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I heard that there are over a hundred active cults right now in South Korea. It is really a hotbed for cults, as is the U.S. I hope they find a way to prosecute. At the very least a lot of attention will be focused on this type of activity in South Korea. And then, maybe it will filter down to the states. We can only hope.
Way way way more cults in the USA by far. Unbelievable how pervasive cult activity is here. "Freedom of Religion", enshrined in the US Constitution, is so abused by cults. "One Man's Cult is another Man's Religion" is unfortunately what many Americans believe. They don't understand what is really behind a cult and why it is so different than a mainstream religion. And, of course, the money. So much money to be made.
Unless they break the law or IRS codes, there is no way to stop a cult using the legal system. And it is really hard to get prosecutors interested even if laws are broken! Unification Church is huge. Scientology is huge. WMSCOG is a small piker compared to them. But lives ruined and families torn apart happen in ALL of THEM.
Agreed, HH. There are thousands of cults now in the U.S. I had no idea there were so many untill my son became involved in the Wms and I started researching cults in general. It is something that needs to be addressed in our high schools as part of a curriculum. We send them off to college or the work world with knowledge to avoid drugs, alcohol, tobacco, abuse, etc, but don't address this problem, which is just as derailing(if not more) to their lives as any of the things mentioned. One hour of instruction would do it. I know it would work. I know a kid who had only one hour of instruction on cults when he was 15, and he was able to see that the Wms was a cult with the brief description I gave him. And this was at least 10 years after he received the instruction on cults.
Oh MM.. That would be great!
Agreed with MM. A very worthwhile idea, but watch for opposition from some church groups on this. Most mainstream religions recognize the problem of cults, but getting them to agree to cooperate on an educational program like this is a daunting challenge. It's that whole "one man's cult is another man's religion" thing that comes into play. You and I and most on this forum understand the difference between a cult and a religion, but getting that knowledge out to the general public, and accepted by the general public, is another huge challenge. I had a discussion with a group in New Zealand called "Cult Watch". They argue the 2 largest cults are Mormon's and Scientology. Just think of the discussion on Mormonism in the USA, and how it would impact the development of an educational program like you are proposing. I'm on your side, but the struggle to get it together is enormous and we would need things like Congressional Hearings and large movements at the state level to move it forward. And signaling that a group like the Mormons are a cult would be a huge hindrance and would kill such an effort in the USA. IMO.
True, HH. We could not target or name groups in an educational program. We could only give the characteristics common to all cults so that people who weren't already involved would know what to look for. This has been done before and is very effective. Getting this info out to a larger audience would really help. Since the Mormons do not see their religion as a cult they might not be concerned with the effort to educate people on this issue. (Most of them know that Fundamentalists are cult like already)
I see your point. Educate the public on the process used by cults to entrap followers. Great idea. Have to really avoid identifying specific groups, as you said.
By the way, that link in the first post doesn't work. It is a link to the Jaycee Dugard kidnapping and abuse story. There is a lot of info on Wikipedia about that, and the "Stockholm Syndrome".
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