There is a serious sect threat in the modern world. We hear such a sentence very often, but not all of us are aware of what a sect is, how can it be found, and what the consequences may be? This subject raises more interest or concerns, especially during the holiday season. Meanwhile, anyone can go to a sect, regardless of their level of intelligence and education, all year round.
Cults (destructive groups) are groups that:
- They are total characters. Group leaders claim absolute authority and the right to interfere in all areas of their members' lives, even the most intimate ones.
- They acquire new members by resorting to various deceptions and lies, concealing important information about the group's activities, its goals, and doctrine.
- The addict the participants psychologically and economically by means of (psycho) manipulation techniques - they have a negative impact on the psychological development of the adept and his social relations (e.g. breaking ties with loved ones, quitting work or studies).
- They are cult in a broad sense, not necessarily religious. It can be a cult of a person, energy, health, money, success, etc.
- They create a sharp division of reality into what is "good", that is related to the group, and "threatening", related to the outside world (black and white vision of reality).
- They instill in their members the belief that the movement is elitist and reluctant to dialogue with the world outlook.
The fulfillment of the above-mentioned criteria by a group may be the basis for qualifying it as a destructive group potentially posing a threat to the individual and society.
Indicators, the appearance of which should be a warning signal for parents or friends of people threatened by the influence of a destructive group/sect:
- Sudden marked personality change.
- Giving the impression of the absence.
- Closing in on yourself and mystery.
- Using a new language - sect jargon.
- A new way of eating.
- New social contacts.
- Loss of sense of humor.
- Loss of ability to look critically.
- Exaggerated criticism.
- Adopting an aggressive, defensive posture.
- Change of natural facial expressions.
- Loss of abstract thinking skills and failure to use metaphors, loss of fluency, and change in the way in which you formulate your thoughts.
- Limitation of the ability to enter into intimate relationships.
- Lack of affection and coolness with family and friends.
- Physical changes - sudden weight loss or weight gain caused by inadequate diet, insomnia, fatigue.
- Neurotic and psychotic behaviors, suicidal tendencies.
- Unusual excitement and vitality.
- Fascinations with new literature.
What to do when someone close to you may come into contact with a sect?
Don't panic. Your action must be carefully thought out. If you let your behavior be decided by emotions, you will lose. Identify the phenomenon. If a loved one has actually met new people and you believe they are a sect, learn something about them instead of polemics. Do not make any judgments or assessments. Just ask and listen to the answer. Leave your conclusions to yourself. Try not to adversely affect your contact with a cult member. Be nice, don't scream, try not to argue. The sect tries to convince your loved ones that you do not love him at all, and that they only love him. Try to communicate without arguing and maintain good contact. He is absolutely not allowed to argue with him about his group. Repeat him over and over that you love him and that you will not abandon him no matter what he says or does. Collect information. First of all, you need to understand the problem. Find out who your loved one is dating. Keep a friendly tone when doing so. First, ask yourself: What is actually going on in my home? What is this group, who founded it, and why? Is it possible to influence a person in such a way? How did they do this to him? What should I do in this situation? You can get some of this information from your loved one if you ask questions in a friendly manner. For others, you can get answers at the Cult Information Center.
Write down all addresses and phone numbers of people with whom a loved one is dating. Also, write down the titles of new books and brochures that he brings home. Do it discreetly. Do not tell him about your suspicions or about the actions taken. Read books that are critical of the group. See if there are any sites on the Internet run by former members of the group. Seek contact with former members and people similar to yours. Together you can do more! Report to a cult information center as soon as possible. Those working there will know how to advise you, or who to send to.
In the 1970s, new socio-cultural phenomena appeared in the United States of America and Western Europe - groups referring to various forms of religiosity, mysticism, and spirituality. These movements, alternative to the great religions of the world (mainly Christianity), often destroying the existing social order, receive pejorative names: new religious movements, cults, sects, psycho cults, destructive cults, quasi-or pseudo-religions. They are often led by people hungry for power and money, who, under the guise of associations or religious groups, try to fulfill their ambitions by spreading their own teachings, the new order of things, and the moral order. At the end of the 1980s, these groups find their way to Poland, where they find fertile ground. From the very beginning, new religious movements have been a negative part of the Polish cultural landscape (disappearances of young people, crimes, psycho-manipulation, "brainwashing"). From the nineties of the twentieth century to the present day, many scientists have tried to explain the term "sect", unfortunately to no avail. This concept refers to a specific community, a union of a group of people that has emerged from some great religion, social or ideological movement. Due to its multiple importance, it should be considered on various levels - linguistic (linguistic), religious studies, sociological, psychological and legal.
Some experts in controversial groups reject the term "sect", wanting to replace it with others that have less negative connotations. They propose alternative names: "new religious movement", "cult group", "para-religious group", "psycho-manipulation group", "new religion" and others. It is possible, however, that if you replace the term "sect" with another wording, it will also turn pejoratively over time. The word "sect" comes from the Latin language (sequor) and means: to imitate someone, follow someone. In this sense, the very term sect can also be applied to the historic Christian churches, which, after all, follow their Master Jesus of Nazareth.
The word "sect" also has another meaning that is derived etymologically from the Latin word secare and means to cut off, to detach. And this meaning is perhaps the most significant for new religious movements that are disconnecting, separating themselves from their mother churches, taking over some elements from them but at the same time creating entirely new groups. The linguistic approach is closely related to the religious approach, according to which "sect" means a group or religious movement separated from some great world religion or a religious association that broke away from one of the churches or religious communities and adopted its own doctrinal principles and organizational structure. Thus, a sect is a religious group with its own worldview, derived from some great religion (Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam), but radically separate and different from it, but we do not identify with it. These groups are usually considered a threat to the freedom of citizens and society. They are distinguished by certain specific behaviors: they often have an authoritarian structure, they use various forms of brainwashing and thought control, group pressure, they infuse their members with a sense of guilt and fear.
There is consensus within sociology that sects can emerge not only in religious communities. For this reason, the term "sect" is sometimes used in several senses - broader and narrower. In a broader sense, a "sect" is a group characterized by sharp isolation from the environment, resulting from its own, separate, usually oppositional system of values, with a strongly emphasized role of a leader. It is characterized by a strong internal bond, most often the only one for its members, and the requirement of absolute obedience and loyalty. Thus, a sect is a social group whose most important feature is isolation from other social groups. It is not only about spatial isolation but about worldview, ideological or psychological isolation.
In a narrow sociological sense, a sect "is a group equipped with an intersubjective system of integration, consisting in conscious, voluntary, and deliberate submission to strictly defined rules and rigors of community life. Members of such groups are fully aware of their belonging. " Such groups are most often formed as a result of the protest of a certain number of followers against what is happening in an ecclesiastical organization, and then lead to a break with it and the creation of a new organization in the form of a sect.
