The word "sect" is usually interpreted as "sector", a certain part. At the same time, the Latin word "sect" (secta) has two possible etymologies: either from sectare - "cut off", "divide", or from sequi - "follow someone", "obey", "be in service" … If we look at the history of the emergence and formation of the most widespread sects at the present time, then its second meaning will come to the fore. For the simple reason that most of the well-known and widespread sects are of a totalitarian nature.
At the same time, it is difficult for a person who is not experienced in matters of religion, but who wants to somehow arrange his spiritual world, to distinguish sectarian organizations from traditional religions that have existed for many centuries.
However, there is a certain divide between the traditional religion and the sect: people come to faith (Orthodox or Muslim in its traditional sense) of their own free will and can also voluntarily leave it. The sect is usually led by its adepts, but it is extremely difficult to leave the sect without outside help.
In Russia, many totalitarian sects are currently banned, which, however, does not prevent them from continuing their activities under other guises, up to and including individual entrepreneurs, as was the case with the Scientology sect in Yekaterinburg.
The Western world faced the problem of destructive cults back in the 60s and 70s. The issue of their activities was repeatedly considered in the European Parliament, and in February 1996, its resolution noted the following illegal actions of destructive cults: “cruelty in the treatment of people, sexual harassment, illegal imprisonment, incitement to violence, arms and drug trafficking, illegal medical activity.
The European Parliament called on its members to toughen up their criminal legislation and to fight more actively against totalitarian sects.
For example, the French Association for the Protection of Families and Individuals from the Harmful Influence of Sects has published a special brochure, which, in particular, lists the signs that are characteristic of people who have been subjected to the psychological influence of the sect.
Promotional video:
Signs of such people:
- changes in behavior, manner of dress, vocabulary, interests;
- repetitive and unusual citations;
- memorized speech or … the impression of a record being played;
- a decline in interest in family, friends, in a profession or school, in entertainment;
- an increase in the number of meetings per week (and meetings);
- travel around the country;
- a lot of phone calls;
- a large number of letters;
- prolonged reading or meditation;
- change in diet;
- monotonous voice;
- aggressiveness or indifference;
- isolation or exaltation for the sake of a new business;
- significant cash spending: bank loans, fees from relatives, friends.
Since neither the media nor human rights organizations show the slightest concern about those people who, having fallen into one or another totalitarian sect, lose property, family ties, and sometimes health and even life, it is necessary to talk about the dangers with which it can be associated with a simple curiosity about the sectarians and their activities.
To begin with, it is necessary to highlight the main types of totalitarian sects, of which there are from several hundred to several thousand in the world. In Russia, the following are most common:
1. Sects that are relatively traditional for Russia - Baptists, Adventists, Pentecostals. They also existed in pre-revolutionary Russia, but then they did not encroach on actively recruiting citizens into their ranks. Today they are engaged in active proselytism, including among citizens who consider themselves to be Orthodox. (Proselytism is the attraction of representatives of other confessional communities to any religious organization).
2. Totalitarian sects of pseudo-Christian orientation - such as the "Church of Christ", "New Apostolic Church", charismatic movements, for example, "Testament", Korean Protestant sects, "Family". They cite the Bible as the main source of their doctrine, arbitrarily choosing and distorting the meaning of the quotations taken out of context to prove the right points.
3. Sects claiming to have a "new revelation" - Mormons (or "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"), "Jehovah's Witnesses", "White Brotherhood", "Theotokos Center", Moon movement (Unification Church with its front-line organizations), "Aum Shinrike", "Church of the Last Testament" of the false Christ Vissarion, Bahaism.
