Cults in LA
"This lovely place, cuckoo land, is corrupted with an odd community giddiness...nowhere else do eccentrics flourish in such close abundance. Nowhere do spiritual or economic panaceas grow so lushly. Nowhere is undisciplined gullibility so widespread" (McWilliams 250). When reading this description about Los Angeles one may feel that it doesn't represent LA as a whole, however with the vast number of cults that migrate here it seems to be more appropriate every day. The scary thing is that the majority of the cults don't originate here; they come here because there is a lack of community and outcasts are accepted as normal folk in sunny LA. In a city that is built on money and a get rich quick mentality, it seems fit for small cults to want to come here and flourish off the vast sea of prospective members. The world is filled with many types of cults, but one tends to see them openly, freely acting in the city of Los Angeles. Los Angeles' geography of being an oasis in the desert brings many cultic leaders to bring their group here to expand. Many people feel that because of the geography and climate, Los Angeles is an ideal place to start cults. Some feel that the apocalyptic aspect of So
California: An Island on the Land. Santa Barbara: Peregrine Smith, Inc. 1973. Online. Internet. 5 Nov. 1999. Available: http:www.religioustolerance.org/cults.htm. These include, "A style of worship and its associated rituals; devotion or homage to a particular person or thing. A small religious group that exists in a state of tension with the predominant religion. Any religious group which accepts most but not all of the historical Christian doctrines. A small, evil religious group, often with a single charismatic leader, which engages in brainwashing and other mind control techniques, believes that the end of the world is imminent, and collects large amounts of weaponry in preparation for a massive war" (Tolerance.org). While Los Angeles seems to be the ending point of most cults, they come here because they have been recognized as what they are in their home towns and run out. The communities of tightly-knit towns have a better means of keeping their residents safe from cults unlike cities of over a million people. With Los Angeles' population increasing so rapidly the growth of cults seems to continue to grow at a steady pace as well. As McWilliams states, "Los Angeles is the most celebrated of all incubators of new creeds, codes of ethics, philosophies-no day passes without the birth of something of this nature never heard of before. It is a breeding place and a rendezvous of freak religions" (249). He obviously feels that once the cults get here they are not only able to breed and expand but are welcomed to a financially arranged place. Unlike in most towns where leaders realize that keeping their cult a secret is the key to keeping things going. and Health Consequences of Totalitarian Pseudo-religious Movements. Goettingen: Publishing House for Med. Psychology, 1983.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Los Angeles, Toleranceorg's Definition, Southern California, Mormonism Starting, Los Angeles', Church Christ's, Bible Islam, Scientologists Hollywood, LA Eden, los angeles, God Jesus, southern california, los angeles', style worship, angeles cult, rage machine, los angeles cult,
Approximate Word count = 1274
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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