Cult

Group controlled by a leader and/or an idea

For other uses, see Cult (disambiguation).

Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term has different, and sometimes divergent or pejorative, definitions both in popular culture and academia and has been an ongoing source of contention among scholars across several fields of study.

Beginning in the 1930s, new religious movements became an object of sociological study within the context of the study of religious behavior. Since the 1940s, the Christian countercult movement has opposed some sects and new religious movements, labeling them cults because of their unorthodox beliefs. Since the 1970s, the secular anti-cult movement has opposed certain groups, which they call cults, accusing them of practicing brainwashing.

Groups labelled cults are found around the world and range in size from small localized groups to some international organizations with up to millions of members.

## Definition and usage

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The word "cult" is derived from the Latin term cultus, which means worship.[1] In modern English the term cult is generally a pejorative, carrying derogatory connotations.[2] The term is variously applied to abusive or coercive groups of many categories, including gangs, organized crime, and terrorist organizations.[3]

An older sense of the word cult, which is not pejorative, indicates a set of religious devotional practices that is conventional within its culture, is related to a particular figure, and is frequently associated with a particular place, or generally the collective participation in rites of religion.[4][1] References to the imperial cult of ancient Rome, for example, use the word in this sense. A derived sense of "excessive devotion" arose in the 19th century, and usage is not always strictly religious.[a][1]

Sociological classifications of religious movements may identify a cult as a social group with socially deviant or novel beliefs and practices,[5] although this is often unclear.[6][7] Other researchers present a less-organized picture of cults, saying that they arise spontaneously around novel beliefs and practices.[8] Cults have been compared to miniature totalitarian political systems.[9] Such groups are typically described as being led by a charismatic leader who tightly controls its members.[10]

In its pejorative sense, the term is often used for new religious movements and other social groups defined by their unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals,[11] or their group belief in a particular person, object, or goal. This sense of the term is weakly defined, having divergent definitions both in popular culture and in academia, where it has been an ongoing source of contention among scholars across several fields of study.[12][13] According to Susannah Crockford, "[t]he word 'cult' is a shapeshifter, semantically morphing with the intentions of whoever uses it. As an analytical term, it resists rigorous definition." She argues that the least subjective definition of cult refers to a religion or religion-like group "self-consciously building a new form of society", but that the rest of society rejects as unacceptable.[14]

The term cult has been criticized as lacking "scholarly rigour"; Benjamin E. Zeller stated "[l]abelling any group with which one disagrees and considers deviant as a cult may be a common occurrence, but it is not scholarship".[15] Religious scholar Catherine Wessinger argued the term was dehumanizing of the people within the group, as well as their children; following the Waco siege, it was argued by some scholars that the defining of the Branch Davidians as a cult by the media, government and former members is a significant factor as to what lead to the deaths.[16] However, it has also been viewed as empowering for ex-members of groups who have had traumatic experiences.[15] The term was noted to carry "considerable cultural legitimacy".[17]

In the 1970s, with the rise of secular anti-cult movements, scholars (though not the general public) began to abandon the use of the term cult, regarding it as pejorative. By the end of the 1970s, the term cult was largely replaced in academia with the term "new religion" or "new religious movement".[18][19] Other proposed alternative terms that have been used were "emergent religion", "alternative religious movement", or "marginal religious movement", though new religious movement is the most popular term.[16] The anti-cult movement mostly regards the term "new religious movement" as a euphemism for "cult" that loses the implication that they are harmful.[18]

## Scholarly studies

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Further information: Academic study of new religious movements

Howard P. Becker's church–sect typology, based on Ernst Troeltsch's original theory and providing the basis for a modern classification of cults, sects, and new religious movements

Beginning in the 1930s, new religious movements perceived as cults became an object of sociological study within the context of the study of religious behavior.[20] The term "cult" in this context saw its origins in the work of sociologist Max Weber (1864–1920). Weber is an important theorist in the academic study of cults, which often draws on his theorizations of charismatic authority, and of the distinction he drew between churches and sects.[21][need quotation to verify][1] This concept of a church–sect division was further elaborated upon by German theologian Ernst Troeltsch,[22] who added a "mystical" categorization to accommodate more personal or individual religious experiences.[23]

American sociologist Howard P. Becker further bisected Troeltsch's first two categories, splitting church into ecclesia and denomination; and sect into sect and cult.[24][1] Like Troeltsch's "mystical religion", Becker's cult refers to small religious groups that lack organization and that emphasize the private nature of personal beliefs.[25]

Max Weber (1864–1920), an important theorist in the study of cults

Later sociological formulations built on such characteristics, placing an additional emphasis on cults as deviant religious groups, "deriving their inspiration from outside of the predominant religious culture."[26] This is often thought to lead to a high degree of tension between the group and the more mainstream culture surrounding it, a characteristic shared with religious sects.[27] According to this sociological terminology, sects are products of religious schism and therefore maintain a continuity with traditional beliefs and practices, whereas cults arise spontaneously around novel beliefs and practices.[28]