According to Max. Weber and Ernst. Troeltsch's sect is a community "based on a benevolent contract, as opposed to an institutional church community, into which members are automatically incorporated by being born into a family with a given religious profile." The authors emphasize that some sectarian groups arose independently of the churches, without any doctrinal, ritual, or organizational connection with them. Nor are they an expression of some reform or protest within the religious community. Like M. Weber and E. Troeltsch - Jean Sequy sees in the sect "a relationship arose on the basis of a mutual and voluntary agreement of people who, after some specific religious experiences, decided to bond with other Christians who had the same experience. The group formed in this way bases its legitimacy on the bond that binds the faithful between themselves and God. "
The psychological approach to the problem of "sects" emphasizes the totalitarian nature of a group that violates basic human rights or the principles of social coexistence. It has a destructive effect on an individual, a family through the use of psychological and sociological techniques, physical, mental, and material use, which makes the person dependent on the group or its leader.
Human Rights Commission December 10, 1993, She defined sects as "religious or non-religious groups whose practices most often conflict with legislation defending the rights of persons or the functioning of a lawful state," and the conduct of sectarians was described as follows: "(...) circumventing the law by committing active insults, abductions, abuse of trust, fraud, financial and tax crimes, ill-treatment, refusal to help people in danger, incitement to racial hatred, drug trafficking. " In the light of the law, a sect is a social group with a highly developed power structure, characterized by a significant divergence of declared and implemented goals, and the concealment of norms that significantly regulate the lives of its members. It violates basic human rights and the principles of social coexistence, and its impact on members, supporters, families, and society are destructive.
Lecturer in psychology at the Salesian University in Rome - E. Fizzotti, believes that the sects do not actually propose any faith, but only give individual, internal experiences based on emotions, sentiments, feelings, in which crying, hugs, shouts of joy or phenomena play a significant role. extrasensory - trance, prophecy, and healings - freedom different from that based on reason and conscience.
It should be remembered that not all movements can be called "sects" without exception. The term is not to be applied without reflection to Christian churches or communities, as well as to great non-Christian religions. One has to distinguish between church and sect and between religion and sect. H.R. Niebuhr stated that a given man becomes a member of the church by birth, and he enters the sect alone when he is mature. J. Wach, on the other hand, noted that this is true in some cases, as some people enter the church or are sect members from birth.
M. Weber and E. Troeltsch, mentioned earlier in this work, were the first sociologists to define a sect in opposition to the Church.
In this way, a certain line is drawn between "destructive" sects and religious factions, or "new religious movements," and other esoteric-occult groups that do not violate the fundamental laws established by the constitution.
The following criteria determine whether a group is harmful:
1. Power - in whose hands does it rest?
2. Leader - is he an autocrat or does he take the votes of the group into account?
3. Internal structure - what is the margin of freedom, what rules govern shaping attitudes, community, marital, and family life?
4. Finance - where does the money come from, how is it used and controlled?
5. Life of adepts - how are they recruited, do they take part in social life, what is the social care and vocational training like?
Despite the above criteria, recognizing the harmfulness of a given group is much more difficult today than it used to be. In the early seventies, to demonstrate the dangerous movements, it was enough to observe the methods used - intrusive recruitment in public places and collecting donations, strong indoctrination and some kind of jargon, the concentration of wealth in the hands of individuals. However, after 1978. new wave groups try to "disappear in the crowd", following generally accepted principles of functioning.
They practice propaganda under the guise of educational, philanthropic, and cultural associations. They are mainly interested in the environments affected by the crisis, some groups call themselves "scientific" and therapeutic, claiming that their activity is psychotechnics.
The literature on the subject knows sociological and anthropological typologies as well as divisions of cult groups and sects. There are many types of sects in terms of form and content (theological, sociological, psychological, geographic, historical, ethnic, racial). They are generally a response to doctrinal, moral, or legal inadequacies in their mother religion. The criteria they use are both religious and social. The following breakdowns are by no means exhaustive, but they are intended to help cover such a complex social phenomenon as sects.
One of the typologies created by Roy Wallis divides new religious movements due to their relationship to the social world, to the prevailing political order. These are groups affirming the existing political and social order, groups adopting the prevailing order, and groups rejecting and contesting the real social world. This typology includes such religious groups that express a critical attitude to the principles governing the organization of societies, question the rules contained in culture, which, in their opinion, lead to worldview deformations and make it difficult for mankind to achieve the basic goal of salvation.
The most common type of sects is pluralist communities that treat all religions and religious groups as equal, equally fulfilling God's will and confirming the rule of universality and universality of religion. They do not stand in opposition to any of the existing worldviews, they do not emerge through rebellion, schism, or separation. This character is assumed by many contemporary sects, adapting to the requirements of democratic societies. The sects of Hindu, Buddhist, or Protestant origins are representative here. Some absorb elements of other religions, others want to exist and operate beyond the divisions and conflicts of the modern world. One of the pluralistic sects is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
The second type of sects, in a way opposite to the first, is made up of separatist (isolation, independent) communities, showing a tendency to escapism, isolationism, and escape from reality. They can be sects with utopian, mystical, or contestation origins. Adventist sects are considered to be the most common type. Such sects include, among others Moon Unification Church, Family of Love groups. Another type of sect is groups of a schismatic nature, which arose as a result of conflicts and splits within wider religious communities, as well as secessionist, heretical, and heretical groups. Civil or church law becomes a frequent criterion for distinguishing such sects and cult groups. Most of these groups die and perish. Some, especially those with high institutional potential and numerous members, form separate multi-generational churches. It was on this principle that The Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Church, the Anglican Church.
Escapist sects, as a rule, challenge not only the existing religious and moral order, but also do not recognize the principles of the social order. Most often they are radical rebels against normative systems, with the exception of their own. The values adopted by them are in direct contradiction to those generally accepted. Thus, there is a strong sense of separateness and alienation, which arose in a climate of rebellion, opposition, and opposition to the majority. The satanic sect is representative of this type of sect.
The sects that froze in a somewhat rigid confessional shape are traditional, orthodox, and orthodox religious groups. They are often referred to as pietist sects. These are usually those that emerged during the reforms of the theological and church system, supporting the previous religious doctrine or returning to the traditions drawn from the first Christian communities. Usually, these are sects with very strict morals and rules of internal conduct with strictly defined gender segregation. Within this type of community, there is no private property, when interpreting the truths of faith, they are based on the idea of love for one's neighbor and not harming one's neighbor.
