Why Do People Join Cults

An Investigation Into Cult Dynamics So why exactly do people join cults? Many people simply believe that those who choose to join them must be weak, weird, and emotionally unstable or perhaps are some sort of religious nut case, this is however simply not the case (How Cults Work). The truth is that cults have had a long time to practice and refine the recruiting process and thusly have turned it into a fine craft. Cults must compete with other groups such as established religions for members that often employ common genuine membership tactics. These methods include letting members join and leave as they please, freely expressing their opinions without harsh criticism, and not forcing the groups believes on members, instead opting to let members

Scientology promises acceptance of Christianity, but is also based in Hinduism. Hinduism added the belief that all humans are gods that forgot they were divine (What cults believe). Scientology promises that through its own self-improvement techniques and acceptance of its own faith that one can overcome their past and find a way back into their godlike existence. However, the only way to achieve this miracle is by first taking a free personality test designed by Scientology that always identifies a flaw Scientology can cure. The cure is delivered in the form of auditing sessions, private counseling done by an auditor in which the member and is forced to relive and confess to moments of emotion, pain, and unconscious thought throughout their life in order to remove the sources in their mind that were blocking self-realization. Any personal secrets revealed are kept by Scientology in case they need to threaten to reveal them in case they decide to defect. Further sessions cost increasingly large amounts in order to achieve the desired effect, costing between $200,000 and $400,000 over a lifetime. The technique, based on deception, also includes de-programing of Christian beliefs and often results in the harm of mental health which has lead to suicide in members. Forced coercion by Scientology results in losses of marriages, family relationships, possessions, and sanity. Scientology has been charged with crimes to numerous to be covered in the scope of this paper and has been described as "the most ruthless, the most classically terrorist, the most litigious and the most lucrative cult the country has ever seen” (What cults believe). Scientology practices extreme secrecy and most information about it has come from successful defectors. They hope that by revealing information it will be publicly known that Scientology is an evil cult which will starve it of