Sedgwick: A Critical Analysis

It always seems easier to find differences between events or groups, than it is to prove they are similar. There are a number of factors that go into groups such as New Religious Movements becoming what they set out to be, and in Sedgwick’s article he proves that those same motions are also used when terrorist groups start to form. Not only is the development of these two groups very similar, but they also follow many of the same distinct factors that keep their followers in line. This article discusses the similarities, while also looking critically at the differences, which is why it is very persuasive and informative. The main point of discussion that will be carried out for this paper will be looking at the societal impacts as well as a sense of brainwashing within both terrorist and NRMs. These ideas are what make Sedgwick’s paper convincing in the idea that NRMs and terrorist groups are more similar than different. …show more content…
When a group is small and isolated from family, friends, and society as a whole, it makes it easier to create a bond to those people whom you share a religion or joint idea with (Sedgwick, 2007, p. 20). Along with the isolation one may feel from the rest of society once joining a terrorist group and/or NRMs, there is also an overwhelming feeling of what Sedgwick calls “tension” (Sedgwick, 2007, p. 17). Both NRMs and terrorist groups use this to their advantage to show their following that they are rejected by their old societies, making for a more compact group with (Sedgwick, 2007, p. 17). It is not difficult to see the mind tricks that are present when disassociating someone from society, and that’s something that both NRMs and terrorist groups