"Follow me and you will be saved. I will take you to the next world, where you will experience peace, wealth and security that you will never have on this earth." Those lines lead people to leave their possessions and world behind and follow the dream. They follow the dream that is the religious cult. These people are lambs that follow their charismatic Shepard to a promise land. Emile Durkheim, a famous sociologist, states that religion's true purpose is not intellectual, like most will believe, but social. The social solidarity of cults proves Durkheim's theories to be true.
             A cult is "a religious organization that has little or nothing to do with conventional religious traditions and believes that society is degenerate and that the members of the organization must withdraw together from normal life and live apart in group quarters or a commune"(Curry 342). Cults usually develop around a particular charismatic leader. They are smaller than sects, less structured, and are not tied to established churches. Members of cults believe that each person must establish better relations with the spiritual. Cult members join for many different reasons.
             People that join cults adhere together for a wide array of reasons. The remote and lonely people of society seek out cults for the camaraderie of the group. The companionship and sense of belonging brings them out of their lonely state, and they become re-awakened. People may join because they are attracted to the philosophy of the cult. The beliefs of the cult are so far from their norm that to be apart of the opposite is a thrilling and mind-numbing experience. People also join because of peer and social pressures from other cult members. For example, a family member may be part of a cult, and the constant talking of this family member may finally bring other family members to join the cult. Most people join a cult, though, because of the lea...