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Kelly Cabrera

Professor Corey Mead

ENG 2150H

9 March 2022

Tragedy in cults: the innerworkings and science behind their criminological

patterns and theories

I. Introduction

Defining what a cult is can be difficult, recognizing one can be even more. In fact, most people

who are in a cult do not even realize they are in one until they have gotten out. Cults, in a way, can

shapeshift, it can look like the chance of serving a higher omnipotent being, like a support group

or even like a way of enlightenment or therapy. They can take endless forms and have different

goals and objectives, they can look different on the outside, yet they all share the similarities within

their inner structure. It is important to not generalize as history has shown that cults are not always

bad, that they can be in a morally neutral ground and cause no harm because they are just like any

other belief system. However, history has also shown a great volume of crime attributed to cult-

like systems. Criminal behavior explained as a consequence of fragmented religions or new belief

systems has been around for centuries. And modern history has shown the newfound lack of faith

to be crime inducing (Pettersson 279), as a result people start seeking new faiths and over the past

20 years there has been an increase in crime in the name of religion as well, especially in the field

of terrorism (Mayer 361). Whether the problem comes from extreme worship or the loss of faith,

both are life-changing and a crucial part of cults, and this can result in vulnerability when it comes
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to crime. This essay will explore the questions, why do some cults end up in tragedy? Is there a

pattern which could warn us of the possibilities? How could these tragedies have been avoided?

II. Methodology

The purpose of this paper is to apply theories to cult crime cases, in order to identify certain

elements of specific cults that if identified sooner could help prevent such criminal behavior. To

answer this, real crime cases within cults will be examined, as well as their patterns of actions and

psychological behaviors and the criminological theory they could belong to. The methodology

used to conduct this research will focus in two main study groups as the subject of the possible

results of criminological patterns and theories applied. The groups will be divided into terrorist

organizations and religious cults.

1. Terrorist organizations

1.1. A definition for terrorism

Terrorism is a term which has been a part of our society for centuries and it has developed

into different reasonings to justify the means to their ends. In contemporary terrorism however,

the world saw the term terrorism grow hand in hand with the date 9/11. Not that terrorist attacks

did not have previous significant impacts, it was just the scale of Al-Qaeda attacks which

ignited a constant fear that was never felt before and it also ignited the curiosity as to how

people that seemed inherently normal were able to carry out such violent acts. Bruce Hoffman

(2006) has an interesting approach to the definition of terrorism, he find it very important to
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know how to define it as a political concept, in order to understand it as it becomes “a planned,

calculated, and indeed systematic act” which turns a threat of violence or the act itself into a

tool that can help these organizations achieve political or social change or gain power. As he

sees it, this act of terror is difficult to understand in a way which will define it once and for all,

because something that is always evolving could never be forever defined. Different terrorist

groups, have different motivations and seek different goals, so “terrorists clearly do not see or

regard themselves as others do”, but it is safe to say with all the definitions that the term is

given, that they all do it through the same tool, violence.

1.2. Al-Qaeda

In September 11 of 2001 the world-view for many was changed forever, as the world became

a witness to the evil mankind is capable of doing. Notice was given about a plane crashing into

the World Trade Center in New York City, at first people thought it was an accident but once

the second plane hit the second tower, there was no longer doubt. Although it was a hard pill

to swallow, it was a terrorist attack and later on people would now there were other planes

hijacked with the same objective and under the same command of the group Al-Qaeda. The

name Osama bin Laden became widely recognized as the face of the terrorist attack that took

almost 3000 lives. The widely recognized terrorist figure was identifiable everywhere, with his

white headdress, his tall slender figure and that characterizing long beard, everyone knew who

he was, and whenever he was broadcasted fear would surge. Bin Laden (2001) had his own

idea of how terrorism could be defined and what consequences his actions were to have:

Those men who sacrificed themselves in New York and Washington, they are the

spokesmen of the nation's conscience. They are the nation's conscience that saw they have
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to avenge against the oppression. Not all terrorism is cursed; some terrorism is blessed. A

thief, a criminal, for example feels terrorized by the police. So, do we say to the policeman,

"You are a terrorist"? No. Police terrorism against criminals is a blessed terrorism because

it will prevent the criminal from repeating his deed. America and Israel exercise the

condemned terrorism. We practice the good terrorism which stops them from killing our

children in Palestine and elsewhere.