Scholars William Sims Bainbridge and Rodney Stark have argued for a further distinction between three kinds of cults: cult movements, client cults, and audience cults, all of which share a "compensator" or rewards for the things invested into the group. In the Bainbridge–Stark typology, a "cult movement" is an actual complete organization, differing from a "sect" in that it is not a splinter of a bigger religion, while "audience cults" are loosely organized, and propagated through media, and "client cults" offer services (i.e. psychic readings or meditation sessions). One type can turn into another, for example the Church of Scientology changing from audience to client cult.[18] Sociologists who follow the Bainbridge–Stark classification tend to continue using the word "cult", unlike most other academics; however Bainbridge later stated he regretted having used the word at all.[18] Stark and Bainbridge, in discussing the process by which individuals join new religious groups, have even questioned the utility of the concept of  conversion, suggesting  affiliation as a more useful concept.[29]

In the early 1960s, sociologist John Lofland studied the activities of Unification Church members in California in trying to promote their beliefs and win new members. Lofland noted that most of their efforts were ineffective and that most of the people who joined did so because of personal relationships with other members (often family relationships).[30][31] Lofland published his findings in 1964 as a doctoral thesis entitled "The World Savers: A Field Study of Cult Processes", and in 1966 in book form by as Doomsday Cult: A Study of Conversion, Proselytization, and Maintenance of Faith. This work is considered to be one of the most important and widely cited studies of the process of religious conversion.[32][33]

J. Gordon Melton stated that, in 1970, "one could count the number of active researchers on new religions on one's hands". However, James R. Lewis in 2004 wrote that the "meteoric growth" in this field of study can be attributed to the cult controversy of the early 1970s. Because of "a wave of nontraditional religiosity" in the late 1960s and early 1970s, academics perceived new religious movements as different phenomena from previous religious innovations.[19]

Some Stanford University research published in 1994 has documented and discussed "cultism" and "cult-like" characteristics[34] in "visionary companies".[35]

## Types

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### Destructive cults

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Destructive cult is a term frequently used by the anti-cult movement.[18] Members of the anti-cult movement typically define a destructive cult as a group that is unethical, deceptive, and one that uses "strong influence" or mind control techniques to affect critical thinking skills.[36] This term is sometimes presented in contrast to a "benign cult", which implies that not all "cults" would be harmful, though others apply it to all cults.[18] Psychologist Michael Langone, executive director of the anti-cult group International Cultic Studies Association, defines a destructive cult as "a highly manipulative group which exploits and sometimes physically and/or psychologically damages members and recruits."[37]

In Cults and the Family, the authors cite Eli Shapiro, who defines a destructive cultism as a sociopathic syndrome, whose distinctive qualities include: "behavioral and personality changes, loss of personal identity, cessation of scholastic activities, estrangement from family, disinterest in society and pronounced mental control and enslavement by cult leaders."[38] Writing about Bruderhof communities in the book Misunderstanding Cults, Julius H. Rubin said that American religious innovation created an unending diversity of sects. These "new religious movements…gathered new converts and issued challenges to the wider society. Not infrequently, public controversy, contested narratives and litigation result."[12] In his work Cults in Context author Lorne L. Dawson writes that although the Unification Church "has not been shown to be violent or volatile," it has been described as a destructive cult by "anticult crusaders."[39] In 2002, the German government was held by the Federal Constitutional Court to have defamed the Osho movement by referring to it, among other things, as a "destructive cult" with no factual basis.[40]

Some researchers have criticized the term destructive cult, writing that it is used to describe groups which are not necessarily harmful in nature to themselves or others. In his book Understanding New Religious Movements, John A. Saliba writes that the term is overgeneralized. Saliba sees the Peoples Temple as the "paradigm of a destructive cult", where those that use the term are implying that other groups will also commit mass suicide.[41]

### Doomsday cults

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Main article: Doomsday cult

Doomsday cult is a term which is used to describe groups that believe in apocalypticism and millenarianism, and it can also be used to refer both to groups that predict disaster, and groups that attempt to bring it about.[42][18] In the 1950s, American social psychologist Leon Festinger and his colleagues observed members of a small UFO religion called the Seekers for several months, and recorded their conversations both prior to and after a failed prophecy from their charismatic leader.[43][44][45] Their work was later published in the book When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World.[43]

In the late 1980s, doomsday cults were a major topic of news reports, with some reporters and commentators considering them a serious threat to society.[46] A 1997 psychological study by Festinger, Riecken, and Schachter found that people turned to a cataclysmic world view after they had repeatedly failed to find meaning in mainstream movements.[47]

### Political cults

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A political cult is a cult with a primary interest in political action and ideology. Groups that some have described as "political cults", mostly advocating far-left or far-right agendas, have received some attention from journalists and scholars. In their 2000 book On the Edge: Political Cults Right and Left, Dennis Tourish and Tim Wohlforth discuss about a dozen organizations in the United States and Great Britain that they characterize as cults.[48]

