What is a cult?
According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, a cult is a “religious group, often living together, whose beliefs are considered extreme or strange by many people”.
It all sounds rather mysterious and sinister, yet not all cults are bad. Some promote peace, and by simply shunning the modern world, live on their own in their own world.
How do you view the Amish? Depending on your view, they could be seen as a cult.
Even if they are a cult, they are a peaceful people, no doubt about that.
I reminded of the phrase, “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”.
Or how about this? “One man’s cult is another man’s true religion”.
Not all cults are religion based. Some are racist, terrorist, destructive or doomsday cults.
How many times have we heard that the world will end on a specific day? Thankfully it’s never happened. Yet still they bang on about it.
Personally, I don’t care what anyone believes in, as long as they don’t force others to believe in the same.
Any person who stays in a cult, or gathering of people, or community, whatever the phrase, should be allowed to do so and believe what they want. As long as that organisation doesn’t promote hatred of others, and as long as its members are free to leave if they so choose.
Sadly, this is rarely the case with cults. And if they’re guilty of any one thing, it’s usually brainwashing.
Politics can be another kind of a cult. I’d say the two classic examples are Hitler’s Germany and Stalin. But we could also add in the Kim family from North Korea, and even Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini.
Anyway, back to “real” cults. Here’s just a few of the most famous, or infamous I should say.
The Unification Church
The Unification Church, founded by the Rev Sun Myung Moon. He claims he saw a vision when around 16, and was told by it to complete Christ’s mission on Earth.
Sounds innocent enough.
He became very famous for organising mass weddings, where initially hundreds of couples got married at once. Later, tens of thousands would get married at these events.
Moon was very political, getting involved in international politics on the global stage. His organisation even owned influential newspapers.
In 1982, Moon was convicted of tax evasion.
Heaven’s Gate
In 1970s America, two blokes believed that they were the two witnesses referenced in the Book of Revelation. They recruited followers with their tales of doom, but fear not, they also told them how they could be saved – by a UFO.
In March 1997, the remaining 39 members of this cult were all found dead in a house in San Diego. Mass suicide.
Branch Davidians
Branch Davidians were a cult founded in 1955. However, it was in 1993 that they really hit the headlines.
Remember the Waco siege in Texas? I remember watching it on TV news. The stand-off and the highly questionable decisions made by the authorities.
This cult, eventually led by David Koresh, who claimed himself to be the final prophet, declared that all women were his spiritual wives.
There were allegations of child abuse in the cult, but this was excused by fellow members who said it was “his call from god”.
Koresh claiming that the end was nigh, stockpiled a huge arsenal of weapons, but in February 1993, forces of the ATF (Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms) raided his premises.
It was near war, with shoot-outs and a stand-off that lasted 51 days.
Finally, the authorities controversially went in with tear gas, there was a huge fire, and tragically dozens of followers died, including many children and Koresh himself.
Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God was founded by one man and one woman in Uganda in the 1980s, after they claimed they had seen visions of the Virgin Mary.
They claimed that we were all doomed because we didn’t live up to the 10 commandments, and the world would end on December 31 1999/January 1 2000.
Getting that one wrong, they then said it would end on March 17 2000. So, they held a massive party, where the organisers boarded up all the windows and doors.
There was an explosion, a huge fire and hundreds of believers died inside. Mass suicide, or maybe even mass murder.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh was an Indian guru or mystic. He also became known as the “sex guru” for promoting an open attitude to sexuality.
He criticised mainstream religion, including Gandhi. He was largely shunned in India, so he moved to the US.
He got up to loads of shenanigans, travelled the world, eventually got booted out of the US and denied entry to numerous other countries.
His organisation was even accused of poisoning 750 people in the US after deliberately contaminating food at local restaurants.
Deeply disturbed
These are just but a few, believe me, I’ve merely scratched the surface here. The list is endless when it comes to cults. Many of them too vile to even write about in this column. There really are a lot of deeply disturbed folks out there.
Have you heard the phrase “cult following”? Sure you have. Not associated with the aforementioned headcases, it refers to a group of fans who, for want of a better word, “religiously” follow a band, or artist, or a movie or TV series, often years or decades after it stopped being recorded and made.
It had been said that the following are all seen as having cult followings. The original Star Trek, the Rocky Horror Picture Show, the Australian soap Prisoner Cell Block H.
As for music, cult is anything from Amy Winehouse to Black Sabbath.
I’ve been watching the classic children’s TV series Grange Hill on the subscription service BritBox recently. I’d say that’s definitely got a cult-like following.
It took me right back to my childhood. Watching the antics of Tucker Jenkins, Zammo and Roland, so lifelike, so like my school days.
But the ultimate TV series for cult following? It’s got to be the one I’m currently watching, also on BritBox.
The late 1970s early ’80s Japanese series, Monkey.
Do you remember this? Did you watch it back in the day? I did and was in awe of it.
Based on a 16th Century Chinese novel, I didn’t know what it was about as a kid, and I’m still not sure!
Basically, it’s a story about a Buddhist monk and his travels through China to India. He is accompanied by a man monkey, a man pig called Pigsy and a man fish spirit called Sandy.
It’s so wacky.
As the theme tune sings, regarding the main character Monkey, “Born from an egg on a mountain top, the punkiest monkey that ever popped”.
Monkey really is a cult classic. Highly recommended if you want a bit of mind-bending.
Have you ever heard of the Westboro Baptist Church? Probably not. They are based in Kansas, US, and I’ve been learning about them for some years.
I’ve watched numerous documentaries on them and have long wanted to write about them. Therefore, I feel after this column on cults, it’s the perfect time to do so.
They are “Christians”, and when I say they take the bible literally, I mean literally.
Next week – Westboro Baptist Church
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