Cults

Do Now:
1. Read the newspaper clippings on your table.
2. Write down what you think we are going to learn about today in a complete
sentence.
What is a cult?
https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-cult-leader-definition-characteristics.html
Characteristics of Cults
1. Authoritarianism
2. Exclusivism
3. Isolationism
4. Disfellowshipped
Authoritarianism
● Involves the acceptance of an authority figure who exercises excessive
control over cult members
● This leader’s word is considered ultimate and final.
● Cult members submit to the rules and regulations established by the cult
leader.
● Unquestioning obedience is mandatory.
Exclusivism
● Disregard for opinions and ideas other than one’s own
● Cults believe that they have the ultimate truth.
Isolationism
● Cults require members to renounce and break off associations with their
families.
● Cult members must separate themselves from their former lives.
● The cult is their new identity.
Disfellowshipped
● People in cults are urged to remain faithful to avoid being
disfellowshipped or excluded from the group.
● People in cults fear being disfellowshipped.
Activity
1. Your Vocabulary Journals are written in either red or green.
2. If your Vocabulary Journal is written in red, you will read the article, “A Look at
Heaven’s Gate Mass Suicide on its 20th Anniversary”.
3. If your Vocabulary Journal is written in green, you will read the article,
“Jonestown”.
4. With your group, read the article and highlight the important points.
5. You will teach the other group about the cult in your article.
Kahoot
https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/1ae7a293-d5e2-4022-b4e4-7f8384eab3fd