## Anti-cult movements

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### Christian countercult movement

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Main article: Christian countercult movement

In the 1940s, the long-held opposition by some established Christian denominations to non-Christian religions and heretical or counterfeit Christian sects crystallized into a more organized Christian countercult movement in the United States.[citation needed] For those belonging to the movement, all religious groups claiming to be Christian, but deemed outside of Christian orthodoxy, were considered cults.[49] The countercult movement is mostly evangelical Protestants.[50] The Christian countercult movement asserts that Christian groups whose teachings deviate from the belief that the bible is inerrant,[51] but also focuses on non-Christian religions like Hinduism.[50] Christian countercult activist writers also emphasize the need for Christians to evangelize to followers of cults.[52]

### Secular anti-cult movement

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Main article: Anti-cult movement

An anti-Aum Shinrikyo protest in Japan, 2009

Starting in the late 1960s, a different strand of anti-cult groups arose, with the formation of the secular anti-cult movement (ACM).[53] This was in response to the rise of new religions in the 1960s and 1970s, particularly the events at Jonestown and the deaths of nearly 1000 people.[54] 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.[55][53]

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 practised.[56] 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.[57][58][59][13]

While some psychologists were receptive to these theories, sociologists were for the most part sceptical of their ability to explain conversion to NRMs.[60] 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.[61][62]

## Governmental policies and actions

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Main article: Governmental lists of cults and sects

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.[63] Sociologists critical to this negative politicized use of the word cult argue that it may adversely impact the religious freedoms of group members.[64] At the height of the counter-cult movement and ritual abuse scare of the 1990s, some governments published lists of cults.[b] Groups labelled "cults" are found around the world and range in size from local groups with a few members to international organizations with millions.[65]

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.[63] Other governments and world bodies also report on new religious movements but do not use these terms to describe the groups.[63] Since the 2000s, some governments have again distanced themselves from such classifications of religious movements.[c] 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.[55][66]

### China

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Main article: Heterodox teachings (Chinese law)

Falun Gong books being symbolically destroyed by the Chinese government

For centuries, governments in China have categorized certain religions as xiéjiào (邪教), translated as "evil cults" or "heterodox teachings".[67] 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.[67][68] Groups branded xiejiao face suppression and punishment by authorities.[69][70]

### Russia

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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".[71] 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".[72]

### United States

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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.[19][64] Meanwhile, sociologists who were critical of these theories assisted advocates of religious freedom in defending the legitimacy of new religious movements in court.[55][66] 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.[73]

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.[74]

### Western Europe

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See also: MIVILUDES, Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu, and Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France

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.[75] Scholars have suggested that the outrage which followed the mass murder/suicides perpetuated by the Solar Temple, have significantly contributed to European anti-cult positions.[76][77] 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.[78]

## See also

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* Cabal
* Cargo cult
* Clique
* Cult of personality
* Cult following
* Fanaticism
* New religious movements and cults in popular culture
* Secret society

## References

[edit]

### Explanatory notes

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1. ^ Compare the Oxford English Dictionary note for usage in 1875: "cult:...b. A relatively small group of people having (esp. religious) beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister, or as exercising excessive control over members.… 1875 Brit. Mail 30 Jan. 13/1 Buffaloism is, it would seem, a cult, a creed, a secret community, the members of which are bound together by strange and weird vows, and listen in hidden conclave to mysterious lore." "cult". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
2. ^ Or "sects" in German or French-speaking countries, the German term sekten and the French term sectes having assumed the same derogatory meaning as English "cult".
3. ^

* Austria: Beginning in 2011, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor's International Religious Freedom Report no longer distinguishes sects in Austria as a separate group. "International Religious Freedom Report for 2012". Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
* Belgium: The Justice Commission of the Belgian House of Representatives published a report on cults in 1997. A Brussels Appeals Court in 2005 condemned the House of Representatives on the grounds that it had damaged the image of an organization listed.
* France: A parliamentary commission of the National Assembly compiled a list of purported cults in 1995. In 2005, the Prime Minister stated that the concerns addressed in the list "had become less pertinent" and that the government needed to balance its concern with cults with respect for public freedoms and laїcité.
* Germany: The legitimacy of a 1997 Berlin Senate report listing cults (sekten) was defended in a court decision of 2003 (Oberverwaltungsgericht Berlin [OVG 5 B 26.00] 25 September 2003). The list is still maintained by Berlin city authorities: Sekten und Psychogruppen – Leitstelle Berlin.