4. Teachings and sects from the New Age movement ("New Era", "Age of Aquarius"), having an occult character, setting as their task the development of paranormal and psychic abilities in a person, healers and sorcerers, Eastern cults - Krishnaism, yogic practices, including including Sahaja Yoga, Transcendental Meditation, Neo-Vedantism, Theosophy, Living Ethics (Agni Yoga) of the Roerichs, Anthroposophy, P. Ivanov's sect, L. Ron Hubbard's Scientology sect (Dianetics Center, Narconon, Criminon and etc.), astrology, "Academy of frontal problems" ("Zolotov Academy"), neo-pagan center "Univer", valeology, "Troyan's path", etc.
In this environment, there are currently tendencies for their consolidation, an example of which is the emergence in Novosibirsk of associations such as the Association "Cradle of Siberia" or "Novosibirsk Peacekeeping Committee".
5. Satanic cults that are fanatical in nature and rely mainly on young people. They are recruited at various youth "get-togethers", most often at rock concerts. Children are attracted by occult tricks, drugs, sexual promiscuity, and the cult of violence.
Sometimes Satanists hide under the guise of philosophical or cultural societies. Teens are seduced with the promise of miraculous power, complete freedom, and enrichment of the sexual experience. The motto is "do whatever you want, you have the right to everything, and you can kill those who infringe on your rights." All moral barriers are deliberately destroyed, immorality is elevated into a principle, strength and ruthlessness into a cult.
What is characteristic of totalitarian sects and how do they differ from traditional religions?
1. Religious Marketing. The sect is always busy with religious marketing, that is, spreading its teachings and recruiting new members by special means.
Religious marketing is literally the imposition of one's creed in forms that exclude rational comprehension. This includes all types of advertising in the media, street advertising, postal advertising. Often sectarians - usually a couple of women - stick to passers-by in courtyards, squares, on the street with "innocent" proposals: to talk about God, discuss family problems, help in life …
It can also be annoying invitations to attend meetings or seminars with vague names ("Bible study" - the Moon sect, Jehovah's Witnesses; "English language study" - Mormons; "a meeting of all who are concerned about the fate of Russia" - the Roerich movement, the "Holy Russia" sect; "Festivals and seminars on family life" - the Moon sect, "psychological training, solving communication problems" - the Scientology sect; "raising children, charity concerts" - the "Family" sect; "seminars on pedagogy and medicine" - the Akbashev sect).
2. Aggressive proselytism and psychological pressure. The beginner is always surrounded by special attention, his consciousness must be actively rebuilt. Among the Munits, this is called "love bombardment": the recruited gets the feeling that it was he who was expected in the sect: they do not let him go for a minute, so as not to leave him alone with his thoughts and feelings (this technique is called "sandwich" - two sectarians must literally "sandwiched" the recruited from both sides and not let go of him even when he goes to the toilet).
3. Double teaching. Recruiters do not tell those whom they are trying to attract to the sect the whole truth about the history of the sect, its founder and its true doctrine, because sects have a double teaching - one to advertise their sect, to give it a "human face", and the other - for internal use.
For bait, they use interest in certain areas of life: in studying the Bible, in ways to achieve success in a career, in learning a foreign language. And only after getting inside the sect, the neophyte is surprised to discover that, for example, the founder of the Moonite sect is an occultist, polygamist and a hooligan who proclaimed the Savior a failure, and himself - "Christ", that is, from the point of view of Christianity - the Antichrist. Who would go to visit the Roerichians in the “Spiritual Center named after Sergius of Radonezh”, if I knew that people here do not believe in the Resurrection of Christ or even in God, but, following the founders, they praise Satan and practice idolatry?
4. Hierarchy. To learn the hidden teaching, a person must be initiated to a certain level of the hierarchy in the sect. The organization of the sect is strictly hierarchical. To get any result, for example, to justify the money paid or simply the interest shown and the time spent, you need to move to the next step.
In the Ron Hubbard sect of Scientology, a person, having paid and completed the initial course, learns at the very end that the most important and interesting will be revealed only in the next course, for which there is a separate fee, etc. The hierarchical structure allows you to keep under strict control and direct the actions of the members of the sect at all its levels and not allow a critical attitude either to the teachings of the sect or to its leaders.