The messianic sects include both the millenarian, scientist, and Adventist sects. These are sects characterized by a strong mobilization towards tasks treated as coming from God. When carrying out missionary activities, they usually locate themselves within groups with a relatively small number of members. These sects can also be escapist or schismatic. The Unification Church belongs to this type of sect.
Utopian sects are based on purely religious or para-scientific assumptions. Many of them are scientist-atheistic in nature. They are formed and function on the basis of optimistic faith in the possibility of human finding and realization of the ideal, absolute form of group organization. Most of these types of sects refer to community principles, ties of the primitive type as the only ones capable of giving a social group the characteristics of perfection.
Syncretic sects are sects whose beliefs and dogmas are a mixture of elements of different faiths. They are usually derived from one religion but incorporated into their dogmas canons derived from other religions.
Another classification of sects was proposed by the Interministerial Team
for New Religious Movements in a Report on some phenomena related to the activities of sects in Poland.
In the report, the sects were divided: because of the attitude towards religion, because of the attitude of doctrines to the existing world, because of the attitude to values recognized by society.
1) Due to their attitude to religion, sects are divided into religious sects, non-religious sects, and syncretic sects.
The religious sects are divided into:
- due to the reasons for the creation:
• arose as a result of separation within the parent religion or, more broadly, religion;
• Established in parallel to existing denominations as self-contained, autonomously new religions.
- due to the sources and object of worship:
• Derived from Christianity - a group of movements claiming that their example is the fulfillment of the idea of Christianity. They believe that they complete or creatively develop a work that Jesus (in their opinion) did not complete;
• Eastern - referring to the religions of the Far East, mainly Buddhism and Hinduism.
• Islamic - referring to the Muslim tradition;
• Neopagan - referring to the Proto-Slavic religions;
• Ecological - movements of a pantheistic nature, referring to religious or quasi-religious motivation, promoting ideas of deep ecology;
• Neodeistic - in their creeds they refer to the principles of seventeenth-century deism;
• Derived from individual revelation - founded by those who have experienced a strong religious experience - the revelation. A number of members gather around the contents of this revelation proclaimed by the founder and they undertake the work of creating a more or less formalized community, the charism of the founder is strong, he can transfer his experience into a more permanent organizational framework;
• UFO worshipers - believe in the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations and interpret the historical religions of mankind as a variant of their own belief in aliens, sometimes these beliefs take the form of a thesis about the constant contacts of extraterrestrial beings with terrestrials;
• Theosophical, occult, and Rosicrucians - referring to esoteric traditions, alchemy, magic, and spiritism;
• Satanic - very diverse groups - starting from youth protest and fashion, they can be an illustration for metal music trends, but they are mainly a form of worship of nature, strength, and rebellion against the - bourgeois, prudish, hypocritical, and Christian (also understood as the cult of pity) civilization or worship of an impersonal or personal evil seen in Satan and his angels;
• Movements of hidden human potential, healing, and para-science movements - the goal of their work is to extract from man his "hidden potential" that has been suppressed and drowned out. The civilization paradigm focused not on spiritual values, but on material values, is an additional obstacle to overcome, this state can be overcome by methods such as parapsychology, transpersonal psychology, rebirthing, reiki, unconventional medicine, which are activities on the border of psychotherapy and religion.
• Mixed groups - these are groups in which religious doctrine is present with various religious threads, drawn from various religious traditions; the lack of a dominant religious tradition makes it quite difficult to classify, many of them are linked in terms of worldview with New Age spirituality.
Non-religious sects
In terms of non-religious sects, groups will be presented, characteristic for the directions of their activities, because it is impossible to divide them in a way in which individual elements would not overlap. We divide non-religious sects into;
• Psychoanalytical or pseudopsychoanalytical - they want to liberate the subconscious from its weaknesses through parapsychological techniques that are in opposition to classical psychology and psychoanalysis,
• Therapeutic - they offer various types of therapies, pieces of training to cure diseases, give up addictions, rejuvenate, expand the memory, develop media abilities, heal sick mental states,
• Economic - using manipulation techniques and methods of group influence in order to achieve maximum financial benefits,
• Educational - they conduct educational activities in the form of schools, universities, pieces of training, courses, introducing their own teaching techniques and methods,
• Political - they conduct activities of a political nature in order to obtain appropriate influence on the state's situation,
• Alternative - promote the organization of life radically different from society and existing interpersonal relations,
• Healers - they propose therapies that use irrational or distant scientific methods.
Syncretic sects
These groups are characterized by the promotion of religious or non-religious beliefs while being active in the non-religious field, seemingly having no connection with religion. It can be said that these types of sects have many facades that are used as needed.
2) due to the attitude of doctrines to the existing world, sects are divided into rejecting the world and affirming the world.
Rejecting the world:
• Sects striving to change the world through self-improvement and stimulating the improvement of other members of a given society in accordance with a specific doctrine, a system of moral standards supported by adopted ritual forms,
• Sects that are distinguished by an aggressive attitude towards the outside world,
• Sects that do not value the outside world and strive to remove themselves from this world include the so-called Apocalyptic sects which, by predicting an imminent cataclysm, offer their adepts the possibility of physical or spiritual escape.
Affirming the world.
3) due to their attitude to the values recognized by society, sects are divided into:
• Convertistic - those that believe that the world can be made better through human change, missionary moralizing and educational activities,
• Adventist - they proclaim the near end of the world, are opposed to traditional religions, political principles, state and military organizations,
• Pietistic - groups focused on shared, inner mystical experiences, isolating themselves from the outside world,
• Gnostic - valuing knowledge, intellectual values, and not isolating themselves from society.
There are several hundred new sects and religious movements in Poland. In the Report on the State of State Security, the National Security Bureau stated, inter alia, that some of the sects contribute to the emergence of a threat to public order and order.
Characteristics of sects
A broad definition of a sect is often adopted, collecting essential elements of the description of the operation and doctrine of various religious groups commonly regarded as a sect. The characteristic properties of sects include, among others: convincing members of their uniqueness, isolation from the outside world, being guided by voluntarism in their actions, blind submission of members to the leaders of the movement, and fanaticism in confessing the truths and being closed to any dialogues with strangers. In addition, it meets the conditions shaping the group:
a) there is a direct interaction between two or more persons;
(b) they must have a common purpose;
c) group norms exist;
d) there is a group structure.
e) members are aware that they constitute a group of people separate from others.