### Citations

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1. ^ a b c d e Chryssides & Zeller 2014, p. 321.
2. ^ Dubrow-Marshall 2024, p. 103.
3. ^ Dubrow-Marshall 2024, p. 96.
4. ^ "cult". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) – "2.a. A particular form or system of religious worship or veneration, esp. as expressed in ceremonies or rituals which are directed towards a specified figure or object. Chiefly in historical, archaeological, or anthropological contexts."
5. ^ Stark & Bainbridge 1996, p. 124.
6. ^ Stark & Bainbridge 1980, p. 1377.
7. ^ Olson 2006.
8. ^ Stark & Bainbridge 1987.
9. ^ Stein 2016.
10. ^ Bell, Kenton (2013). "cult". Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
11. ^ "cult". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
12. ^ a b Rubin 2001, p. 473.
13. ^ a b Richardson 1993, pp. 348–356.
14. ^ Crockford 2024, p. 172.
15. ^ a b Thomas & Graham-Hyde 2024a, p. 4.
16. ^ a b Olson 2006, p. 97.
17. ^ Bromley & Melton 2002, p. 231.
18. ^ a b c d e f g Chryssides & Zeller 2014, p. 322.
19. ^ a b c Lewis 2004.
20. ^ Fahlbusch & Bromiley 1999, p. 897.
21. ^ Weber 1985, translated by Colin Loader.
22. ^ Troeltsch, Ernst (1912) [1911]. Die Soziallehren der christlichen Kirchen und Gruppen. Gesammelte Schriften, volume 1. Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck). Retrieved 6 August 2025.
23. ^ Chryssides & Zeller 2014, p. 321: "The term 'cult' has a history stemming from the sociologist Maz Weber, who distinguished between Church and sect. This distinction was further developed by Ernst Troeltsch, who added the 'mystical' to designate more individual or personal religious experience."
24. ^ Swatos 1998a, pp. 90–93.
25. ^ Campbell 1998, pp. 122–123.
26. ^ Richardson 1993, p. 349.
27. ^ Stark & Bainbridge 1987, p. 25.
28. ^ Stark & Bainbridge 1987, p. 124.
29. ^ Bader & Demaris 1996.
30. ^ Richardson 1998.
31. ^ Barker 1998.
32. ^ Ashcraft 2006, p. 180.
33. ^ Chryssides 1999, p. 1.
34. ^ Collins, James C.; Porras, Jerry I. (2000) [1994]. "Cult-Like cultures". Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. London: Random House Business Books. p. 125\. ISBN 0 7126 6968 X. "[...] what we came to call 'cultism' -- a series of practices that create an almost cult-like environment [...]."
35. ^ Collins, James C.; Porras, Jerry I. (2000) [1994]. "Cult-Like cultures". Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. London: Random House Business Books. pp. 122, 135. ISBN 0 7126 6968 X. "[...] the most common definition is that a cult is a body of persons characterized by a great or excessive devotion to some person, idea, or thing (which certainly describes many of the visionary companies) [...] we found four common characteristics of cults that the visionary companies display to a greater degree than the comparison companies [:]
* Fervently held ideology [...]
* Indoctrination
* Tightness of fit
* Elitism

[...] visionary companies tend to be cult-like around their ideologies."
36. ^ Shupe & Darnell 2006, p. 214.
37. ^ Turner, Bloch & Shor 1995, p. 1146.
38. ^ Kaslow & Sussman 1982, p. 34.
39. ^ Dawson 1998, p. 349.
40. ^ Seiwert 2003.
41. ^ Saliba 2003, p. 144.
42. ^ Jenkins 2000, pp. 216, 222.
43. ^ a b Stangor 2004, pp. 42–43.
44. ^ Newman 2006, p. 86.
45. ^ Petty & Cacioppo 1996, p. 139.
46. ^ Jenkins 2000, pp. 215–216.
47. ^ Pargament 1997, pp. 150–153, 340.
48. ^ Tourish & Wohlforth 2000.
49. ^ Cowan 2003, p. 20.
50. ^ a b Chryssides 2024, p. 41.
51. ^ Cowan 2003, p. 31.
52. ^ Cowan 2003, p. 25.
53. ^ a b Chryssides 2024, p. 46.
54. ^ Chryssides 2024, p. 47.
55. ^ a b c Richardson & Introvigne 2001.
56. ^ Shupe & Bromley 1998a, p. 27.
57. ^ Wright 1997.
58. ^ van Driel & Richardson 1988.
59. ^ Hill, Hickman & McLendon 2001.
60. ^ Barker 1986.
61. ^ Ayella 1990.
62. ^ Cowan 2003, p. ix.
63. ^ a b c Richardson & Introvigne 2001, pp. 143–168.
64. ^ a b Davis 1996.
65. ^ Barker 1999.
66. ^ a b Edelman & Richardson 2003.
67. ^ a b Penny 2012.
68. ^ Zhu 2010, p. 487.
69. ^ Heggie 2020, p. 257.
70. ^ Zhu 2010.
71. ^ Soldatov & Borogan 2010, pp. 65–66.
72. ^ Marshall 2013.
73. ^ Ogloff & Pfeifer 1992.
74. ^ Introvigne 2014, pp. 313–316.
75. ^ Richardson & Introvigne 2001, pp. 144–146.
76. ^ Richardson & Introvigne 2001, p. 144.
77. ^ Robbins 2002, p. 174.
78. ^ Richardson 2004, p. 48.