He and his organization had a motive that to them was rational, they had come to the decision

of attacking United States through their own logic, they did not see it as something wrong, but

they approached it through an eye for an eye ideology and as a way of showing power and the

capability of doing harm, spreading terror was exactly what they were going for.

It is important to keep in mind that Al-Qaeda had a heavy link with religion, because it behind

religion that they sought after forgiveness for their sins, as they believed that everything they

were doing was for a greater good. Bruce Hoffman (2006) adds to his book the following

statements done by Bin Laden:

We seek refuge with the Lord of our bad and evildoing. He whom God guides is rightly

guided but he whom God leaves to stray, for him wilt thou find no protector to lead him to

the right way. I witness that there is no God but God and Muhammad is his slave and

prophet. God Almighty hit the United States at its most vulnerable spot. He destroyed its

greatest buildings. Praise be to God. Here is the United States. It was filled with terror from

its north to its south and from its east to its west. Praise be to God.
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This group thought that the mere action of Muslims sympathizing with the victims of 9/11,

meant that they had renounced god, that they were against their very own people and this

opposition not only from the inside, but also from the outside with every country being against

them, influenced Al-Qaeda to steer towards violence with their religious beliefs acting as a

way for exculpation. The same ideology can be seen in for ISIS, but also it is noted that this

way of thinking does not limit itself to the Middle Eastern Culture, it can be seen everywhere

and it can be attributed to the way religion is perceived and interpreted by each group. An

example for this can be seen in Japan with the following religious group.

1.3. Aum Shinrikyo

For a society as well structured and prosperous as Japan, terrorist attacks and movements is

not something heard about quite often. However, in 1995, 12 people would die and 6000 more

were injured as a result of a bioterrorist attack in which a nerve agent called sarin was released

inside a subway in Tokyo. Although the weapons used by this organization were very different

compared to Al-Qaeda’s they both used the tool of fear to spread their message. After all, it

was not the first time that Aum Shinrikyo had tried to used biological and chemical weapons

for attempts on life. As surprising as it might sound after knowing about the attacks conducted,

this group began peacefully as its sole purpose was to use acupuncture, massages and yoga as

a tool to find more spirituality within the members. Shoko Asahara, the leader, had very

extremist views and these were developed from a very young age as he was born to a poor

household with severe eye impediments, he became very interested in astrology and Chinese

traditional medicine, he tried to further his studies but was rejected and he also suffered from

a fine for practicing pharmacy without a license (Gunaratna 2). Like most people going through
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hard times, he reached to a higher power, religion, and in his case it would be Agon Shü which

came from Buddhism. To reach enlightenment in this religion, it is what is most sought after

and Asahara claimed he had reached it and could help others do it as well. By 1995 this group

had 50 000 members and had a net worth of $1 billion, showing a fast pace when it came to

globalizing and growing the groups’ influence. All of this influence and power that Asahara

obtained, led him to have Aum Shinrikyo labeled a terrorist group. As to the reason for the

attacks, it was all about politics once again, his failure in the elections led him to a type of

thinking where if he could not join them, he would destroy them. He gathered qualified and

trained scientists and engineers through the state-of-the-art programs and technology he could

offer them. He sent his members to Russia to be trained for attacking through the belief that

he, the man who had reached enlightenment, could help them too because the end of the world

was near and the only way they were going to survive was by following him. He used religious

logic and fear of the end of life to build his weaponry to make his political statement and turn

into a military strength.

1.4. Criminological theories and patterns

In medicine, psychology and other areas of study it is always said that it is good to go back to

the beginning in order to find out what the source of the conflict was and so, get a possible

solution and reason. In order to reach the theory, it is vital to delve into the patterns that are

already there in both terrorist groups, what we see is that the members seem disturbingly

normal, the leaders highly articulate and extremely thoughtful and they believe that it is

completely rational to justify their actions as it was an entirely rational choice. They consider

the moral judgement that goes into the word terrorism and they believe they can also call others
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terrorists if it is based on each ideologies’ judgement. They cloak themselves behind sets of

words that can be used to label them, instead of being called terrorists they hide behind military

jargon and cults behind religious jargon. The difference between both was that Aum Shinrikyo

where registered as a religious group while its military capabilities were slowly developing

behind the scenes and meanwhile, Al-Qaeda was being identified as a militant group. How

they showed themselves differed, but their innerworkings were mirrored. A pattern seen is also

the background, the beginning, the interactions that led people to commit violence and this can

be seen through the Social Learning Theory. Through this theory it is believed that people will

start behaving in a violent manner as a result of observing others behaving in such way with

either an objective to accomplish or a reward given as incentive of the use of violence.

