Are Cults Legal

While it is important that all beliefs are protected, the law must also protect its citizens from undue harm. “Illegal behavior cannot be excused or ignored because the group participating in that behavior has religious beliefs or affiliations” It is important to treat everyone`s beliefs equally. It is also important to abide by the law, even if the law passes through a sticky moral territory. The Cult Awareness Network (CAN) emerged as a direct consequence of the Jonestown massacre, and other anti-cult movements took it upon themselves to deal with deprogramming, a method of changing the beliefs and behaviors of a cult member to align more with social norms and reverse the effects of mind control used by cult leaders. Deprogramming was often carried out violently, essentially by abducting a cult member and trying to brainwash him using various methods. In the 1980s, some states attempted to introduce bills to legalize deprogramming, including New York, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas. However, these bills were ultimately never passed. The definition of a sect and a religion is identical, except for those who are members of a sect. The term religion is used to give legitimacy to one, and the term cult is used to marginalize the other.

In reality, all sects and religions would meet the definition of both terms. During my work in the United States Senate in Washington, D.C., my attempts to determine the legal difference between a cult and a religion were met with brick walls and forks on the road. The question has become a question full of sticky nuances and barely drawn lines; It was a theme wrapped in gray. In today`s world, defining a religious belief is like opening a Pandora`s box; it only triggers anger and controversy. As a result, my quest for a better understanding of the legal intricacies of religious freedom has become frustrating. I found that the more I learned, the more questions I had. I began my research by reviewing Supreme Court decisions, transcripts of past Senate and House hearings on religious freedom, and interviews with individuals in positions of legal and religious authority in education. This process has finally allowed me to better understand what defines both religion and worship in contemporary American law. In addition, it has engendered my new respect for the law and the justice it seeks to regulate. In his book Les Sectes Politiques: 1965-1995, the French writer Cyril Le Tallec looks at certain religious groups active in politics at the time.

It included the Cultural Office of Cluny, the New Acropolis, the Mission of Divine Light, the Family Property of Tradition (TFP), Longo Maï, the Club of Supermen and the Association for the Promotion of Industrial Arts (Solazaref). [131] While the literal and original meaning of the word continues to be used in the English language, a meaning derived from “excessive devotion” emerged in the 19th century. [i] From the 1930s onwards, sects were the subject of sociological studies as part of research on religious behaviour. [5] Since the 1940s, the Christian counter-sect movement has opposed certain sects and new religious movements, calling them “sects” because of their unorthodox faith.