisfied with the temporary situation, they might join the cults to have another thought.
ReplyDeleteEri
I'd like to answer Q3. I think everyone in the world has something to apply themselves for, like hobbies, jobs, sports and so on. But sometimes, they choose some cults as a thing to have a passion for. So I think it's a kind of mistake for people to join cults. Sorry about being late for posting a comment...
ReplyDeleteYoshiki Yajima
I will answer Q1. I think that people join cults because they want to escape from the real world, where there is much anxiety or suffering. By having a common belief, they can get an ease.
ReplyDeleteShiori
I would like to answer question 3. When people face and deal with hardship, some of them try getting some help by praying. They come to believe cults in order to keep themselves calm and overcome their hardship, while many cult groups make use of such people's feelings to make them join the groups. As a result, many people join cults.
ReplyDeleteI would like to answer the question NO.3. I think cults can provide some absolute sense of value with the cult group members. In our social lives, everyone has some kind of sense of value. But it is quite hard to find what is the most important thing in our lives that has the first priority. So, some people could be at a loss since they cannot find out such an absolute sense of value. However, cults give it to the members. So, they can feel relieved just by following the value. I think that is why people join cults.
ReplyDeleteAsami Sudo
I would like to answer question 1. I think the most remarkable difference between cults and other groups is that people belonging to a cult do not usually think about the possibility of joining other groups. They regard their cult group as absolute. Ordinary people often tend to change their groups if situations change. For example, most people in Japan do not have a particular political party that they support, and they choose the party to vote according to the circumstances they are in. However, people believe in cults do not change their groups.
ReplyDeleteTakuya Imai
I answer Q3. I think people who have feelings of anxiety or uneasiness about parts of their lives tend to join cult groups. Since they do not have enough support to relieve them from such feelings, they cannot help committing themselves to an absolute existence like cult or religious groups. It is also the fact that there are cult members who do never regard their group as cult group.
ReplyDeleteASSAN(Asami Sawada)