According to Richard Hughbank and David Hughbank (2008) this theory, during its initial

stages was “directly associated criminal behavior with individual learned traits through varying

and dynamic human interactions in an environment conducive to violent and unrestrained

behavior”. But later on, with developments, it became the answer to why people who looked

for religious or political acceptance were recruited for terrorist groups. In the context of the

two groups explained beforehand, we saw this theory take place as violence was used for the

objective of spreading terror and gaining political power, but also rewards were given such

absolution from a god and salvation.

2. Religious Cults

2.1. A definition for religious cults

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Just like for terrorism, a definition for cults is incredibly hard to come by. There is such a fine

line between what characteristics are cult like and which are not, that just one tiny detail can

blur the line completely. For cults to work the way they want it work, there is a need for this

confusion. “Cults are constantly playing on this ambiguity. They present themselves as a new

religious movement, and reduce the level of the debate to a single dimension, religious

freedom” (Abgrall 14). It can be said that the definition has a core which conveys that it is a

system of veneration towards something specific, that is the base of the incredibly intricate

structure that follows it. Jean-Marie Abgrall (2000) indicates in her book Soul Snatchers: The

Mechanics of Cults that as much as cults may rely in religious beliefs, there is a reality to look

at, “no practice is truly religious if it does not respect the legal context of the society in which

it operates”. With that explained, we will take a look at cults that have done something

completely out of the parameters of society’s rules as they have become a part of crime history.

2.2. Heaven’s Gate

In March 26, 1997 in an exclusive suburb of San Diego, California, 39 people were found dead

as a result of a mass suicide, 21 women and 18 men all dressed the same and all members of a

religious cult called Heaven’s Gate. What had made them ingest pudding or applesauce laced

with barbiturates, drink a shot of vodka and put plastic over their heads was a short-kept

mystery, as the departed members of this cult soon became an internet sensation over their

beliefs. Although the system instated by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles surrounded

extraterrestrial beings as a way of reaching heaven instead of the common religious God,

Marshall was an extremely persuasive and convincing person and soon gathered as much as

1000 members which really believed this was all real (Robinson). What this cult was about can
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be seen through their website which is still running: https://www.heavensgate.com/ where

certain elements can be seen such as the traditional religion being untrustworthy, there is a

final warning being given, there is a possible escape through alien abduction and that the

physical body can be left behind in order to for the spirit to safely live at a higher evolutionary

level. The last one, was the one that led 39 of their members to their demise, as they were

convinced that committing suicide will be a positive experience for them. As chilling as it may

be to think about the power a simple link in the internet can be, it is vital to know how it ended

up taking lives. As this new ideology seemed interesting to many, it seemed like something

that could be completely real with the ample documents that were provided, the charismatic

educated leader that did not seem like he wanted to harm them in any way. Even though at the

very beginning they were supposed to embark a physical journey, after the death of Nettles

who had recruited Applewhite and convinced him that they were meant to be, Applewhite

became worried of the contradiction posed by her death with no rebirth and so the new

philosophy of their souls being the ones taken to heaven was now instated. According to some

previous cult members, their leader became much more controlling after Nettles death

(Colurso) and he started to show certain characteristics that would be frowned upon in society,

such as marrying multiple members as an act of commitment and devotion and proposed to

members to undergo castration procedures. Although he did not really lead through fear of

himself, he did create fear as to the apocalypse and the way of salvation passing by. The

members thought that they had one opportunity to save themselves and that was through the

approach of the Hale-Bopp comet, which was their “ride to heaven”.

However, this was not the biggest mass suicide connected to a cult, there is one that created

even a bigger impact.

