By Katherine Ramsland

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Kids and Cults

Such spiritual advice can indeed affect certain people in this manner, especially adolescents. It's not possible to know the exact number of cults in existence in the country today, but the number appears to be around 5,000, and many cult leaders are self-appointed deities with the personal charisma to convince participants that they have the power to convey redemption and transformation. Generally, cults adhere fanatically to a person or idea and use manipulative tactics to advance their goals and acquire followers. We've certainly seen cults that have brought harm to their members, such as the Solar Temple cult, Jim Jones's People's Temple in Guyana, and the suicidal Heaven's Gate, but even seemingly benign cults can become deadly for particularly intense and vulnerable participants. It's alarming that around 3 % of our nation's youth are involved in cults, and those who have experienced trance-states from drug use are especially susceptible.

Robert L. Snow, a police officer who authored Deadly Cults, interviews numerous cult experts who seem agreed that people who are emotionally low or stressed out can become vulnerable to a cult recruiter or to a book offering spiritual guidance. It can seem to them that they've been saved by some divine intervention (the preacher or healer arrived at just the right moment), and the ideas they hear that appear to give life purpose become a veritable lifeline. Cults can provide an identity, and for adolescents, who often try out one identity after another, discovering one that provides direction is like finding a new home a "perfect" one. They become willing to do whatever it takes, including leaving families and giving up material goods, to become part of this family. They crave the security and the bonding experience with others of like mind their new sisters and brothers. "Times of vulnerability," says Snow, "tend to neutralize critical thinking."

People attracted to either cults or idealistic philosophies are generally gullible and unassertive, and they're seeking structure and purpose from an external source. This new philosophy they've heard or read seems to echo their concerns and answer their most penetrating questions. It just feels right. Naively, they believe that everything will now work out because they've miraculously come upon the path of truth: they've been "chosen." It's no surprise, then, that they derive a sense of confidence and clarity, feeling as if they've become "enlightened."

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