Summary
For this assignment, I chose option 3, which was to read an article on cults, and summarize what I have read. I chose to read the article "What is a cult?" So I can have more knowledge on this topic. I learned that cults are more than likely to cause conflicts between their groups as well as their society, which causes these cults to become isolated from others, specified in ways such as "psychologically if not physically, governed by hidden agendas, and totalistic, that is, they will dictate, sometimes with excruciating specificity, how members should think, feel, and act." I think this is something important to note about cults, to know their certain tactics in certain situations. The article also tells me how cults can sometimes be religious with many different beliefs, wether that is psychotherapeutic, political, or commercial. This goes to show that cults can range from many different types of beliefs, religious or not. Something very useful to the topic that gave a good amount of information was at the beginning of the article, where the author specifies that a cult is a group or a movement that to a significant degree:
1. Exhibits great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea, or thing,
2. Uses a thought-reform program to persuade, control, and socialize members (i.e., to integrate them into the group’s unique pattern of relationships, beliefs, values, and practices).
3. Systematically induces states of psychological dependency in members.
4. Exploits members to advance the leadership’s goals.
5. Causes psychological harm to members, their families, and the community.
Yenelli Cabreja
