CULT CRIMES AND SATANIC RITUALS"A cult is a religion with no political power" (Tom Wolfe)
Tragically, all religions justify violence, but so-called "cults" tend to be very harmful to society as well as their own members. Cult violence is a form of collective behavior characterized by progressive escalation of conflict, internal radicalization, and the impossibility of escape or retreat from the inevitability of extreme violence (Bromley & Melton 2002). In short, cults are inherently dangerous. In fact, few things are more dangerous and destructive. Witness the well-known media cases of them, such as the Jonestown massacre, the Branch Davidians, Heaven's Gate, Solar Temple, or Aum Shinrikyo, and one will quickly surmise that they are indeed dangerous, at least as dangerous, if not more so, than terrorism.
Little is known about the causes and dynamics of cult violence. Many people assume that "authorities" have them under surveillance (not true). Infiltration is about the only law enforcement technique that works, and cults are highly sensitive to this. Many people think they aren't a problem as long as they kill their own members (the so-called "somebody else's religion" syndrome). Many people are tolerant of cults because they see them as start-up religions that simply haven't acquired enough real estate yet. Some people are tolerant of cults because they don't see the dangerousness aspect to them. Others avoid talking about them out of political correctness or because they fear getting sued for insulting them. It is time to start paying serious academic attention to cults.
There are similarities and differences between sects and cults. Both sects and cults tend to be quite dogmatic with coherent ideologies, and both tend to believe they hold the "one true way" to truth and salvation (Wallis 1976). However, a sect simply encourages thought reform among its members. A cult systematically engages in mind control, in a way that jeopardizes the health and safety of its members. For example, a sect encourages its members to go without food (fast) for several days. A cult deliberately malnourishes its members (for their own good). Technically, a sect is an offshoot of an established religion. Its leaders tend to come from the lower classes, and they sympathize with the lower classes. In fact, one of the common characteristics of a sect is a disdain for the habits of the wealthy. Cult leaders tend to come from the upper classes, and they hate the lower classes. Sects either die off or expand into established denominations, depending upon how well they embrace or try to play politics. Cults tend to reject politics except for when the ultimate showdown comes with outer-worldliness. Sects get violent progressively while in political manipulation mode (we call this sectarian violence). Cults get violent suddenly and without warning in a kind of rabid, feverish outbreak that someone will undoubtedly say we should have seen coming (we call this lunatic fringe violence).
Cults, to be fair, tend to mostly produce low-level, small-group violence. They can also produce lone wolf violence. Their pattern is difficult, but not impossible, to predict. They may be most violent when they claim to have invented something completely new and fantastic OR when they claim to have discovered something lost and forgotten. They may come to a sudden demise when their leader dies OR they may remerge stronger and more dangerous under a new leader. Leadership succession is critical, but most cults don't prepare for it. The inability to groom successors is the proverbial downfall of all megalomaniacs and narcissists. Some cult leaders have more serious psychological problems; they can also be a sadist. In other cases, they will manipulate their followers and audiences by playing the role of weak, helpless victim. When the cult has a doomsday orientation, it may be unclear whether they have more suicidal than homicidal tendencies, or vice versa. It may very well be when the group is at its most uncertain when they are most dangerous and destructive. However, standard warning signs exist.
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