### General and cited references

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#### Books

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* Ashcraft, W. Michael (2006). "African Diaspora Traditions and Other American Innovations". In Gallagher, Eugene V. (ed.). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-98717-6.
* Barker, Eileen (1999). "New Religious Movements: Their Incidence and Significance". In Wilson, Bryan; Cresswell, Jamie (eds.). New Religious Movements: Challenge and Response. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-20050-9.
* Bromley, David G.; Melton, J. Gordon, eds. (2002). Cults, Religion, and Violence. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-66064-8.
* Chryssides, George D. (1999). Exploring New Religions. Issues in Contemporary Religion. London; New York: Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-33652-4.
* Chryssides, George D.; Zeller, Benjamin E., eds. (2014). "Resources: A–Z". The Bloomsbury Companion to New Religious Movements. Bloomsbury Companions. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4411-9005-5.
* Cowan, Douglas E. (2003). Bearing False Witness? An Introduction to the Christian Countercult. Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-97459-6.
* Dawson, Lorne L. (1998). Cults in Context: Readings in the Study of New Religious Movements. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7658-0478-5.
* Fahlbusch, Erwin; Bromiley, Geoffrey W., eds. (1999). "Sect". The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Vol. 4\. p. 897\. ISBN 978-90-04-14595-5. Retrieved 21 March 2013 - via Google Books.
* Jenkins, Phillip (2000). Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History. Oxford University Press, US. ISBN 978-0-19-514596-0.
* Kaslow, Florence Whiteman; Sussman, Marvin B. (1982). Cults and the Family. Haworth Press. ISBN 978-0-917724-55-8.
* Lewis, James R. (2004). The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements. US: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-514986-9.
* Marshall, Paul (2013). Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians. Thomas Nelson Inc.
* Newman, Dr. David M. (2006). Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life. Pine Forge Press. ISBN 978-1-4129-2814-4.
* Pargament, Kenneth I. (1997). The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice. Guilford Press. ISBN 978-1-57230-664-6.
* Penny, Benjamin (2012). The Religion of Falun Gong. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-65501-7.
* Petty, Richard E.; Cacioppo, John T. (1996). Attitudes and Persuasion: Classic and Contemporary Approaches. Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-3005-X.
* Saliba, John A. (2003). Understanding New Religious Movements (2nd ed.). Walnut Creek: Altamira Press. ISBN 978-0-7591-0356-6.
* Stark, Rodney; Bainbridge, William Sims (1987). The Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival and Cult Formation. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-05731-9.
* Stark, Rodney; Bainbridge, William Sims (1996). A Theory of Religion. Peter Lang Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8135-2330-9.
* Swatos, William H. Jr., ed. (1998). Encyclopedia of Religion and Society. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira. pp. 90–93\. ISBN 978-0-7619-8956-1.
* Barker, Eileen. "Conversion". In Swatos (1998).
* Campbell, Colin. "Cult". In Swatos (1998).
* Richardson, James T. "Unification Church". In Swatos (1998).
* Shupe, Anson; Bromley, David G. (1998a). "Anti-Cult Movement". In Swatos (1998a).
* Swatos, William H. Jr. (1998a). "Church-Sect Theory". In Swatos (1998a).
* Richardson, James T., ed. (2004). Regulating Religion: Case Studies from Around the Globe. Critical Issues in Social Justice. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. ISBN 978-0-306-47887-1.
* Shupe, Anson; Darnell, Susan (2006). Agents of Discord: Deprogramming, Pseudo-science, and the American Anti-cult Movement. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7658-0323-8.
* Soldatov, Andreĭ; Borogan, I. (2010). The New Nobility: The Restoration of Russia's Security State and the Enduring Legacy of the KGB. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-61039-055-2.
* Stangor, Charles (2004). Social Groups in Action and Interaction. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-1-84169-407-8.
* Stein, Alexandra (2016). Terror, Love and Brainwashing: Attachment in Cults and Totalitarian Systems. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 9781138677951.
* Thomas, Aled; Graham-Hyde, Edward, eds. (2024). 'Cult' Rhetoric in the 21st Century: Deconstructing the Study of New Religious Movements. Religion at the Boundaries. London: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-350-33323-9.
* Chryssides, George D. "A History of Anticult Rhetoric". In Thomas & Graham-Hyde (2024).
* Crockford, Susannah. "'There Is No QAnon': Cult Accusations in Contemporary American Political and Online Discourse". In Thomas & Graham-Hyde (2024).
* Dubrow-Marshall, Roderick P. "The Recognition of Cults". In Thomas & Graham-Hyde (2024).
* Thomas, Aled; Graham-Hyde, Edward (2024a). "'Cult' Rhetoric in the Twenty-First Century: The Disconnect between Popular Discourse and the Ivory Tower". In Thomas & Graham-Hyde (2024).
* Tourish, Dennis; Wohlforth, Tim (2000). On the Edge: Political Cults Right and Left. Armonk: M. E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-7656-0639-6.
* Turner, Francis J.; Bloch, Arnold Shanon; Shor, Ron (1995). "105: From Consultation to Therapy in Group Work With Parents of Cultists". Differential Diagnosis & Treatment in Social Work (4th ed.). Free Press. p. 1146\. ISBN 978-0-02-874007-2.
* Zablocki, Benjamin; Robbins, Thomas, eds. (2001). Misunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-8188-9.
* Rubin, Julius H. "Contested Narratives: A Case Study of the Conflict Between a New Religious Movement and Its Critics". In Zablocki & Robbins (2001).