According to the aforementioned authors - M. Weber, E. Troeltsch
and J. Sequy, the sect, and its members are characterized by:
a) an act of radical departure from traditional religion on the basis of a strong personal or religious experience;
b) clear separation from the current form of faith - the breaking up must take the form of complete separation;
c) requiring full group identification. While nearly every sect emphasizes that salvation is accomplished through personal faith, the requirement for self-identification with faith is much greater than in traditional religious communities;
) control and strong internal organization;
e) enhanced ethical requirements;
f) the spirit of elitism and the leadership's appeal to direct validation by God;
g) doctrinal fanaticism;
h) behaviors accepted by people as irrational, bizarre, or funny They are difficult to define unequivocally, but the following attitudes can be considered "sectarian": treating almost all forms of contemporary culture or organizations serving international good as satanic, depriving parents of influence over their underage children, rejection of some or all forms of medical care;
i) using the faith of adepts for financial purposes, satisfying the ambitions of "chiefs".
G. Mensching believes that the sect is characterized by the following features:
“A) leadership of the charismatic type that embraces supernatural authority;
b) voluntary participation; although not everyone can become a member of a sect, membership is not compulsory;
c) uncompromising, the radical attitude of sect members towards the world and recognized values, often combined with blind fanaticism;
d) a tendency to a one-sided interpretation of doctrine and a narrowing of worship. "
Christian Czurko - who heads one of the institutions providing support to former members of sects and followers of cults - distinguishes four elements of the definition of a harmful cult:
1. Recruitment of new members is carried out without providing precise and detailed information about the goals and work of the group;
2. The group or its leaders derive material benefits from having members, or directly by forcing them to work for which they receive nothing or very meager wages;
3. Members develop a conviction that other views and attitudes are wrong and wrong;
4. The relatives and acquaintances of the group members are harmed - family, friends, and himself. "
Stephen Hassan points to the following factors that may be a characteristic of the sect:
- Unlimited power of the leader (or group leaders)
- Strong emphasis on collecting money and the lack of social control of its spending.
- Difficulties in resigning from membership in the group
- Presenting elements of doctrine and history of the movement differently at the beginning of the engagement and others later
- Obstructing contacts with families.
- Obligation to found families within the group.
- Limiting the inflow of information from the world.
- Tendencies to control the entire time of group members.
- An attitude of hostility towards the "world" - society, political institutions, presented as "the habitat of evil".
- The belief that the group is only one redemptive.
- Hostile or reluctant attitude towards non-religious education.
Cult recruitment means activities aimed at gaining apprentices as well as people favoring the group, providing support when needed. Recruitment techniques are methods used by the sect to attract followers and supporters of the movement. Recruitment techniques are characterized by universal assumptions. Recruitment is done slowly so that the new member will not be able to identify the moment when he started to perceive the surrounding reality in a different way than before (in the same way as the group does).
It is strictly defined what can be told to the recruiter at a given stage, and what to wait - for his own good, of course. The adept may not stay in the group if he is given more than he is able to accept. Such a gradual, gentle introduction to the sect is called the "technique of small steps" - the conveyed content is "infused" into the consciousness of its addressees. Providing all the propaganda content could threaten the addressee with a reception blockade, especially as they are often complicated. Therefore, the entire impact is divided into small elements - small information, additions, laconic comments, etc. These ingredients, when properly dosed together, give the recipient a feeling of a whole.
Cheating is allowed in recruitment, after all, the end justifies the means. The recruiter believes that he is doing the recruiter a favor and is acting for his benefit, even by lying. All sects strive to get to know the people they recruit in detail. They try to find out everything that can be determined, and special attention is paid to dreams, interests, and fears, which can be used in the next stages. Depending on who the recruiters meet, they pass on different information to them. For this purpose, it is diagnosed with what type of person and with what problems. For this purpose, there are interviews with potential adept or proposed surveys, in which the official aim is to assess a phenomenon, and less officially - to accurately recognize a person and adapt the recruitment tactics to his personality. Cult recruitment specialists distinguish three categories: emotional influence, camouflage, and authority. On the basis of the collected information, the toxic groups draw up a kind of psychological portrait that enables the effective indoctrination of the novice. Another mechanism used successfully by sects is customization. Recruiters formulate their message in such a way that it is perceived as the only solution, the only answer to the problems faced by a given person. Therefore, the same doctrine sometimes becomes a prophecy of a new religion, another - an attractive philosophy, and another - a presentation of new and fully verifiable science.
Steven Hassan, a former member of one of the sects with a Christian profile, recalls that the practice of recruitment was to divide newly enrolled believers into four groups: thinkers, vulnerable, practitioners, and believers, with different strategies being applied to each group.
The first impression that a newly met person makes in a person becomes a model of further experiences, emotions, and feelings that this person evokes. Recruiters to sects know this very well when they try to be exceptionally friendly at the first contact. The recruitment event (lecture, concert) provides for free refreshments, surprises for the arrivals, or other attractions. The greater the differences we can perceive between the initial offer of acquaintance and the strength of later experienced feelings of fear of leaving the group or of guilt over-exaggerated or imagined offenses, the more confidently we can talk about manipulation in the emotional sphere.
The basic technique of manipulation is - "love bombing", the so-called love bombing. This technique is based on showing the "new" full acceptance, exceptional cordiality, which is to give the impression of a spontaneous act, and the aim of which is to bind the potential adaptation to the group. "New friends" convince him that he is loved in the group, needed, they show him interest. He is told that in the group he will find happiness, health and learn the truth about life. Usually, the new member is entrusted to the person he or she feels sympathetic to. The recruiter usually fails to notice when he becomes stuck in a carefully woven web, within the reach of the rule of reciprocity for experienced love and acceptance. According to Robert Cialdini, according to the "rule of reciprocity, we are obliged to pay back future favors, gifts, invitations and similar goods that we have received ourselves." The cult recruiter uses this rule to create a commitment and urge rematch. The possibility of a rematch by participating in a recruitment meeting contributes to the growth of sympathy for the person to whom the recruited can do favor this time.
Its hidden effect of "bombing with love" is essential - if the "new" does not adapt quickly enough, he loses "love", which causes him stress and guilt. The group is counting on him, so he tries to be like the people who "love" him.
People who, in their own families or environment, have not experienced a warm, full of acceptance atmosphere, are in a difficult life situation, or are strongly involved in the activities of small, charismatic pastoral groups, are exposed to submission to the bombardment of love by sects. Devoted friends, friendly groups, or acquaintances interested in problems suddenly appear on the roads of such people, and all these people care about making their future adept happy.
Another method of recruiting is the flattery technique. In every human being, there is a need to step out of anonymity, have qualities and qualities noticed by others, and develop their own abilities and possibilities. Manipulating through flattery works best with a weak, insecure individual. An individual confident in his self-esteem seeks confirmation, while uncertain - easily changes the structure of knowledge about himself, others, and the world.