5. The infallibility of the sect and its founder. The sect's teaching always claims to be the highest truth, and the truth is "fresher" than the truths of all others, especially the traditional religions. These "truths" are obtained in a supernatural way, through "revelations", visions, contacts with spirits (for example, Moon communicated with a spirit who called himself Christ and gave instructions to create a sect).
6. Programming consciousness. First of all, people with an unstable psyche, who do not have clear moral criteria, spiritual and cultural knowledge, become members of sects. Such people, who seek, but have not found solid foundations in the spiritual life, as a rule, are easily suggested, that is, they are ready to give up their freedom and accept the instructions of their teachers.
We should dwell on the methods of realization of control of consciousness separately.
Consciousness control consists of four components: control of behavior, control of information, control of thinking and control of emotions
1) Behavior control: a person is prescribed where and with whom he should live, what clothes to wear, hairstyle, what food to eat (with a sharp restriction), how long he should sleep (extremely short sleep). More and more time should be devoted to the sect (group prayers, meditations, seminars during which there are endless repetitions and suggestions, the study of sectarian literature, recruiting new members). To make important decisions in your personal life, you need to ask permission from the leader.
2) Information control: outright deception, deliberate withholding and distortion of information to make it acceptable. A ban on all sources of information outside the cult (you cannot watch TV, read newspapers and magazines).
3) Control of thinking: includes the use of the technique of stopping thinking (monotonous chanting, humming, repeated repetition of "prayers", meditation, various techniques are used to introduce a person into a trance). Only "correct", "good" thoughts from the point of view of the sect are encouraged. You cannot ask critical questions about the leader, doubt - "all doubts are from Satan." A person is forced to accept a language that is extremely loaded with complex terms and concepts. (Whoever controls the tongue controls consciousness.)
4) Emotional control: an attempt is made to make the person feel that any problems are his fault. The feeling of guilt is constantly produced and intensified: you live badly, not as you should, your bad thoughts, feelings, attachments, social and historical guilt. “There is no happiness in the surrounding world. Suffering, troubles, destruction awaits you if you leave the sect."
As a result, a physical and mental weakening of the personality occurs, a person loses his autonomy and becomes an obedient puppet in the hands of the leaders of the sect.
7. Spiritual elitism. Members of the sect are indoctrinated with the idea that they are the only saved people, that everyone around them is “second class” people, doomed to perish because they do not share the teachings of the sect. Without this quality, the sect cannot exist, because otherwise it is difficult to explain to oneself and those around him why a sect member needs to separate himself from all traditional values in his way of life, why he is obliged to constantly advertise the sect's teachings, why sect members are not accepted in society. In the sects of the occult direction, emphasis is placed on "self-improvement", that is, the development in a person of paranormal abilities that distinguish members of the sect from ordinary people.
8. Control of vital functions. The ultimate goal of a sectarian organization is control over many, and ideally over all spheres of human life. To achieve this goal, the sect's adherents break out of their usual life, are deprived of their usual circle of communication. Many sects use special sectarian settlements in houses or apartments, converted into "ashrams" or "monasteries", often overcrowded. At the same time, you can eat what is prepared in the sect (often with the addition of psychotropic drugs).
Adepts of the sect are imposed on an intense daily routine, restrictions on food and nutrition, and sleep restriction. In this way, they are deprived of the opportunity to critically comprehend their lives, as well as the sectarian creed and the personalities of the sect's leaders. In some movements, psychotropic drugs and hypnosis are used to achieve control over the adepts.
Ultimately, sectarians sacrifice their time, health, property to the sect (apartments are most often either sold or given for the organization of sect's offices or "ashrams"), and sometimes their lives. Sects are rarely content with their influence only on the adepts, but usually they seek to extend it to their family members, close people, acquaintances. The children of sectarians should be brought up in the spirit of sectarian teaching and grow up to be devoted supporters.
