Sects and Cults

Category: Fields of research

Ernst Troeltsch, German theologian, in The Social Teaching of the Christian Churches (1912), further developed Weber’s typology of religious thought and participation. Troeltsch presents three different approaches to Christianity that developed over time: (1) church – it is an institution that can adjust to the outside world; (2) sect - a voluntary association of believers, separated from the outside world; and (3) mysticism - the personal emotional experience of Christian teachings. Troeltsch argues that in early Christianity there were two basic tendencies of organizational development. The first stressed the importance of unity of free and equal believers, they had idealistic tendencies and they kept apart from wider society. The second stressed the importance of a strong organization that can implement its practical goals. Church developed from the first tendency and sect from the first tendency. The church is more conservative, and it wants to integrate with the state and upper classes and use them as a means of ruling all aspects of the public and private lives of believers. The sect is a small organization oriented to inner perfection and close relationship with believers. Sect functions outside wider society and has uninterested or hostile relationship with it. Sects are often oriented toward oppressed classes of people. Misticism, as a third type of approach to Christianity developed as a result of conflicts between churches and sects.

Richard Niebuhr, in his book The Social Sources of Denominationalism (1975), studies the dramatic transformations of religious organizations and institutions in the United States. Niebuhr expounds on dual church-sect typology, introducing the third type of religious organization – denomination – that is position between the church and the sect. Denominations are bigger and more institutionalized than sect, but are smaller and less monopolistic than churches. Denominations, like churches, have bureaucratic and hierarchical organization and are inclusive and appeal to all members of society. Denominations differ from churches as they don’t claim a monopoly on religious truth, they are separated from the state and believe in the separation of church and state.

Bryan Wilson, in Religion in a Secular Society (1966) connects the way of salvation, which a sect preaches, with the developmental path of that sect. If a sect preaches salvation by excluding an individual from the wider world, as Seventh-day Adventists or Jehovah's Witnesses do, that sect cannot grow into a denomination without losing its essential nature. On the other hand, sects that promote salvation through proselytism, seek to gather as many members as possible, and do so within the wider society, have the potential to transform into denominations (the main example being evangelical sects in the United States).

In Patterns of Sectarianism (1967) Wilson introduces a typology of sects, based on their relationship to the outside world, so he singles out the seven types of sects. 1) Conversionist - believers focus on the corruptness of the world which is driven by the corruptness of humans, hence they seek a supernatural transformation, through ritual initiation, of his/her self to change the world. Examples are Salvation Army and Pentecostal movements. 2) Revolutionist or Adventist - believers hold that the entire world or existing social order must be destroyed to save humans. Examples are Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses. 3) Introversionist - believers view the world as evil and their response is to withdraw from the outer world as fully as possible. Examples are the Hutterites and Amish. 4) Gnostic-manipulationist – proponents believe that salvation comes through long-term mastering of the right means and techniques to overcome their problems. Examples are Christian Science and Scientology. 5) Taumaturgical – members are clients of gurus, mediums, sorcerers, healers, and miracle workers. An example is spiritualism. 6) Reformist - People must seek supernaturally-bestowed insights that enable them to help people and do charitable work. An example is the Quakers. 7) Utopian – believers create communes that represent a model for social change and renewal. An example is Bruderhof communities.

In Religious Sects (1970), Wilson gives precise definitions of sect and denomination. The sect has the following characteristics: it is a closed religious organization, membership in the sect is based on a voluntary approach, joining the organization requires an act of conversion, great commitment is expected from members, violating members can be easily expelled, each sect believes it has the only true learning, it has no contact with the wider society, and there is no professional clergy. The denomination has voluntary membership, but there is no formal way to expel it from membership. The denomination is less isolated from the wider society, has good relations with other churches and denominations, and does not claim to have a monopoly on religious truth. They have professional clergy.

Roland Robertson, in The Sociological Interpretation of Religion (1970), introduces a four-tiered classification of religious organizations. This classification has two dimensions. In the first dimension organizations are divided on the basis of their rules toward membership – is it closed or open? Another dimension looks at the source of legitimacy – whether it is plural or singular. In the end, he comes up with four types: 1) institutionalized sect (closed membership and plural legitimacy, 2) sect (closed membership and singular legitimacy), 3) denomination (open membership and plural legitimacy), and 4) church (open membership and singular legitimacy).

