Cult history project

Ava and hannah's

Cult Activity

NXIVM

Order of the solar temple

Children of God

The Family

People's Temple

Overall, cults have always relied on manipulation, charismatic leaders and violence, but the type of violence changs based on culture, time period, weaponry and media, for example, relying more now on blackmail rather than threats of violence. In an age where social media can make or ruin careers, cults may find the ability to feed on that, and shame more people into joining even more dangerous groups.

So... how have they changed?

The Brittanica Dictionary defines a cult as 'a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous.' Many people think 'cult' and immediately assoiate with demons, chanting and baggy robes, but the more dangerous cults hide in plain sight, like those below.

some of the most dangerous...

What is a cult?

Order of the Solar Temple

Active since 1984, founded by Joseph Di Mambro, alongside Luc Jouret when they met at a gathering for those interested in the occult. The cult was active in France, Switzerland and Canada. The ideologies of the cult were a mix of other ideas from the freemasons, evangelicals and more. Their belief was that the apocalypse would occur in the 1990s.

The cult cost members a severe amount of money to move upwards within it, requiring fees for many things. When the leaders son became skeptical, he spoke out, which might have contributed to the mass suicide plan. Di Mambro ordered for 3 members to be killed: a couple and their 3 month old baby who was deemed the antichrist. Then, after this, Di Mambro and Jouret manipulated the members into commiting suicide to shed their 'earthly bodies'. Thus resulting in 53 deaths via murder and suicide on the 5th of october 1994.

The People's Temple of the Disciples of Christ

LActive from 1955-1978 in Indianapolis, San Francisco and Guyana, the People's Temple was created by Reverend Jim Jones after a vision of a Nuclear attack, causing him to move to San Francisco. There, his social activism ideologies popularised his church, attrating many, even politicians. However, behind the scenes, Jones was using hardcore drugs as well as sexually and physically abusing his followers.

Then, Jones convinced around 1000 followers to move with him to Guyana. Their residence quickly became prison-like, public beatings, isolation and sedation. Later, upset by people wanting to leave, he manipulated his followers into mass suicide via grape flavoured ccolaid spiked with cyanide, tranquilisers and sedatives. Those who didn't want to, were murdered. This resulted in over 900 deaths total, voluntary or not.

The Family

Active from 1963-1987 in Australia, The Family was a cult created by Anne Hamilton-Byrne, after she announced herself as the reincarnation of Christ. initially known as the Great White Brotherhood, she adopted 28 children recieved as gifts from followers, as well as falsifying papers to convince others to give her their kids too. Hamilton-Byrne claimed to be the bio mother of all 28 kids, and went as far as bleaching the children's hair to convince them further.

Children were severely punished for misbehaving in the 'Family'. Common punishments inluded beating, starving, drugging them with LSD, forcing to do yoga, and locking in rooms.When under investigation, she claimed there were no children at all, and this was believed for a very long time. She eventually was found out to have taken large sums of her follower's income, as well as encouraging fraud, forgery, spousal swaps, and scam adoptions among her followers. She was only ever charged with falsifying birth certificates.

The Children of God

Active currently since 1968 across the globe, David Berg formed a group originally under the name 'teens for christ'. This, at first, formed as commune with strict rules, such as no premarital sex, etcetera, but then became quickly very dark. The trigger for these changes in Berg was likely his marriage to his secretary, Karen Zerby after an affair the two had. He began to preach about 'free love; while going under the name 'Mo' or 'Moses David'

The cult then quickly began to spiral, with beginning of sexual and physical abuse, in both adults and children. Another common practise was 'Flirty Fishing', where women were encouranged to sleep with people to get them to join the cult. However, when more attention came to the cult, the practises were banned, and the cult still runs today, under Zerby's leadership, and under the name of 'The Family International'.

NXIVM

Active from 1998-2016 in Albany, the NXIVM cult was formed by Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman as an mlm/ pyramid scheme. Selling courses labelled as 'self-help', the cult used these to feed psychological manipulation, all while costing $3,000. The practises of the course included greeting Raniere with a kiss on the lips, as well as a gruelling 17 hour day filled with ritualistic practises.

• A subgroup was formed, and called 'DOS' by an actress named Allison Mack, which, while fronting as a feminist group, was a sex ring for full obedience to Raniere. Women were blackmailed and manipulated into the group, and forced to give in nude images and other embarrassing secrets so they could not leave for fear of being exposed. In 2020, Raniere recieved an 120 year sentence for his crimes, which may include 4 potentially linked deaths,