Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 8, No. 2, 1991, Page 11
Johannes Aagaard, Ph.D. is a Professor at the Institute of Missiology and Ecumenical
Theology, Faculty of Theology, Aarhus University. He is also President and Chairman of The
Dialogue Center, Denmark.
This article is an electronic version of an article originally published in Cultic Studies Journal, 1991, Volume 8,
Number 2, pages 91-103. Please keep in mind that the pagination of this electronic reprint differs from that of the
bound volume. This fact could affect how you enter bibliographic information in papers that you may write.

Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 8, No. 2, 1991, Page 12
Why Cultic Groups Develop and Flourish:
A Historian’s Perspective
Natalie Isser, Ph.D.
Pennsylvania State University
Ogontz Campus
Abstract
A variety of religious or secular sects and cults were a continuing phenomenon in
the United States. Many of these religious movements, especially the more deviant
ones, were dependent upon strong charismatic leadership and syncretic belief
systems embracing a combination of current ideals and sentiments. Sometimes the
outcast cult could, with time, become a sect, and even enter the mainstream
religions. The best known of this group would be the Mormon Church. The
proliferation of religious, quasi-political, and nontraditional organizations was much
more prevalent in the United States because of its favorable physical terrain,
religious pluralism, and social mobility. Many Native Americans and Blacks founded
cults, embodying both their ancestral traditions and Christian values. These cults
provided a useful way of confronting the hostile dominant culture. Contemporary
cults like those of the past have created opposition because their religious policies
and proselytization techniques threaten prevailing traditions. The power of
contemporary media has abetted these missionary efforts but has also provided the
means to discredit them. Though some of these cults have faded from view, new
ones will emerge as a challenge to the existing culture.
The sudden efflorescence of cults that appeared in the tumultuous decade of 1965-75, the
glare of unfavorable publicity that culminated in the Jonestown tragedy in 1978, and the
continued prevalence of religious debates over church and state issues among various sects
and fundamentalist Christian evangelicals have renewed academic interest in religious issues.
Religious beliefs and institutions formed an integral part of man‟s experience. They provided
transcendental explanations for existence and the rituals and rites that codified and civilized
human behavior, further enhancing the maintenance of civility and order. More significant,
religious rites marked the passages of life: birth, adolescence, marriage, death while
religious festivals celebrated the fruits of nature itself. Religious commitment satisfied human
psychological needs by giving reassurance and comfort in periods of stress it helped
individuals deal with the prospect of death and frequently gave parental imagery and
leadership that brought help and love.
Thus a variety of beliefs, an enormous number of cults, and the "shelter" they provided for
the confused, depressed, and bewildered was a continuing phenomenon in the history of
Western civilization. Indeed, the emergence of new and sometimes challenging religious
systems was a reaction by some to an ever-changing, inhospitable environment that
frequently confronted the communities people lived in. Besides, change of religious belief was
also a way for the young to rebel against the restrictions and inhibitions of their parents. The
result was that with the triumph of Christianity and the establishment of new state religions,
the notion of proselytization, or the need to spread the Christian (and the Moslem) truth,
became, unlike in the Far East, a significant and enduring part of the Western tradition.
During the Protestant Reformation the number of sects vying for both government support
and community adhesion multiplied, further intensifying the spread of preaching and
evangelical fervor. Thus while many perceive contemporary cults as a twentieth-century