The flattery technique applies largely to public figures. The members of the sects "hunt" for people of extraordinary format - movie stars, politicians, businessmen, to win them over. They convince them that they are valuable, wonderful, and irreplaceable. When such a personality becomes dependent on the emotional umbilical cord, they reap all the benefits of it as well as use it for advertising.
For the sect to survive, the adept must remain under the control of the fanatical group, losing the ability to return to the world. Therefore, in addition to manipulation techniques aimed at initiating the adept's contact with the sect, there are a number of techniques aimed at rebuilding the candidate's consciousness.
These methods lead to cognitive impairment. A cult adept is introduced to a system of closed logic or devoid of reflective thinking.
The sect obtains the desired effect of rebuilding the personality of the adept by means of suggestion or coercion. Suggestion (Latin: suggestion - submission, placing) is influencing someone's behavior, beliefs, causing that without a command or belief in a rational way - a person changes his views on his own. The suggestion consists of the presence of at least two people in specific relationships with each other, the state of indecision of one of them; a condition that makes self-control and assessment of the situation difficult; the way the suggestion is made, and the willingness to communicate and show interest in what the other person is saying. The elements included in the suggestion can be defined as the form and manner of communication.
The types of suggestions vary:
- physical - when the content is conveyed through a gesture;
- sensual - where thoughts are transmitted through the sense organs;
- verbal - with words;
- mental - only thought is involved and therefore this message is considered the strongest;
- environmental - through the environment;
- self-suggestion - suggestion evoked in oneself (it may be involuntary or with the conscious will of a person).
Suggestion can take the form of a positive suggestion - statements, consciously coded in itself to obtain a planned result; or negative suggestion - a statement that leads to the avoidance of a certain action. A negative suggestion is often associated with emotional and physical pressures. If the "guru" controls the emotional energy of the adepts, accentuate emotions previously selected - then we can talk about emotional violence. A sect can relatively easily eliminate or mentally and emotionally paralyze its members. the group leader will do whatever it takes to surround himself with obedient followers, even resorting to physical violence.
Any kind of suggestion is good when it leads to the desired effect.
The last of the recruiting methods discussed is flirting. Its originator is David Berg, the late leader of the sect of God's Children (Family), who, using the invented technique of recruitment, equated to fishing, and prostitutes for the movement of men and women to hooks on which souls thirsty for God's love should be caught.
A cult member arranges random meetings to make contact. It turns into the so-called "Fishing-flirting" - "fishing by flirting", which consists of a series of meetings in the nature of love, arranged flirting, combined with the joint reading of relevant texts and discussion. If someone is in need of physical love and affection, even sex can be resorted to showing him or her that he is loved by the love of Jesus. The followers of the sect, on the other hand, are ready to satisfy its sexual needs with dedication.
Camouflage in Alternate Moves is a common recruitment feature. To create a positive image of the sect, they often participate in charity campaigns, spread humanitarian slogans, take part in environmental initiatives, and invest in education and culture. Holidays are a time when adolescents are particularly exposed to the action of recruiters. The sects then offer young people inexpensive trips, which are an opportunity to carry out carefully planned recruitment.
The method of camouflage called the facade of science responds to the needs of a modern man - an intellectual who humbly succumbs to the charm of scientifically proven claims. This is taken advantage of by numerous sects which, relying on their pseudoscientific assumptions, delude naïve with a mirage of unverifiable truths. One of the most famous pseudoscientific movements is Transcendental Meditation. Its founder, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, concealed the religious nature of the established movement because he claimed that the sect, with the appearance of scientificity, could gain more favor in Western society and cover a wider group of people. The Church of Scientology, whose creator L.R. Hubbard, invented the pseudoscientific theory of the human mind. When a large group of psychiatrists and psychologists questioned it, he gave the rejected theory a philosophical framework, which gave rise to Scientology, ie the Church of Knowledge.
Another way to camouflage is humanitarian aid. The sects organize help centers for drug addicts and AIDS patients, as well as various educational campaigns, they try to erase the belief that they are toxic in society, and then, on the occasion of their activities, try to recruit the maximum number of people. Humanitarian actions include such Moon Unification Church, the Hare Krishna movement, and the Church of Scientology.
Another attempt to reach a potential adept is the (non-selfless) charity work carried out by sects. A kitchen for the poor, a pharmacy with free medicines, free foreign language courses, cheap or free weekend trips can also be used to establish first contacts with the sect. This practice is known for the Moon sect operating in Poland, which during martial law sent Christmas transports - clothing, nutrients, cleaning products, sweets. This opened the doors to many social environments for the sects. On the other hand, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness from October 1992. runs campaigns for distributing free meals in Poland. The motives of the movement's operation are certainly not the considerations of altruism or mercy prohibited by the doctrine, but rather cold calculation, calculated to improve the image of the movement in the Christian West, as well as an attempt to win new followers.
During the academic year, sects under the cloak of student organizations make attempts to enter academia and develop recruitment campaigns in them. Numerous student associations are established, of which the most famous CAPR (known in Poland as the Academic Association for the Realization of Universal Values) is a reconstruction of the Unification Church of S.M. Moona.
Few people are aware of the influence of authorities. On the other hand, it was understood by the leaders of sects who want to win famous and valued personalities. Most sects are trying hard to artificially increase their credibility. These groups can name many people and institutions that support their activities. Most often they use scientific, religious, political, youth, charity, and "peace" authorities. They are authorities who, through their behavior, statements and, if possible, their lives, make a decision about joining the sect of the people who watch them.
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness found such an authority in the person of Jurek Owsiak, who became a kind of Hare Krishna trademark and launched a sect among Polish youth.
The Unification Church behaves differently. The sect sponsors symposiums of scientists and politicians, theologians and clergy, and those who have a say in the big world, and spares no resources for significant fees for the lectures. Subsequently, representatives of the sect, preparing television broadcasts and press reports, suggest to the public that the movement's supporters are movie stars, politicians, and businessmen.
Another type of authority is the Catholic Church. In Poland, it enjoys great respect and popularity. Many sects try to win over even a single priest or religious in order to be able to refer to "numerous contacts with credible church circles." It happens that some clergy go to sects that make them signs of their credibility. However, more often toxic circles make up their contacts with the Church by quoting false statements and referring to false events.
The easy prey of such techniques and methods, which are often a combination of cordiality and deception (e.g. bombardment with love, a test of personality, or surrender) are both young and old, remaining in internal disorder. These techniques go from being kind, to gradually evolving into a kind of mind control through the use of captivating behavior modification techniques.