Family ties are especially hateful for sectarians. One of the most violent destroyers of the family is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness: "Attachment to the family until the very end of life is the very last degree of human degradation" is stated in the sacred book of sectarians "Srimad-Bhagavatam" (Canto 1, Ch. 13, Comm. to vol. 24).
Finally, another way to establish full control over the life of the sect's adherents is to constantly demand from them serious material contributions for the activities of the sect. He is forced to sell his property, apartment, dacha, values, write a will in favor of the sect or its leader, which ultimately leads to the complete dependence of the adept on the sect and the impossibility for him to leave this sect: he simply has nowhere to go.
9. Political goals. Many sects, such as Moon's Unification Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Ron Hubbard's Scientology, and others, are large industrial and financial "empires" seeking to dominate the entire world.
Thus, Jehovah's Witnesses are broadcasting about the need to establish a “new world order” headed by a “single government” consisting only of members of this sect. The Korean Moon, the founder of the Unification Church sect, says bluntly that he should be accepted by all the governments of the world as their master.
Almost all sects preach antipatriotism of Russian citizens: for example, in the Moon sect, members swear allegiance to their true Fatherland - Korea, Jehovah's Witnesses are prohibited from honoring the national flag and anthem, as well as celebrating public holidays of the Russian Federation.
It is no coincidence that sects always wage war against the Orthodox Church, because the spiritual traditions of the Church are the most effective exposure of the falsity of those ideas with which sects want to subjugate society. In a society in which many sects operate, culture dies and a spiritual illness arises - the inability to distinguish between good and evil, truth and falsehood. Such a society becomes incapable of solving its own problems and turns into a passive object for applying someone else's will.
The struggle of sectarians against the Orthodox Church in the 90s manifested itself, for example, in the form of a lawsuit against the book of a prominent fighter against sectarianism, Professor A. L. Dvorkin, and also against his book Ten Questions to the Intrusive Stranger, or A Guide for Those Who Don't Want to Be Recruited.
The lawsuit in 1997 was considered by the Khoroshevsky Court of Moscow, and the sectarians lost miserably.
In the case, witness testimony was given, which referred to the monstrous violence against people. In particular, the work of the deputy N. V. Krivelskoy, which said that sects destroyed several thousand families (in 1997). Some children were left orphans, others, along with their parents, ended up in a sect. There are many cases when one of the parents, recruited by sectarians, leaving the family, took their only child with him, in fact, kidnapped him.
What caused such anger among the sectarians that attempts to sue Professor Dvorkin do not stop to this day? And the rage was caused by the recommendations, which were what questions would be nice to ask obsessive strangers who offer you solutions to your problems.
These questions are:
1) How long have you been a member of the group? It is important for you to find out from the very beginning who you are dealing with. A person involved in a totalitarian sect less than a year ago is usually still quite inexperienced. Consequently, the likelihood that he will resort to lies is less, but in any case he cannot lie as convincingly as an experienced recruiter. If your interlocutor has been a member of the group for many years, demand from him the most specific answers to all your questions. If he tries to evade, you can always ask how it happened that, after spending so many years in the group, he did not bother to get an answer to such simple questions.
2) Do you want to recruit me to some organization? Most often, the recruiter will answer: “No, I just liked you, and I wanted to share with you information about our teaching (method, organization)”. Then everything will depend on you: whether you want to use it or not. Great. Remember this answer, because if your interlocutor is a representative of a totalitarian sect, he still cannot help but resort to methods of recruitment and pressure, and then the time will come. remember that he lied to you, remind him of this and politely but firmly ask to leave you alone.