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2.3. Peoples Temple

In all of the case-studies seen so far, a recurring theme is the lack of belonging in a person’s

life and how that creates vulnerability to a newfound place, group or ideology that can give

that person a newfound identity and sense of belonging. This is what happened with the

members of Peoples Temple as well as they joined into an organization that embraced them

and showed them a new meaning and purpose to their lives. The problematic is that they did

not realize at the moment what they were a part of, and once things started to get bad there was

no easy way to get out. Just like the cult talked about before, Peoples Temple had a very

charismatic and persuasive leader, Jim Jones. He promoted a church for all, a safe place where

everyone was not only included, but they were praised and treated like never before. It did not

matter the color, the race, nothing, he treated members in a way that made them feel like equals.

This was all short lived as an article posed a threat to the power he was holding. When Marshall

Kilduff and Phil Tracy wrote Inside Peoples Temple with the statements of defectors, which

started to clear the mystery surrounding Jones and the fear he would spread. The thing is that

the fear that he felt by the threat that this article posed, pushed him to move everything and to

take as many of his loyal members as he could. It was amazing how he was able to create a

self-sufficient village called Jonestown from practically nothing. But the curiosity and

questions that were raised from the published article followed him even across borders. Due to

these questions a group of journalists and people including Congressman Leo Ryan, decided

to go there, which would eventually lead to most of that groups’ death. Ryan was seen as a

means of protection for the people that wanted to get out of Jonestown, but the idea of the

betrayal that members leaving could implicate for Jim Jones urged him to find a solution. And

the solution he found was to commit mass suicide as he tried to persuade them about peace
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being more important than life and peace being unattainable any other way. And so, cyanide-

laced punch was given to them, but the thing is that it could not be all counted as suicide

because the kids did not have a choice at the matter and also the adults, it was either drink or

get shot by the armed people surrounding them like sheep in a flock, it was a massacre

(Nelson).

2.4. Criminological theories and patterns

The patterns mostly seen on these two religious cults are the culmination of life as a tool to

reach a final objective, which by the cult is put in a positive way. The characteristic persuasive

and charismatic leader that embraces the members and makes them feel like they have finally

reached were they were destined to be. The surge of violent acts as the result of the pressure

induced by the society’s views and the cults viewing this as a threat or disrespect. The use of

“miracles” for persuasion, the proof of miraculous events done by extraterrestrial beings on

one side and on the other Jones being a vessel that could help people regain walking abilities

and so on. The laced food or drinks which were ingested and used as a weapon to commit

suicide. Although these two cults did differ in a sense, where Jim Jones actually used weapons

to carry out murders and Applewhite persuaded as many as he could with no weapons as far

as it is known, there is one big similarity between them that will help instate the criminological

theory behind these crime cases. Both leaders faced stress and high emotions as their members

were beginning to lose faith in them and desert them, with that losing their power and

credibility, for them they might as well lose it all. Applewhite on one hand faced the failed

philosophy he preached as his soulmate passed away like any other common human being and

Jones on other hand begun being deserted by those who had followed him to another country
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and had created a sustainable village. They were both losing power and that is where the Strain

Theory comes in, where as a way to decompress all of these pent-up feelings, relief is facilitated

through the means of violence or crime (Miller).

III. Analytical Conclusion

This research has shown some empirical evidence on the innerworkings and patterns that can be

seen in cults, whether they constitute terrorist organizations or religious ones, they all have a source

and they can all be tied up to a criminological theory. As case-studies where approached from a

contextual point of view, the analysis on the repeated patterns they all showed means something

good, that there is a way of recognizing this type of crime before it even happens and so, potential

methods of prevention can be instated and defining elements of this groups looked out for. For

example, with neighborhood programs being incorporated into society, which could identify

specific behaviors before it’s too late. The possibility of a different positive outcome for future

generations is something that could be overly positive, however preventing measures are a big

possibility and attainable for the moment. The human mind works in very curious ways, which

can be studied and delved into further for a much larger understanding of the reasoning behind cult

or organizational system crime. Because with that kind of study, solutions can raise. And even

though this essay is too brief to really understand how much homogeneity can be seen in

criminological patterns it is a start and it is proof of the existing identifiable structure lying within

cults.
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