Manipulation is the action of one person or a group of people that is addressed to others, as a result of which others unknowingly pursue the goals planned and intended by the manipulators. A manipulated man who is unaware of his instrumentality. It is surrounded by seemingly natural barriers - compulsory situations are created by an appropriate system of baits or threats, it is believed that there is only one solution in a given situation (the one established by the manipulator).
Under the influence of manipulation of the psyche, not only well-being or a certain amount of money is lost, but also mental and physical health, own identity, the possibility of development towards personal maturity, the ability to plan and pursue a professional career or, finally, the closest ones. You can then speak of a deep psycho manipulation that reaches the basic spheres of human life.
The term "manipulation" in this work will mean all deeply unethical practices of influence over an individual that are practiced in sects.
This control includes the behavior, information with which the follower comes into contact, thoughts, and feelings. It is worth briefly introducing how this controlling proceeds and what it comes down to.
The process most associated with sects is personality control, known as "brainwashing". However, they are two different processes and should not be confused. The term brainwashing was coined by journalist Edward Hunter to describe how American soldiers, captured during the Korean War, rapidly changed their value system and sense of loyalty. This process is done by force. Bullying of a prisoner, insults, and torture is the order of the day. The brainwashed person has no doubts that he is in the hands of the enemy. Meanwhile, personality control is a more sophisticated and subtle method. The individual subjected to this process usually does not adopt a defensive attitude because he is convinced that he is dealing with people who are friendly towards him. Involuntarily, she begins to cooperate with people who want to gain control over her, introduces them to her affairs, and thus provides information, not being aware that it can be used against her.
Personality control can be divided into five main groups of treatments:
1. Detuning the organism to break down the existing personality structure;
2. Decreased sense of security;
3. Leading to the degradation of the self-image and the triggering of a strong feeling of guilt;
4. Bringing the personality to a state of regression;
5. Offering a new life.
The secret to the success of personality control is the subtlety of the methods that make the control appear to be merely an illusion. the manipulated person thinks that he makes his own choices, i.e. that no one influences the decisions he or she makes.
Behavior control means imposing on an individual rule that they must follow in their daily life. It consists in carefully establishing daily activity, managing all the time, rigid regulations and rules, informing about all your decisions higher in the hierarchy. A properly hierarchical structure of sects allows their leaders to introduce a system of punishments and rewards. Often, believers are deprived of their own funds, and as a result, have limited room for maneuver. The group demands absolute obedience, the member must ask for consent to make any decision (e.g. visiting a loved one, sick person).
Information control is carried out by falsifying news, restricting access to sources other than sectarian, dividing information by contrast with those coming from the sect and outside, spying on other members, intrusive propagation of information, unethical use of confessions (former "sins" are used to manipulate and control) and absolute obedience and submission. Information control in sects begins at the time of recruitment - facts are often concealed. The sect's ideology takes into account many levels of "truth" and two kinds of "doctrine": for "my own" and for "strangers". People outside the group learn a less fundamental version that gives a vague idea of the group's beliefs. Knowledge of inner doctrine is reserved for those who have already been completely indoctrinated. As a result of these activities, a cult member can only learn and evaluate group doctrine when he is no longer able to judge it objectively. A common method of information control is to block access to any critical or negative assessments. The sect forbids contact with the former members of the group - they are considered demon-possessed.
Thought control consists of evoking the perception of the world in terms of black and white, using a specific language, manipulating memories. Elements of hypnosis are often used to induce a trance - meditation, chanting a mantra, repeating affirmations. A person in a trance stops thinking consciously because they come into contact with the subconscious. Messages received in this particular state of relaxation can lapse into the subconscious mind for a long time.
Controlling feelings is related to the constant induction of phobias, a sense of guilt, constant arousing and manipulating the feeling of fear, convincing believers that all problems stem from them and not the group, managing the intimacy of the followers, and publicly confessing sins.
The sects consistently manipulate everything that makes up a person's personality and identity. They do not hesitate to interfere with the system of beliefs, beliefs, and values. They try to separate the followers from their families, acquaintances, and friends. By applying extensive personality control, they deprive people of their true identity, giving in return a new - communal, in accordance with the leader's visa - guru. A cult member is taught how to change himself, how to subject it to limitations, how to change his own thinking, behavior, and feelings. When he assimilates the lessons he has been given, he will not be able to communicate with his loved ones, he will feel that he has nowhere to return, he will become helpless and absolutely dependent on everything. That is why the problem of sects concerns not only the believers themselves but their families, friends, relatives' children, as well as the whole society. They are deprived of the greatest wealth - wise, intelligent, ambitious people who could render invaluable services to the world.
The techniques of personality transformation used in cults are most often harmful to the human psyche. The result of indoctrination in a sect is most often a stop and a retreat in personality development to the level of an unsatisfied and confused child (despite his mature age) who is ready to do anything to receive recognition, acceptance, and a sense of security from the guru and his sect. Even after leaving the sect, long-term therapy is often needed. As B. Fillaire writes: “To leave a sect is one thing, and to expel a sect from itself is another. The former adept must get used to thinking for himself, to express his own feelings, to listen to sounds coming from the world that often sound false. "
Changing views, functioning in everyday life, and life, in general, cannot happen immediately and without any effort.
The sects gain control of people within a certain period of time, which is necessary for the adept to undergo a complex process consisting of specific stages. These stages are the successive three stages of the personality rebuilding process. The use of them by sects is calculated to change the individual personality of the recruited in favor of a collective, forced by a dangerous group.
Stephen Hassan presents a three-step process for gaining control over your mind. He called these steps thawing, transforming, and freezing again.
When a person succumbs to persuasion and decides to bond with people who warmly welcomed him at the lecture, those, having become convinced of his loyalty, begin a process of indoctrination, the first task of which is to introduce chaos into the system of professed values. It is about creating confusion that would harm the foundations of the worldview held so far.
A person who got rid of basic beliefs about family, friends, acquaintances of religion, work, etc., ceases to know which information conveyed by the new environment is right and which, on the other hand, strikes the objective good. A person recruited by a sect is deprived of nutritious meals under various pretexts. she becomes mentally exhausted, as well as intellectually defenseless and powerless against the sect that destroys her.
In order to obtain the novice's depressive state, the sects cause numerous stressful situations whose task is to keep the psyche and organism of the adepts constantly exhausted and overloaded. Treatments are dosed so that the follower lives on the verge of collapse, and at the same time so that he does not fall into a mental illness. Common stressful treatments include; isolation from the current environment, sleep deprivation, exhaustion with hunger, exposure to sexual frustration.
Isolation can induce amazing states that a person has never experienced before intense images, delusions, and even visual and auditory hallucinations. The adept deprives himself of the influx of external stimuli by separating himself from the rest of his fellow believers, reducing sleep to a minimum, and meals to the ratio necessary for survival, and deliberately exposes himself to sexual frustration.