3) Can you list the names of all other organizations associated with your group? By asking this question, you are trying to find out if your interlocutor is not a member of a totalitarian sect you know. Almost all sects of this kind create around themselves a number of covering (front-line) organizations so as not to immediately scare off potential members. For example: The Church of Christ often acts as a Bible study group or society; the "Family" sect (aka "Children of God") is represented by the "Union of Independent Christian Missionary Communities"; Witness Lee's “Local Church” (or simply “Church in NN”) distributes its literature under the guise of the independent publishing house Live Stream; Dianetics, Narconon, Criminon, Hubbard College, etc. are just other names for the so-called Church of Scientology.
If the recruiter tells you that there are no such organizations, and later you find out that he lied to you, this is again a great reason for you to kick him out. If you don't ask this question, you risk not discovering that you have been lied to.
4) Name the founder and, if he is already passing away, the supreme leader of your group. Try to get the most complete and truthful answer to your question here. It is possible that the recruiter will try not to tell you the real head of the group, since his name can be quite odious.
5) Tell us about the past of the head of the organization, about the education he received. Does he have a criminal record? Was he prosecuted? If so, why? It is important to know if the leader is really who he claims to be.
For example, Herbalife founder Mark Hughes has neither medical nor pharmacological education. The self-proclaimed Christ - Vissarion (Sergei Torop) used to work as a policeman. The very first Mormon - Joseph Smith - began his spiritual career with spiritualism and treasure hunting, while Jehovah's godfather, Charles Taze Russell, was a small shopkeeper from the age of 11. The founder of the "Unification Church", the Korean businessman Sun Myung Moon, was twice prosecuted in Korea (according to some sources - for bigamy and sexual perversion). In 1985, he served 13 months in a US federal prison for tax violations.
6) What does your group believe in? Does she believe that the end justifies the means? Are there circumstances when it is beneficial for a person if he is deceived?
Most recruiters are unlikely to teach you the teachings of the sect on the spot. They are taught to pique your curiosity and curiosity in order to drag you towards them; listen to a lecture, watch a film, take part in a seminar. They know that there, on their territory, they will have much more opportunities and ways to subject you to the influence of the sect.
Any worthy religious organization is able to summarize the basics of their faith. But totalitarian sects are not at all interested in the fact that you immediately, without appropriate preparation, would learn everything that their members are supposed to believe in, which is distributed among them in materials “for internal use”.
7) If I join your organization, how should I change my life? Will I have to quit school or work, donate my savings and my property to you, and break off relations with all my family and friends if they speak out against this decision of mine?
At the same time, keep in mind that if your interlocutor is a member of a totalitarian sect, he will most likely tell you that nothing or almost nothing will be required of you, and that you will be able to continue your previous way of life and even immediately achieve everything you strive for. After his answer, ask what he himself was doing before joining the sect and what he is doing now.
8) Is your organization's activities considered controversial? If someone is against your organization, what are their arguments? This question will show you how informed your interlocutor is or how ready he is for an open dialogue.
9) What do you think of the former members of your organization? Have you ever had a serious talk with a former member and listened to his reasons for leaving the organization? If not, why not? Doesn't your organization allow you to communicate with people who have left it?
You need to know that the reaction to this question can reveal a lot to you. No worthy organization will prohibit its members from maintaining contact with people who have left it. Any worthy organization respects human freedom, including the right of its members to leave it. As much as she pity them for their decision, she will never prevent them from doing so. But the same cannot be said about destructive cults.
10) Name three things you dislike about your organization and its chief executive.
At the same time, we know many Orthodox Christians who openly criticize their Church and its hierarchs. We know Catholics who criticize the pope and Protestants who speak out very harshly about their churches. You can relate to this in different ways, but it is a fact. But have you heard of at least one sectarian who openly expresses at least moderately critical thoughts about the founder of his group, about its leadership, or about herself?
The best way to prove to a person that he is a drug addict is to persuade him to try to abstain from taking drugs for several days. The best way to test if a person is under the influence of mind control is to test if they still have the ability to critically perceive their surroundings.
As you can see, the simplest and "naive children's questions" caused a violent reaction among the adherents of sectarianism to the one who recommends such questions.