If you take a look at new religious movements from over the past century, they seem to follow one pattern. They all follow and promote unorthodox views and devotions to a specific object, person, or idea.
One example is with Jim Jones and his ‘Peoples Temple‘. The Peoples Temple combined socialist and communist ideals with unorthodox Christian beliefs, at their peak, they claimed to have over 20,000 members.
People were so persuaded by Jim’s preaching that they thought he had saved them from cancer, prevented car crash fatalities, and even gave a lame person the ability to walk just like Jesus did in the Bible. Except for the fact that Jim staged the healing, and the woman that he ‘healed’ could already walk and had been for 70 years. If that’s not a bruh moment I don’t know what is.
Cult leaders like Jim Jones demonstrate how easy it is to persuade people to believe in your ideologies when you have the right skillset. Some of these skills include being able to determine if someone is psychologically compromised. Targeting mentally vulnerable people is commonplace with new religious movements, as it makes it a pipe dream to brainwash them into complete submission of their beliefs.
I believe that new religious movements are an important part of our history, but people forget that they are still relevant today and will continue to be in the future. I believe that it is important to learn about cults, which is why I have written this blog post. Not only are cults (or new religious movements) generally interesting to learn about, but they can also teach us about human psychology, in specific; brainwashing, volition, dedication, and belief.
Cult groups like the Ku Klux Klan demonstrate misinterpretation of religious text and taking things way out of context. This is what leads to “unorthodox views” that radiate cult-like energy. This goes especially for groups that are based on already existent religions. Many verses and passages in the Bible are completely up to interpretation, which is why the KKK frequently refers to Revelations 2:9. where it reads “Jews are the synagogue of Satan”.
First off, the book of Revelation’s author is unknown, but it is speculated that it was written by a Christian from Ephesus known ‘John The Elder’. The book of Revelations was not meant to be taken literally, it is by far the most controversial book in the bible. The KKK, with their manipulation of scripture, purposefully refrained from mentioning the context prior to the verse. For it does not denounce Jews as a whole, it’s denouncing people that pose as Jews when they are not. To strengthen my point; Jesus was literally a Jew! During his crucifixion, a sign was attached to his cross that read ‘the King of the Jews’!
As demonstrated by the Ku Klux Klan, over time, religions split into different groups, each with slightly different beliefs and morals. Protestants and Catholics are great examples of this. As I mentioned before, this happens because most religious scripture is up to interpretation. Taking scripture out of context can, and does occur.
This leads me to my main topic, and the antithesis of this blog post, Islam. In particular, Islamic extremism and groups actively practicing it. Because the Quran and other Islamic religious scripture are up to interpretation, extremist groups like ISIS can form. Founded in 1999, The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or more commonly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), is a combat-oriented Islamic-extremist group that follows Salafi Jihadism. Salafi Jihadism is a political/religious Islamic ideology. They believe in ‘physical’ jihadism and returning to the ‘true Islam’. In other words, they take everything said in the Quran literally and follow it word for word.
As a splinter of a splinter. ISIS started as an Al Qaeda fragment group. This follows the common narrative of both terrorist groups and new religious movements. ISIS’s goal is to assimilate Iraq and Syria into a caliphate state (a state of Islam with one singular ruler, known as a caliph), as they believe it is required to properly implement Islamic law. To achieve this state, ISIS implements extreme Islamic morals known as Sharia Law, which is Islam’s legal system. Following what they believe is ‘God’s will for humankind’, ISIS leads every aspect of their lives according to God’s wishes, for it says in the Quran that Sharia is ‘the clear, well-trodden path to water’. To word it simply, ISIS is a new religious movement that aims to implement its unorthodox Islamic beliefs throughout the middle east.
ISIS’s main goal is to implement Sharia law throughout the world. Since ISIS takes the Quran and other Islamic texts literally, they believe in punishment against those who break the law of Sharia. Some of the most common forms of punishment include; stoning, lashing, hanging, and amputation. These punishments are for crimes such as adultery, theft, and even gambling.
Because the rest of the world does not follow Sharia law, ISIS believes they must convert anyone they can, and ‘rid the world’ of anyone who disobeys their ‘God-given laws’. In an article by the BBC, the author (who was kept anonymous for obvious reasons) wrote that ‘the majority of scholars of Sharia believe that apostasy (embracing an opinion contrary to Islamic belief) is punishable by death’. This explains a lot as to why ISIS is so motivated to kill, as they interpret Sharia law in their own way, and have built their entire lives around their interpretation.
When it comes to using terrorism as a platform for publicity, ISIS shares some noticeable similarities with Hamas (The militant group fighting against Israel to liberate Palestine). Hamas and ISIS both use terrorist attacks to publicize their beliefs in hopes of gaining support. While ISIS’s motives are much more sinister, Hamas and ISIS both need publicity to stay relevant and gain members (as they are both militant groups that are experiencing frequent casualties), while also spreading their beliefs throughout the world (ISIS’s being to follow Islam, Hamas’ being to liberate Palestine).
ISIS’s small size contributes to their brotherhood complex, this gives members a feeling of meaning and purpose that exacerbates their extremist ideologies, along with their loyalty to their cause. ISIS has some of the most dedicated followers of any new religious movement I have witnessed. From a series of suicide bombings in Iraq in January of 2013, to their latest attack last month where a car bomb in Afghanistan killed 85 people (the majority of which were 11 to 15-year-old girls), ISIS members are willing to dedicate their entire lives, and even sacrifice themselves to punish those who defy their beliefs. Below is footage from CNN where ISIS fighters run, bomb in hand, towards the enemy for their cause. This video is a powerful demonstration of ISIS’s loyalty to their cause, but please be warned, the following video is graphic.
The fundamental characteristics of new religious movements are their recruitment methods. ISIS targets people just as Jim Jones did, but instead of paper flyers and promotional visits, ISIS utilizes the internet, more specifically social media. ISIS uses a ‘multidimensional’ approach when recruiting. They mostly target the mentally vulnerable, those seeking to refresh or strengthen their faith, those longing to join a revolution, and even people that just want to carry and shoot ‘cool’ cool guns. The video below shows a young American boy coaxed into murder by ISIS recruiters online. This video serves as a perfect demonstration of ISIS’s online recruitment process.
Although ISIS’s use of the internet makes up 18% of their recruitment numbers, the majority of their members come from mosques and through communication between loved ones who have fought for jihadist movements. ISIS is a cult, although larger than most cults in recent history, every aspect of ISIS falls under cult status.
From their perplexing loyalty to their sinister recruitment methods. ISIS’s unique devotion to contextually subjective Islamic beliefs that are unrealistic in modern society, paired with their small size, brief existence, and their overarching goal that is essentially to take over the world, demonstrates how ISIS is a new religious movement that has earned its cult-status.
One example is with Jim Jones and his ‘Peoples Temple‘. The Peoples Temple combined socialist and communist ideals with unorthodox Christian beliefs, at their peak, they claimed to have over 20,000 members.