Many sects are isolating themselves under the pretext of studying meditation in a school or increasing their concentration in prayer. More often, however, isolation consists in separating the individual from his loved ones. Cutting off a person from all stimuli for a period of 8 to 70 hours worsens the thinking processes, intensifies daydreaming and following dreams.
The isolation of the adept in the sect enables control over his rational thinking, eliminates influences and information from outside that may interrupt the process of adaptation - absorption of feelings, attitudes, and patterns of desired behavior. The isolation of the individual is increased by the deliberate awakening and fostering mutual distrust within the group.
Depriving an adequate amount of sleep and a nutritious diet are factors that lead to rapid mental exhaustion, loss of immunity, and the emergence of regressive reactions: hallucinations, delusions, increased intensity of dreams, uncontrolled mental images.
Destruction by hunger causes physiological and mental changes - a person becomes docile, apathetic, loses initiative. Hunger leads to an increase in susceptibility to other people's suggestions and influences, and to a decline in criticism.
Another stressful situation in a cult is the exposure of the adept to sexual frustration. He is provided with stimuli that constitute sexual arousal, while at the same time preventing him from satisfying the created needs. In a sect, the source of stimuli may be the content of meditation, "examination of conscience", "public confession", images and figures, promiscuous dance, stimulating smells, measures "enhancing the imagination", etc. This contributes to creating a pathogenic state of frustration in the adept, destroying the psyche.
At this stage of the identity transformation process, adepts are told that they have some flaws. Problems such as problems at school or at work, inability to make contacts, being overweight, emotional problems, etc., are exaggerated to show the follower how little he is worth. The deterioration of self-esteem may be influenced by elements of the sect's life - a high bar of requirements and practices treated as a source of knowledge about the 'true self, repeating the contemptuous assessments of the adept's attitude. When a novice becomes depressed (he will feel guilty, run out of the initiative, have difficulty making decisions, lose his appetite, become passive and pessimistic), he will be able to move on to the next stage in the process of personality rebuilding.
Believers are taught that the world is full of corruption, unenlightened individuals are unable to fix it, and that the only way to happiness can be revealed only by the guru of the community to which the person has entered. It is about instilling beliefs in newcomers that will result in a black and white vision of the world.
New truths are repeated in long, boring, and monotonous sessions. the facilitator tries to introduce the listeners into a hypnotic trance, during which resistant people fall asleep, which makes them more susceptible to the transmitted content and makes them feel guilty.
Immediately following a nervous breakdown, the indoctrination process is a time to instill a strong sense of guilt that will motivate formed followers to superhuman efforts and build the potential of the sect. In order to instill a sense of guilt into the adept, the "closeness" between the manipulator and the manipulated is used. However, it is a delusion based on the first positive impression of the recruitment. When a person remains in a cult, this feeling of closeness turns into a feeling of fear, fear of the surrounding reality, low self-esteem, and also a psychological dependence on learned practices.
Confusion arises in the head of the young man, which is the intended goal. He loses the idea of what is right and what is wrong. Then, new ways of behavior are formed in the young person - new rules of conduct in order to be accepted by the group and to implement "his" ideals in which he deeply believes and which will allow him to achieve spiritual progress.
A person who has been instilled with a new system of values and beliefs, who has been instilled with a sense of guilt and fear of the outside world, who has been unlearned of individual thinking, is prepared for the next stage of the process of personality change.
The last phase of the adept's personality change is devoted to consolidating what he has learned at an earlier stage. A person who, under the influence of previous influences, changed his beliefs and views, is given new life goals and prompted to take action for the sake of the sect. Permanent and external control is no longer necessary. The new members of the sect, through the teaching of lectures, ritual practices, meditation, and chanting, control their minds appropriately.
The new cult member faces further trials of his loyalty to the group. The first is facing your own past. The adept must renounce himself from before his conversion, as well as all those who cared about him and his return to the world and the abandonment of the sect. A false image of the past appears in the followers - full of unpleasant memories, failures, grievances that have become the cause of destructive guilt through manipulation.
When the adept exercises control over himself, he is entrusted with the tasks for which he was recruited into the sect. From now on, activities such as: working for the group, recruiting new members, selling the group's books and materials, begging, and sometimes prostitution, will perpetuate a new identity. It has to start earning money. There are cases of forcing novices to donate their material goods to the sect and to allow them to use their own bank account. In this way, the sect becomes richer and the novice becomes even more established in the new belief system. Later, the lack of livelihoods makes it difficult to leave the sect.
More intelligent individuals who have fully assimilated belief systems, leaders are given the honor of training newcomers. After the process of personality transformation, the followers are supposed to impress on the next generation what they have learned, uproot what has been forcibly torn from them, and destroy what has been destroyed in them. They abandon the roles of victims and turn into executioners - they do not realize what happened to them, and what they are witnessing and what they are doing. By conducting training, they strengthen themselves in the content they convey, which means that they can only be pulled out of a sect by a shock.
Cults always leave havoc on the human body, especially when it is a young person who does not yet have a specific worldview. Parents must be on the alert all the time, solve problems of adolescent children on an ongoing basis, and know the mechanisms of cults' operation. Only then will they be able to save the child and their own family from the tragedy. It is very easy to meet a sect, but the consequences of this meeting can be far-reaching. The changes that the sect makes in the human psyche are not fully known to him or anyone else.
The social and political transformation after 1989 resulted in numerous changes and contributed to the emergence of a whole range of new social phenomena. Among them are dynamically developing pseudo-religious groups and sects that pose a particular threat to the young generation. Cults most often recruit young, rebellious, and rebellious people. The victims can be both children from good homes as well as children who are neglected in education, often complex and lonely. This is due to the peculiarities of the adolescence period. In my considerations, The search for one's own identity is expressed in numerous questions that young people ask themselves. The first of them concerns the knowledge about oneself "who I am" and the evaluation of oneself in the eyes of "significant others". Hence the strong need for authorities at this age. On the one hand, young people negate the existing "childish" authorities, and on the other, they need them for their development.
In the period of creating their own identity, young people use certain procedures aimed at confirming the continuity of existence and searching for the reliability of their parents' love, attempting to change their own image, and checking themselves. The above behaviors are fertile ground for the activities of the sects. If young people do not feel accepted in the family, and this situation can be exacerbated by conflicts that arise due to the nonconformist attitude of young people towards the existing values, bombardment with love from the sect fills the emotional gap. In a cult, a young man meets people who not only show him kindness but also need him very much. There is therefore a clearly defined goal of work for the community. It is the Absolute who chose the young man and wants to be served Him with youth through a spiritual leader. It slowly finds its place in life.
