Cults, which are groups of people with similar beliefs that may stray from mainstream

belief, are often times dangerous because they can become manipulative to the point in which

people lose their own identities, and in extreme cases they are even led to their own deaths. I

will explain how and why people join cults, circumstances in one’s life, and persuasive leader’s.

I will also explain the effects of cults, the effects on a person’s life, and the effects on society.

People join cults because they want to feel like they belong to a family that respects them

and takes care of them. The affects it has on a person’s life is very traumatic; for instance the cult

leader will try to separate the individual from his family and try to isolate them from the outside

world. This usually causes a lot of psychiatric issues for instance the individual might lose his or

her identity. Another problem is the cult leader might order his members to commit suicide. This

usually makes the individual’s family go through hard times; it also affects the community, by

making the community is on the news for weeks and weeks at a time.

There are many different types of cults many of them include Rasta’s, scientology, the

Manson family, and many others. They have many beliefs and reasons. They usually have a

smart fearless gruesome leader called a cult leader. This cult leader will use mind control and

persuasive techniques. To try to manipulate an innocent person to join. Charles Manson used

drugs and LSD to make innocent hippies join his cult. And also L. Ron Hubbard used mind

control techniques to try to seduce members to join. And with Rasta’s you are pretty much born

into it.

The number of cults is uncertain, it is estimated that there is roughly 3,000 cults

that exist throughout the world, 3 million members worldwide. Many cults were also accepted as

religions like Christianity, Quakers, Mormons and swedenborgians.

There were many other cults, such as ISK, a very common cult that wore orange robes

and they were from Asia. Binhi, are a cult that tried to discus and debate the bible with politics.
There was also a cult from Texas calling themselves the branch davidians, which was a cult led

by a so called prophet called David Koresh.

There was a more known cult that originated in the Caribbean island of Jamaica. This cult

was called Rastafarians. In the 1920’s they began as a political movement. The name Rastafarian

comes from Ras Tafari, a name held from the Ethiopian king Haile Selassie. They also known for

their use of marijuana which they call “ganja”, they believe that it cleanses the body of bad

thoughts. There god is a man named ja. Which they believed he made many Africans become

slaves to whites. In their teachings they taught that all Africans are descendants of ancient

Hebrews.

There was also a cult calling them self’s scientologist, Scientology was formed in the

1960’s by a self proclaimed prophet L Ron Hubbard. L Ron Hubbard was a science fiction writer

that wrote many books such as dianetics. They belief that every person is a mortal being that was

born over and over again. There is also a secret doctrine that states that are mind are controlled

by extraterrestrial beings. Many claim that scientology is a business and not a religion. They say

this because when you join scientology they want you to pay a thousand dollars every auditing

session. Auditing is where scientologist use a device called an auditor to clear the mind of

engrams, which is a recording of a painful event not accessible to the human mind.

There was also another very famous cult led by Charles Manson. Charles Manson

was born on November 12, 1934 in Cincinnati, Ohio