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[6] [7] Other researchers present a less-organized picture of cults, saying that they arise spontaneously around novel beliefs and practices. [8] Cults have been compared to miniature totalitarian political systems. [9] Such groups are typically perceived as being led by a charismatic leader who tightly controls its members. [10]
As a result, personality cults have grown and remained popular in many places, corresponding with a marked rise in authoritarian government across the world. [9] The term "cult of personality" likely appeared in English around 1800–1850, along with the French and German versions of the term. [10]
As cults grow, they bureaucratize and create many of the characteristics of denominations. Some scholars are hesitant to grant cults denominational status because many cults maintain their more esoteric characteristics. However, their closer semblance to denominations than to the cult type allows them
The term "cult" first appeared in English in 1617, derived from the French culte, meaning "worship" which in turn originated from the Latin word cultus meaning "care, cultivation, worship". The meaning "devotion to a person or thing" is from 1829. Starting about 1920, "cult" acquired an additional six or more positive and negative definitions.
The book was required reading in the Cornell University sociology course, "Communes, Cults, and Charisma", [9] as well as the University of Pennsylvania course, "Religious Violence and Cults". [10] Galanter's characteristics of charismatic groups from Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion are cited in the article on "Cults", in the Encyclopedia of ...
The three characteristics present capitalism as radical, even exceptional. The capitalist cult is an extremely specific and unusual religion. [26] [70] The cult abolishes any dogma or theology, any meaning is always in "direct relation" to the cult.
A cult of personality uses various techniques, including the mass media, propaganda, the arts, patriotism, and government-organized demonstrations and rallies to create a heroic image of a leader, often inviting worshipful behavior through uncritical flattery and praise. [1]
In the 1960s, she began to study the nature of social and religious group influence and brainwashing, and sat as a board member of the American Family Foundation and as an advisory board member of the Cult Awareness Network. She was the co-author of the book Cults in Our Midst.