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occur since children are expected to shun bodily needs in the same way as adults. Usually,
however, children are excluded from philosophy of purity groups since they symbolize
impurity through their genesis, uncontrollable bodily and emotional needs, and fundamental
immaturity.
Rituals
All aspects of daily life are often highly ritualized since ritualization aims at controlling
manifestations of impurity. Because impurity is virtually always present, rituals prescribe
correct and detailed ways of being, doing, thinking, sleeping, etc.
One of the main aims of excessive ritualization is to keep one‘s mind occupied, for impurity
is felt to be most perniciously experienced in one‘s thoughts. The constant repetition of
meditation, prayer, song or hymn singing keeps impure thoughts at bay. Since impurity is
often equated with individuality, a never-ending battle with trivial and seemingly inoffensive
thoughts is fought within each individual through strict observance of rituals that often take
on an obsessive-compulsive quality.
Other group rituals aim at the purification of the soul. The leader usually leads these
ceremonies for the whole community. Whether such rituals resemble a public confession of
each one‘s impure acts and thoughts or is based on a private confession of one‘s sins, the
final aim of this type of practice is to rid members' souls, at least for a second, of all
impurities.
Doctrine
Doctrinal emphasis is put on severing all bonds between body and soul. When a holy book is
the basis of the doctrine, all passages that highlight spirituality, condemn bodily functions,
and idealize purity are considered dogma. If the doctrine is novel, its elements will stress
the fundamental distance between body and soul, the highest form of life being a pure soul
detached from all bodily ties. Deities will also be idealized as entities that are completely
detached from all that is material. Consequently, doctrinal imperatives will value asceticism
in all its forms. Since pleasure is associated with emotion and bodily satisfaction, food will
be kept simple and maybe even cooked so as to be tasteless and bland. Also, it will most
likely be eaten in sparse quantity.
Moreover, fear of contamination from impure elements is often of central concern. Rituals
meant to purify food, clothes, and bodily functions may be the rule as all that is connected
to bodily needs is shunned. For the same reason, medical treatment may be rejected
because such a philosophy views the body as a hindrance more than an asset. In such a
philosophy, the less one thinks or takes care of one‘s body the better. Also, in some groups
that adopt a philosophy of purity, physical ailments may be seen as a sign of impurity,
making members hide symptoms, or even adamantly deny their evident presence.
Additionally, medical help is often rejected because of the fear of contamination either from
impure material elements or from contact with non-members, who are deemed impure.
Finally, for some members of these groups, as for some groups as a whole, death is equated
with the liberation from bodily ties, and hence is seen as a deliverance from the daily
struggle to stay pure. In such cases, major physical illness is often experienced as a relief
because it signifies imminent death of the body and liberation of the soul.
Spatial Organization
These groups tend to live outside mainstream society. Their tendency to segregate
themselves from others in order to avoid contamination makes them choose isolated areas
or secluded retreats. Sometimes the group seeks more and more geographically isolated
regions in an effort to find an area that is not contaminated. Quite paradoxically, as they

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search for more isolation, the leader and his followers may come to view hostile land or
regions with extreme climate as safe environments.
Often a complete segregation of the sexes will be the guiding principle ordering the spatial
organization within the community. To ensure the most complete protection from the
impurities of society and avoid contamination philosophy of purity groups will value self-
sufficiency highly.
Social Organization
Members place high value on two principles that often come into conflict in their social
organization. On the one hand, egalitarianism through uniformity is actively sought, and on
the other, autarky is highly valued. Some individuals, however, become indispensable to the
group owing to their greater capacity at ensuring self-sufficiency for the community. This
entails a conflict of value within the group since, according to the first principle, no
individual qualities should be identifiable, but according to the second, the community must
depend on itself to ensure its isolation from the rest of the world.
This paradox places constant strain on the entire social organization and puts able
individuals in a difficult position because even if their capabilities are much needed,
recognition is denied and pride is frowned upon. One way of reducing this moral conflict is to
favor group work. By favoring small working units the abilities, and limits of individual
members become indistinguishable. Thus, work is accomplished by a working unit of
unindividualized members who are, nonetheless, of varying levels of competence. Such
discrepancy may often be the source of much guilt-provoking frustration for members.
Another strategy for adapting the social organization to a philosophy of purity is to view
individual competency as a demonstration of the purity of one‘s soul. The rationale for this
representation of talent is that it is considered possible to work in an optimal fashion when
one has control over distraction, emotional or bodily needs, and physical limitations. In this
way, the more able individuals can be recognized as such since their ability is associated
with their being purer than fellow members. Although such discrimination often awakens
jealousy and envy, these emotions may not be expressed or even acknowledged within
oneself without evoking a despairing feeling of failure. To ward off such personal grief,
group purification rituals are used. Nonetheless, by publicly accusing oneself of this type of
emotional sin, the offending member appears impure. Consequently, an informal hierarchy
progressively forms in which individuals are viewed as more competent and purer, if they
are of an unemotional character type while individuals who are of a more emotional
character type will be seen as the least talented and the least pure. Furthermore, since
confrontation, competitiveness, aggressiveness, or even assertiveness are associated with
human nature, and thus with impurity, an outward atmosphere of harmony is sought at all
times. Although tensions between members inevitably exist, perfect control of one‘s
emotions is expected of all members. This expectation adds impetus to the ritualization of
relationships between members.
Philosophy of Survival
Groups that share a philosophy of survival can be said to exemplify the following aphorism:
if you‟re not with us, you‟re against us. In these groups, projection of maliciousness outside
the group makes the world appear dangerous to members. Thus, such groups adopt an
extreme version of a philosophy of separation by which they not only differentiate between
us and them, but also project upon them all that is seen as bad. Since all that is associated
with maliciousness is intolerable, all that can be interpreted as representing evil is
systematically attributed to the world outside the group. One consequence of such a
philosophy is that by continuously attributing evil to the outside world, members come to
view as potential enemies everyone who is not part of the group. Leaders and members of