#### Articles

[edit]

* Ayella, Marybeth (1990). "They Must Be Crazy: Some of the Difficulties in Researching 'Cults'". American Behavioral Scientist. 33 (5): 562–577\. doi:10.1177/0002764290033005005. S2CID 144181163.
* Bader, Chris; Demaris, Alfred (1996). "A Test of the Stark-Bainbridge Theory of Affiliation with Religious Cults and Sects". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 35 (3): 285–303\. doi:10.2307/1386560. ISSN 0021-8294. JSTOR 1386560.
* Barker, Eileen (1986). "Religious Movements: Cult and Anti-Cult Since Jonestown". Annual Review of Sociology. 12: 329–346\. doi:10.1146/annurev.so.12.080186.001553.
* Davis, Dena S. (1996). "Joining a Cult: Religious Choice or Psychological Aberration". Journal of Law and Health. 11 (1): 145–172.
* van Driel, Barend; Richardson, James T. (1988). "Categorization of New Religious Movements in American Print Media". Sociological Analysis. 49 (2): 171–183\. doi:10.2307/3711011. ISSN 0038-0210. JSTOR 3711011.
* Edelman, Bryan; Richardson, James T. (2003). "Falun Gong and the Law: Development of Legal Social Control in China". Nova Religio. 6 (2): 312–331\. doi:10.1525/nr.2003.6.2.312.
* Heggie, Rachel (2020). "When Violence Happens: The McDonald's Murder and Religious Violence in the Hands of the Chinese Communist Party". Journal of Religion and Violence. 8 (3): 253–280\. doi:10.5840/jrv202131682. ISSN 2159-6808. JSTOR 27212326.
* Hill, Harvey; Hickman, John; McLendon, Joel (2001). "Cults and Sects and Doomsday Groups, Oh My: Media Treatment of Religion on the Eve of the Millennium". Review of Religious Research. 43 (1): 24–38\. doi:10.2307/3512241. ISSN 0034-673X. JSTOR 3512241.
* Introvigne, Massimo (2014). "Advocacy, brainwashing theories, and new religious movements". Religion. 44 (2): 303–319\. doi:10.1080/0048721X.2014.888021. S2CID 144440076.
* Ogloff, J. R.; Pfeifer, J. E. (1992). "Cults and the law: A discussion of the legality of alleged cult activities". Behavioral Sciences & the Law. 10 (1): 117–140\. doi:10.1002/bsl.2370100111.
* Olson, Paul J. (2006). "The Public Perception of 'Cults' and 'New Religious Movements'". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 45 (1): 97–106\. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2006.00008.x. ISSN 0021-8294. JSTOR 3590620.
* Richardson, James T.; Introvigne, Massimo (2001). "'Brainwashing' Theories in European Parliamentary and Administrative Reports on 'Cults' and 'Sects'". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 40 (2): 143–168\. doi:10.1111/0021-8294.00046.
* Richardson, James T. (1993). "Definitions of Cult: From Sociological-Technical to Popular-Negative". Review of Religious Research. 34 (4): 348–356\. doi:10.2307/3511972. JSTOR 3511972.
* Seiwert, Hubert (2003). "Freedom and Control in the Unified Germany: Governmental Approaches to Alternative Religions Since 1989". Sociology of Religion. 64 (3): 367–375\. doi:10.2307/3712490. ISSN 1069-4404. JSTOR 3712490.
* Robbins, Thomas (2002). "Combating 'Cults' and 'Brainwashing' in the United States and Europe: A Comment on Richardson and Introvigne's Report". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 40 (2): 169–176\. doi:10.1111/0021-8294.00047.
* Stark, Rodney; Bainbridge, William Sims (1980). "Networks of Faith: Interpersonal Bonds and Recruitment to Cults and Sects". American Journal of Sociology. 85 (6): 1376–1395\. doi:10.1086/227169. ISSN 0002-9602. JSTOR 2778383.
* Weber, Max (Spring 1985). "'Churches' and 'Sects' in North America: An Ecclesiastical Socio-Political Sketch". Sociological Theory. 3 (1): 7–13\. doi:10.2307/202166. JSTOR 202166.
* Wright, Stuart A. (1997). "Media Coverage of Unconventional Religion: Any 'Good News' for Minority Faiths?". Review of Religious Research. 39 (2): 101–115\. doi:10.2307/3512176. ISSN 0034-673X. JSTOR 3512176.
* Zhu, Guobin (2010). "Prosecuting 'Evil Cults:' A Critical Examination of Law Regarding Freedom of Religious Belief in Mainland China". Human Rights Quarterly. 32 (3): 471–501\. doi:10.1353/hrq.2010.0004. ISSN 0275-0392. JSTOR 40784053.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Borden, Jane (2025). Cults Like Us: Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America (1st hardcover ed.). New York: One Signal Publishers/Atria Books. ISBN 978-1668007808. OCLC 1510770522.

