Doomsday cults

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

5 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

04/22/2009

Category :

Political science

Sub category :

Social sciences

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Summary :

Introduction
Heaven's gates: Human Individual Metamorphosis by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles
1. The meeting in the hospital in Houston
2. Focus on an assortment of ideas
3. Nettles' death
Aum Shinrikyo
1. Attracting young graduates from Japan's elite educational institutions
Conclusion
Works cited

Abstract

Of over ten thousand new religious movements across the globe, less than twenty are considered destructive cults. The contemporary definition of cult refers to a relatively small group of people whose religious beliefs and practices depart from the conventional standards of society. Most cults that have surfaced in the United States since the 1960's have been indicated by a revived interest in mysticism and Asian religions, while others have Christian origins. They appear to suit the needs of urban, middle-class youth and are often associated with the counter culture. Amid sociologists, religious groups are pigeonholed as ecclesiae, denominations, cults or sects, though this sorting of course depends on the society in which the group exists, particularly the location and time period. By this standard, a cult is a group with a high degree of tension with surrounding society merged with novel religious ideas.