cult. So unbenounced to myself I was unaware of the fact this paper was due. Which is

entirely my fault. This in turn peaked my interest to learn more of the cult and where this

term originated. So The past week I attempted to read many articles on such things as

The controversy surrounding new religious movements seems to be foremost

concerned with whether or not the members of these religions come of their own freewill

or if they convert as a necessary and inevitable response to coercion, or "brainwashing"

techniques employed by the cult leaders. I previously stated this in one of my Journal

entries. "It seems that there is always one man in charge with all the power". With this

power he can inevitably induce a form of "brainwashing".

The concept of brainwashing came into popular existence in the 1950's as the

result of attempts to try and explain the behavior of some American GI's who defected to

the Communists during the Korean War (19 Oct 1999). Many people, including some

professionals, found brainwashing to be an acceptable explanation for the otherwise

Although, as Dr. John G. Clark suggests, these seemingly vulnerable people join NRM's in an attempt to "feel better about themselves" (Dawson, 1996:207), the same thing can

and do good for a community who are we to judge?

practices best answer their questions (Dawson, 1996:205).

frequent church, or cult, hopping done in order to find a group whose beliefs and

Some common words found in the essay are:
Korean War, John Clark, Introduction Recently, UC Proponents, II Brief, Unification Church, brainwashing theory, mainstream religions, American GI's, concept brainwashing, Shelley Leibert, dawson 1996205, 19 oct 1999, religious movements, brainwashing legitimate, explain behavior, account behavior, feel themselves, 19 oct,
Approximate Word count = 1277
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)