## External links

[edit]

* The dictionary definition of cult at Wiktionary
* Quotations related to Cult at Wikiquote

* v
* t
* e

New religious movements

Major groups|

* Brahmoism
* Adventism
* CoG7
* SDA
* Aetherius Society
* Ahmadiyya
* Lahore Ahmadiyya
* Ananda Marga
* AMORC
* Anthroposophy
* Antoinism
* Armstrongism
* Bábism
* Baháʼí Faith
* Bible Students/Jehovah's Witnesses
* Black Hebrew Israelites
* Brahma Kumaris
* Branch Davidians
* Brotherhood of the Cross and Star
* Caodaism
* Charismatic Christianity
* Chinese salvationist religions
* Chinmaya Mission
* Christadelphians
* Christian Science
* Church of Divine Science
* Church of Scientology
* Church of the Guanche People
* Creativity
* Discordianism
* Eastern Lightning
* Falun Gong
* The Family International
* Friends of Man
* Fourth Way
* Goddess
* Godianism
* Heaven's Gate
* Iglesia ni Cristo
* International Peace Mission movement
* ISKCON
* Invitation to Life
* Kingdom of Jesus Christ
* Kopimism
* Latter Day Saints/Mormonism
* Mahikari movement
* Sukyo Mahikari
* World Divine Light
* Messianic Judaism
* Modern paganism
* Druidry
* Heathenry
* Rodnovery
* Moorish Science Temple of America
* Nation of Islam
* New Acropolis
* The New Church
* New Kadampa Tradition
* New Thought
* Religious Science
* Unity Church
* Nuwaubian Nation
* Oomoto
* Order of the Solar Temple
* Palmarian Catholic Church
* Peoples Temple
* Pilgrims of Arès
* Prathyaksha Raksha Daiva Sabha
* The Process Church
* Raëlism
* Rajneesh movement
* Ramakrishna Mission
* Rastafari
* Risshō Kōsei Kai
* Sahaja Yoga
* Sant Mat
* Radha Soami
* Sant Nirankari Mission
* Santa Muerte
* Santo Daime
* Satanism
* LaVeyan
* Church of Satan
* Temple of Set
* The Satanic Temple
* Theistic
* Sathya Sai Baba
* Shakers
* Shambhala Buddhism
* Shri Ram Chandra Mission
* Soka Gakkai
* Spiritualism
* Spiritism
* Tenrikyo
* Thelema
* Theosophy
* Theosophical Society
* Transcendental Meditation
* True Buddha School
* Twelve Tribes communities
* Unarius Academy of Science
* Unification Church
* Unitarian Universalist Association
* Universal Church of the Kingdom of God
* Universal White Brotherhood
* Vipassana movement
* The Way International
* Weixinjiao
* Wicca
* Word of Faith
* World Mission Society Church of God

Notable figures|

* Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
* Noble Drew Ali
* Marshall Applewhite
* Michael Angelo Aquino
* Herbert W. Armstrong
* Shoko Asahara
* Sri Aurobindo
* Báb
* Sathya Sai Baba
* Baháʼu'lláh
* Alice Bailey
* Chinmayananda Saraswati
* David Berg
* Helena Blavatsky
* Sri Chinmoy
* Aleister Crowley
* Mary Baker Eddy
* Josemaría Escrivá
* Louis Farrakhan
* Charles Fillmore
* Kelsang Gyatso
* Hak Ja Han
* L. Ron Hubbard
* Li Hongzhi
* David Koresh
* Anton LaVey
* Jorge Ángel Livraga Rizzi
* Lu Sheng-yen
* Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
* Meher Baba
* Nikkyō Niwano
* Sun Myung Moon
* Elijah Muhammad
* Nakayama Miki
* A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
* Phineas Parkhurst Quimby
* Raël
* Rajneesh
* Ramakrishna
* Prem Rawat
* Helena Roerich
* Charles Taze Russell
* Joseph Franklin Rutherford
* Ahn Sahng-hong
* Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar
* Menachem Mendel Schneerson
* Shiv Dayal Singh
* Joseph Smith
* Nirmala Srivastava
* Rudolf Steiner
* Sudiksha
* Emanuel Swedenborg
* Joseph W. Tkach
* Chögyam Trungpa
* Ellen G. White
* Poykayil Yohannan

