Megan Everts
Professor Holmes
English 111
2 October 2014
Cults and Religion, are they really similar?
People always need something to believe in. Whether the something is truth or a lie. Religion is a touchy subject to talk about; because, If people don’t like what you have to say about their religion then all hell will break loose. Cults are the same but different, if people don’t like it the people in the cult doesn’t care what others think of them. Religion and cults are very different, but at the same time they’re similar. The different kind of cults are Destructive cult, suicide, and political, charismatic this is only a few groups. In Religion they have different Gods that people believe in, Christianity believes in only one God and they only thing we have do is believe in him. We don’t have to go out and kill people who do not believe in the same religion. Islam believes in Allah. “Allah” is not a personal God. He is far above all men and cannot be known. Allah asks his people to make war against “the infidels”. (Baker 44) Infidels (people who aren’t Islamic).
Cults are referred to a minor religious sect that practices its own peculiar rituals. It is usually led by a madman or a charlatan, when a new cult arises the news usually describes it as “New illness”, when one joins a cult one will give up the opportunity for decision making and complies with the group’s norm, which may conflicts with ones’ needs. (Galanter 81) There are many different cults, but the one that caught my eyes was the Charismatic group, it’s similar to Religion. In a charismatic group they have hundreds or thousands more followers. The Group is characterized by the psychological elements: members have a shared belief system, they have a high level of social cohesive, are strongly influenced by the groups’ behavioral norms, impute charismatic (or sometimes divine) power to the groups’ leadership. We can see that the cognitive basis for this conformity are “shared beliefs”. It’s the same for religions people believe in the same thing; they could believe in the same god or have the same morals. When these groups are religious in nature, their beliefs are often codified. (Galanter 4) In the Charismatic group the Inclination to participate in local groups is observed in the most diverse cultures, emerging no doubt from the advantage. A community confers in meeting daily needs and contending with adversity. In these groups, the leader discusses what is going on and what they need to do. Just as the pastor preaches in Church, we go to church on Sunday to listen to the scriptures. God said that we need to obey the “ten commandments” and repent if you sin. In the Unification church, people may but themselves in risk by working without a break or postpone childbearing for many of years because that’s what they believe. Also, for Islam their god “Allah” says to go kill the “infidels” because that’s what there god tells them to do and that what they believe. When people risk themselves it is called “self- Sacrificing behavior and this is found in most cultures, it can help meet the needs of a group to wage war, endure dislocation, or survive in times of economic privation.
In a lot of religions, people believe in different things or different gods, some do not even believe in a god. In cults some believe in God others do not. Some believe that their leader is a God, and others believe that there isn’t a God. One Religion is Naturalism it