During adolescence, everything in a young person's life is subject to rapid changes, which is why he searches for stability with such commitment. The sect most often appears to the young as a group guarding the eternal, unchanging values which, thanks to their isolation from the outside world, have been able to survive to this day.
An attempt to change your own image is associated with looking for people who could be modeled on. Such a person can become a guru who will make an adept a new person. Old complexes and ideas will cease to exist along with the proposed break with the past. The guru is always smiling and understanding, he always finds time to solve spiritual dilemmas. The sect offers a new value system, name, status, members often use a new language code reserved only for the chosen ones. The most important point is, of course, the fact that you can save the world through selfless work for the glory of God, as is the case, for example, in the Institute of Knowledge about the Identity of the Mission of Chaitanya.
The final step in the process of creating an identity during adolescence is constant self-checking. Numerous tasks commissioned by the group make it possible to verify one's own efficiency. Additionally, members of the sect are told that they will be persecuted by the people around them and that only the most faithful and the strongest will persevere. Raising the bar like this makes the group more attractive. Sects have certain rites related to initiation and subsequent steps of initiation. In the race to a higher rank in the group hierarchy, the young person's need to take risks is realized.
Entering a sect often means leaving the family home. At this point, such a strong desire to be independent and to decide about your life is satisfied.
There is also an identity crisis during adolescence. The crisis in literature is most often understood as the effect of disturbing the balance between the expectations and possibilities of a young person and internal social pressures. If the person passes this stage positively, it will end with the consolidation of knowledge about himself and the correct definition of his own set of roles. Any disturbances at this stage affect the further development of the individual. It happens that someone joins a social group and adopts from it ready-made patterns of identity, shaped by a given community. The sect very precisely defines the roles to be assumed by its members and clearly defines the applicable standards. You do not have to take the trouble of searching, just accept the ready. Those struggling at this stage of development are particularly susceptible to the recruitment of sects. Integration of identity does not have to include the past, present, and future, as the group erases the old self-image and works to create a new one, in line with the directives adopted by the members. Defining oneself and one's identity usually leads to the willingness to make independent choices. On the other hand, young people may feel a fear of unknown consequences, of the often irreversible consequences of their decisions. Those in the cult seem to be making their own free choices and are in control of it. On the other hand, the presence of a community and a spiritual master gives a much-needed sense of security.
The morality that emerges during this period is not without significance for the decisions of young people to join the group. Youth conformism is characterized by following the patterns of the so-called subcultures. Emphasizing your individuality becomes a value in itself. The second characteristic phenomenon of adolescence is moral rigorism consisting in treating certain obligations as absolute, which cannot be ignored. This situation is a perfect field for cult activity. Tasks commissioned by the group are treated with great commitment and always carried out perfectly.
Numerous sectarian studies have paid considerable attention to why new religious movements are so popular among young people. The report of the Episcopal Conference distinguishes between ten reasons:
- Need to belong, a sense of community;
- Search for answers;
- Striving for integrity, holism;
- Cultural Identity Search;
- The need to be recognized, distinguished;
- Search for transcendence;
- Need for spiritual direction;
- Need for a vision;
- The need for commitment and inclusion.
The proposed causes are narrowed down to the dysfunctions in the activities of the two institutions; family and church. They do not take into account traumatic events in human life, the so-called "turns", which are the most common reason for seeking help in a group. Sect recruiters are primarily responsible for getting to know the problems and dilemmas of an adept in order to be able to come out to him with the best offer. Thanks to the numerous social engineering techniques used by the sects, a short interview with the candidate give the opportunity to gain sufficient knowledge about him and to design a plan to "decode" him.
P. Popek in his research, conducted in October 2000 on a group of 124 first-year students of pedagogy, sociology, and social work, obtained the following results concerning the reasons for young people joining sects.
- curiosity, looking for new values, ideals, willingness to try something new 48.4% of the respondents
- loneliness, rejection, alienation, lack of understanding in others 41.9%
- lack of self-esteem, independence, low assertiveness, complexes 34.7%
- problems in the family and school environment, crises, breakdowns 33.1%
- the needs of belonging and community 24.2%
- effective methods of recruiting and acquiring members used by sects 8.1%
- no interests, no positive patterns of spending free time 5.6%
- crisis of traditional churches, 4.8% disappointment in them
- rebellion, opposition to the norms prevailing in society 4.8%
- lack of elementary knowledge about threats related to the functioning of sects 4.8%
- hedonistic attitude to life, the world 4.0%
- the need to be recognized and distinguished 0.8%
- poverty, poor economic material conditions 0.8% ·.
The above-mentioned reasons can be divided into the objective ones, dependent on the environment, and the subjective ones, which are inherent in individuals.
Young people indicated the lack of reliable knowledge about the activities of cult movements, as well as the lack of positive patterns of spending free time. This opinion should be a challenge for teachers and schools. Sometimes it is enough to devote a few educational lessons and signal a problem to arouse an attitude of limited trust in a young person.
A young person may lose his sense of stability due to constant changes in his own body and the surrounding reality. There is no longer such a rooting in tradition and the normative system because the former loses its raison d'être and the latter is becoming more and more relative. A sect comes out against these phenomena and offers a clear recipe for living and finding happiness. The traditions of the practices of these groups go back to ancient times and have their origins in the word of mouth or sacred books of the East.
People who are over-controlled in their family environment find their way into sects and are still under the strict control of their fellow believers and the leader. We are dealing here with a mechanism of learned helplessness. On the one hand, a person runs away from some reality, but on the other hand, he cannot function in another. A closed circle is formed, as is the case with girls from alcoholic families who are associated with alcoholics in the future.
It is worth noting that in all approaches to the issue there is a lack of community, which proves that modern people feel lost in a global village, and unlimited virtual contact with people from all over the world will not compensate for the need for a direct relationship with another person, often a busy parent. The need to participate and act in a group is one of the constitutive features of a young age. Family members meet at home in the evening to spend the night. They do less and less together. Cults meet the need for belonging and community. First of all, sects are small groups where a structural-subjective bond is created. There is always time for a conversation here, many tasks are performed together and the same friendly faces are seen at meetings. Most people find their way to sects not for religious reasons but seeking constant intimacy with another human being. Modern realities require people to spend most of their time outside the home; work, school, learning foreign languages, courses, and developing all talents. However, it must not be forgotten that for young people the emotional bond that the family can give is very important. Parents must be able to recognize the needs arising from the puberty process and organize their own time in such a way as to find a moment for contact with the child each day and discuss its adolescent problems. Otherwise, there may be a group that will offer our child what he needs. The effects of coming into contact with such a group can have very profound consequences
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