By region|

* Pacific Northwest

Concepts|

* African-initiated church
* Buddhist modernism
* Chabad messianism
* Christian denomination
* Classifications of religious movements
* Conspiracy theories
* Cult
* Cybersectarianism
* Doomsday cult
* Heresy
* Hindu reform movements
* In-group favoritism
* Japanese new religions
* Neoshamanism
* New Age
* Open-source religion
* Polytheistic reconstructionism
* Prosperity theology
* Religious conversion
* Religious syncretism
* Schism
* Sect
* Self religion
* Spiritual evolution
* UFO religion

Public education|

* CESNUR
* INFORM (Information Network Focus on Religious Movements)
* World Religions and Spirituality Project

Scholarship|

* Academic study of new religious movements
* Anthropology of religion
* History of religion
* Journal of Contemporary Religion
* Nova Religio
* Philosophy of religion
* Psychology of religion
* Religious studies
* Sociology of religion
* When Prophecy Fails

Opposition|

* Anti-cult movement
* Christian countercult movement
* Anti-Mormonism
* Persecution of Ahmadis
* Persecution of Baháʼís
* Persecution of Falun Gong
* Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses
* Persecution of Rastafari
* Religious discrimination against modern pagans

Lists|

* Academic study
* In popular culture
* New religious movements

* v
* t
* e

Opposition to new religious movements

Concepts|

* Anti-cult movement
* Christian countercult movement
* Cult
* Deprogramming
* Doomsday cult
* Freedom of religion
* Heresy
* Heterodox teaching
* Mind control
* New religious movement

Secular groups|

* APA Task Force on Deceptive and Indirect Methods of Persuasion and Control
* Center for Religious Studies in the name of Hieromartyr Irenaeus of Lyons
* Cult Awareness Network
* Cult Information Centre
* Cultists Anonymous
* International Cultic Studies Association
* The Family Survival Trust
* Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network
* National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales
* People's Organised Workshop on Ersatz Religion

Secular individuals|

* Jean-Marie Abgrall
* John Gordon Clark
* Steve Eichel
* Martin Faiers
* Leon Festinger
* Carol Giambalvo
* Steven Hassan
* Ian Haworth
* Galen Kelly
* Stephen A. Kent
* Masaki Kito
* Janja Lalich
* Michael Langone
* Saul V. Levine
* Casey McCann
* Jesse S. Miller
* Sayuri Ogawa
* Ted Patrick
* Tsutsumi Sakamoto
* Rick Ross
* Chris Shelton
* Margaret Singer
* Eito Suzuki
* Alain Vivien
* Cyril Vosper
* Louis Jolyon West
* Lawrence Wollersheim

Religious groups|

* Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry
* Christian Research Institute
* Dialog Center International
* Dialogue Ireland
* Evangelical Ministries to New Religions
* Institute for Religious Research
* Personal Freedom Outreach
* Midwest Christian Outreach
* New England Institute of Religious Research
* Reachout Trust
* Spiritual Counterfeits Project
* Watchman Fellowship
* Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center

Religious individuals|

* Johannes Aagaard
* Graham Baldwin
* Robert M. Bowman Jr.
* Harold Busséll
* Gérard Dagon
* Maurice Davis
* Alexander Dvorkin
* Ronald Enroth
* Mike Garde
* Robin Garbose
* Norman Geisler
* Jan Groenveld
* Hank Hanegraaff
* Reinhart Hummel
* Roger Ikor
* Bob Larson
* Paul R. Martin
* Walter Ralston Martin
* Robert Passantino

Governmental organizations|

* 610 Office
* European Federation of Centres of Research and Information on Sectarianism
* Centre contre les manipulations mentales
* Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu
* MIVILUDES
* Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France

Individuals in government|

* Nicolas About
* Serge Blisko
* Georges Fenech
* Ford Greene
* Stephen Mutch
* Catherine Picard
* Kenneth Robinson
* Paul Rose
* Tom Sackville
* Nick Xenophon

Historical events|

* About–Picard law
* Anti-Mormonism
* Assassination of Shinzo Abe
* Governmental lists of cults and sects
* Mass suicide of Heaven's Gate
* Jason Scott case
* Arrest of Apollo Quiboloy
* Persecution of Baháʼís
* Persecution of Falun Gong
* Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses
* The Prohibited and Unlawful Societies and Associations Act
* Tokyo subway sarin attack
* Waco siege

Publications|

* All Gods Children (book)
* Another Gospel
* Bounded Choice
* Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control
* Captive Hearts, Captive Minds
* The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions
* Churches That Abuse
* Combating Cult Mind Control
* Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion
* Cults in Our Midst
* Cults of Unreason
* Deadly Cults
* The Incendiaries
* The Kingdom of the Cults
* The Making of a Moonie
* Misunderstanding Cults
* The New Vigilantes: Deprogrammers, Anti-Cultists, and the New Religions
* On the Edge: Political Cults Right and Left
* Recovery from Cults
* Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change
* Strange Gods: The Great American Cult Scare
* Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism
* Twisted Scriptures
* When Prophecy Fails
* The Wrong Way Home
* Zealot: A Book About Cults

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