New Religious Movements and Cults Essay Sample

New religious movements (NRMs) have existed for several centuries due to people’s desire for a sense of purpose in the uncertain world around them, but the intentions of NRMs have greatly changed due to various factors within the past several decades. Danielle Kirby, a religious researcher at the University of Sydney, states that the issues involved around new religious movements today are vastly more different than the ideas that confronted them in the 1970s and 1980s (Kirby and Cusack, 2014). Although new religious movements are not entirely new, the extent to which they can reach now is a very pressing issue today. New NRMs can be referred to as “cults” when considered as a social movement more than a religion itself. Cults can impact people psychologically and physically but there are many differing views on the matter due to the political history and psychological studies of cults and their members. This change in intention and purpose of cults begs the question of how cult practices directly affect the population.

A major conflict in the debate of whether or not cults negatively impact the human population is the argument of if cults take advantage of their constituents. Cyndi Matthews- a counselor from the University of North-Texas, Dallas- conducted a study on first-generation and second-generation cult members where research found that ex-cult participants were commonly told to not question authority which caused dependency through submission and obedience (Matthews, 2017). This evidence demonstrates that the cult members were dependent on their leaders to an extent that would cause leaving the cult to be very difficult. Alvaro Castano, a psychologist from the University of Cordoba, agrees with this idea that cults cause members to lose their autonomy by expressing that cults take advantage of vulnerable people to recruit them (Castano et al. 2021). Some vulnerable characteristics that may lead the cult to scout out certain people are dissatisfaction of life, spirituality, uncertainty, and familial issues (Castano et al. 2021). By cults abusing these vulnerability factors, it may lead to struggling people being coerced into a situation that may not be safe for them. All of these factors demonstrate a difficult time in a person’s life that could be taken advantage of very easily.  Although this could potentially be the case, E. Stone from the department of social sciences at Auckland University, counters this by adducing to a cult in Brazil which has gained popularity recently called Saltico Quantico (Stone, 2017). Within this NRM, it helps individuals to take ownership of their lives and promotes empowerment (Stone, 2017). The evidence of this new cult suggests that there are various reasons as to why people join cults and that all cults do not have the intention of forcing themselves to depend on another group. Danielle Kirby builds on this claim by stating that NRMs are actually a sign of a free society and that historically when NRMs are present, civilization is healthier (Kirby and Cusack, 2014). This concludes that cults can be a positive movement when done correctly and that they are actually a way of ensuring freedom and autonomy. By allowing people to be more well-informed on cults, it could help fix this issue.

Another extensive issue within the cult community is the mental effects that influence the participants’ lives. Cindi H. Matthews points out in their study on cult members that the first-generation cult participants experienced depression, a sense of betrayal, and suicidal tendencies throughout their time in the cult and that all participants reported psychological abuse while in the cult (Matthews, 2017). While this does not take into account all cult members, it does give insight as to how several cults treat their participants negatively which can impact them severely. Cecilia M. Weigel, a teacher of religion and law from George Mason University, agrees with this idea by stating that several cases have been brought up in court alleging that cults intentionally inflict emotional distress, falsely imprison, and cause wrongful death amongst their members (Weigel, 2020). Though these claims are usually alleged and not immediately proven, having these common allegations is a major warning for society. Although there are several allegations, E. Stone states that Saltico Quantico promotes purely empowerment within the cult  (Stone, 2017). This alludes to the idea that cults can provide individuals with positive experiences which can help them through life and that not all cults incent to harm them. A trauma-informed practice expert from the University of Newcastle, Dominiek Coates, states that cults forcing participants to disconnect from reality allows people to develop themselves and understand complex society (Coates, 2013). This study shows that cults compelling willing people to disconnect emotionally can be a positive thing for their lives in the end. A solution to both sides of this could be for the government to regulate cults more and ensure that negative practices are not occurring within the cult by inspecting the cult and its members.

An issue that directly affects cults are the rights associated with keeping them legal throughout all of the debate. Marianna Ruah-Midbar, the head founder of the BA program of spirituality, and Adam Clin-Oron, an anthropologist, state that cults are dangerous and need to be illegalized due to the fact that the laws concerning cults are far too relaxed for the harm that they cause (Ruah-Midbar and Clin-Oron, 2013). This suggests that cults cause more harm than people have realized and the court system needs to enhance the laws associated to restrict their unethical abilities to keep people safe. People need to rely on the government to feel safer throughout the already tough time they will be going through after leaving the cult. Stephen Mutch, a prior politician in the South Wales Legislative Council, cites a time when France tried to help its people by breaking up a cult called the Temple of the Sun which was performing sectarian abuses to its participants (Mutch, 2016). Through this decision to help its citizens, France was met with severe criticism from the United States and several religious cults for infringing on the people of France’s religious freedom (Mutch, 2016). Through this example, it indicates that cultic abuse is widely normalized and that religious freedom can excuse the abuse happening which can lead to a very precarious future for the world. Stephan Pretorius, who has a Ph.D. in philosophy of religion, refutes this claim by explaining that the freedom of religion is not absolute freedom and must be practiced while maintaining the basic human rights and common laws (Pretorius, 2011). This information shows that people’s freedom of religion must abide by several laws and not everything can be excused by the claim of religious freedom. If the cult is following the laws, there should be no reason for the government to illegalize it. Steven Autenrieth, a lawyer from The University of Arizona, builds on this idea by noting that without violation of state laws, cults are legal (Autenrieth, 2027). By a law requiring one to be stripped of their religious identity, it would be depriving a person of their freedom and they would be subjected to obligatory treatments (Autenrieth, 2017). This information illustrates the idea that by making cults illegal and restraining their rights, the people’s freedom would be violated in a negative way. To solve this problem, law enforcement should be better equipped to spot harmful cultic tendencies before they turn abusive. 

Overall, the debate on cultic issues is very widespread throughout the world for several reasons. To ensure that people can practice their religious freedoms while maintaining a positive lifestyle free from cultic abuse, the government should take on more of a role through law enforcement training on cults, spreading information, and inspecting NRMs. Cults are a very important aspect to life for many people so coming to a conclusion where both sides agree is very crucial. Cultic abuse is a serious issue but not all cults are inherently negative which should be taken into major consideration.