This essay will discuss and examine fundamentalist religious groups that have been labelled as cults and the reasons behind this labelling. Firstly, what cults are will be discussed with reference to parallels and differences between cults and religious groups. To do this, three different religious groups will be discussed and compared to mainstream religions, the first of these groups will be the Branch Davidians, which was labelled as a cult in the media, before and since its destruction. Secondly, Gloriavale Christian Community will be discussed. Thirdly, Heaven’s Gate will be discussed and compared. These groups have been chosen, as they are different from each other, but yet there are some similarities between these groups and mainstream
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Gloriavale is a community in New Zealand that is very similar to the Amish, they are a religious group that have segregated themselves from mainstream society, (Sargisson, 2007), as a way to enable themselves to live in a way that will enable them to reach salvation. Similarly to the Branch Davidians, Gloriavale is viewed as strange and different by the outside population, many news articles, “…[depict] it as a religious cult (which it is), a free love group (which it is not), and a sexual cult (for which there is no conclusive evidence),” (Sargisson, 2007). Gloriavale considers themselves a Christian community that has, “…[forsaken] all to follow the teachings of Jesus,” (Gloriavale Christian Community, 2015). Gloriavale has a very literal understanding of the bible which is reflected in every aspect of the community, from the way they dress to their education system. This is different from many mainstream religions, as many of these do not segregate themselves from the majority of society, therefore, they live their lives very similar to those of mainstream society who are not religious. Similarly to many mainstream religions the Gloriavale Christian Community believes in modesty, which is reflected in their clothing. Considering this, it could be argued that the main difference between a religious group like Gloriavale Christian Community and a mainstream relgious group like Christianity, is how they interpreret the bible. While Gloriavale goes for a literal translation that is applied to their whole lives, different branches of Christianity interpret the bible their own way and apply portions of it to their every day
Gloriavale is a community in New Zealand that is very similar to the Amish, they are a religious group that have segregated themselves from mainstream society, (Sargisson, 2007), as a way to enable themselves to live in a way that will enable them to reach salvation. Similarly to the Branch Davidians, Gloriavale is viewed as strange and different by the outside population, many news articles, “…[depict] it as a religious cult (which it is), a free love group (which it is not), and a sexual cult (for which there is no conclusive evidence),” (Sargisson, 2007). Gloriavale considers themselves a Christian community that has, “…[forsaken] all to follow the teachings of Jesus,” (Gloriavale Christian Community, 2015). Gloriavale has a very literal understanding of the bible which is reflected in every aspect of the community, from the way they dress to their education system. This is different from many mainstream religions, as many of these do not segregate themselves from the majority of society, therefore, they live their lives very similar to those of mainstream society who are not religious. Similarly to many mainstream religions the Gloriavale Christian Community believes in modesty, which is reflected in their clothing. Considering this, it could be argued that the main difference between a religious group like Gloriavale Christian Community and a mainstream relgious group like Christianity, is how they interpreret the bible. While Gloriavale goes for a literal translation that is applied to their whole lives, different branches of Christianity interpret the bible their own way and apply portions of it to their every day