Milton Yinger, in his book Religion and the Struggle for Power (1947), studied both sects and cults. He introduced a six-level classification of religious organizations: cult, sect, established sect, class church/denomination, ecclesia, and universal church. He believes that many sects and cults have the potential, depending on complex social and historical conditions, to grow into institutionalized churches. Yinger believes that both churches and sects can lose their significance, churches because they adapt too much to secular society, and sects because of their exclusivity and radical action.

Janja Lalich presents the main features of cults in her book Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships (2006). She argues that any closed group can become a cult, not only those based on religious beliefs. Shared characteristics of cults are: 1) group exerts unrestrained obedience to its leader (dead or alive) and follows his or her beliefs and practices as law, an unquestioning Truth; 2) any dissent or questioning is frown upon or punished; 3) regular practices that introduce psychological change in form of obsequiousness; 4) control over thoughts, actions and feelings; 5) groups deems itself as special and above everybody else; 6) group is in conflict with wider society and share polarized insider-outsider mentality; 7) the leader is above and is not responsible to any inner or outside authority; 8) teaching that fulfillment of group goal demand and justify all means; 9) inducing feeling of shame and guilt to control members; 10) disengaging with the family and friends and altering behavior; 11) preoccupation with acquiring new members; 12) preoccupation with money; 13) members are expected to devote their time to group; 14) preference for in-group socialization; 15) the most loyal follower devout their whole life to the group and cannot imagine life outside the group.

Steven Hassan developed “BITE model of authoritarian control” that cults use to manipulate its members. BITE is an acronym for four aspects of control in cults: behavior, information, thought, and emotion.

Behavior control - Cults discourage individualism, and instilling dependency and obedience and group-think. To do so they exert total control through rigid rules and regulations over an individual’s physical reality, personal time, friendships, romantic and sexual relationships, diet, sleeping, clothing, and hairstyle. Disobedience of rules can lead to various forms of punishment: kidnapping, beating, torture, rape, separation, imprisonment, murder, deprivation of sleep, branding, etc.

Information control – deception, restricting access to non-cult sources of information, compartmentalization of information sharing, encouragement of mutual spying, cult-generated propaganda, and unethical confessions.

Thought control – internalization of group’s doctrine as truth, dualistic view of the world (good and evil, we vs. them), loaded language that constricts thought, knowledge, and criticism, rejection of rational and critical thinking, hypnotic techniques for altering mental states, manipulation of memories, etc.

Emotional control – constriction of the range of feelings, declaring some emotions negative (evil, wrong, or selfish), blocking negative feelings, promoting feelings of personal fault, guilt, unworthiness, instilling fears and phobias of outside world or of infractions against the group and its rules, causing emotional extremes in members, ritualistic and public confessions of sins.

Empirical Research on Sects and Cults

In the book The Making of a Moonie: Brainwashing or Choice? (1984a), Eileen Barker presented the results of a seven-year empirical study of the cult of the Unification Church of the United States, whose members, in jargon, are called Moonies. Through the use of interviews (with members, and former members) and participatory observation, Barker concluded that members of the Unification Church were not victims of brainwashing, but made conscious decisions about joining this religious organization.

Anthropologist Peter Worsley spent several years in Australia, where he conducted field research on the Melanesian population and the results were published in The Trumpet Shall Sound: A Study of „Cargo Cults“ in Melanesia (1957). This book describes the millenarian cults that developed among the Melanesian tribes, which refer to the belief that goods that arrive by airplanes, to Europeans who lived in Malaysian islands, are gifts that the ancestors of Europeans send to their descendants. The Melanesians developed the so-called "cargo cults" because they expected that their ancestors would start sending goods to them as well.

James Beckford, in his doctoral study, The Trumpet of Prophecy (1975), researched the religious organization Jehovah's Witnesses. This study was one of the first thorough sociological studies of this religion and still represents a standard work on this topic.

References:

Bainbridge. Satan's Power (1978);

- The Future of Religion (1985);

- A Theory of Religion (1987);

- Sociology of Religious Movements (1997);

- The Endtime Family: Children of God (2002);

Barker. The Making of a Moonie: Brainwashing or Choice? (1984a);

- Of Gods and Men: New Religious Movements in the West (1984b);

- New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction (1989);

- Sects, Cults and New Religions (2008);

- Revisionism and Diversification in New Religious Movements (2013);

Beckford. The Trumpet of Prophecy (1975);