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See also Totalitarian religious group.
Amway
Critics, many of them former Amway distributors, claim that Amway distribution networks (which technically are independent from the company itself) are cults or cultlike.
They claim that the distribution networks
encourage people to dedicate their lives to efforts that usually will make them little money,
encourage people to not think for themselves,
encourage unthinking fanaticism for Amway products,
encourage people to deceive others and hide the truth from outsiders,
and use mind control and psychological pressure to encourage people to join the organization and to discourage them from leaving.
On its Web site, the company denies that it is a cult. "No, Amway Corporation is a business and, similar to other large and established companies, has a distinct environment defined by shared business goals. Shared business philosophies should not be misinterpreted as a cult."
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Founded in 1920 by Eberhard Arnold, the Bruderhof is a totally communal organization, in which all property is owned by the church, and members' needs are met out of church resources. Revenues are generated from a number of businesses which the Bruderhof either runs or has financial interests in.
In structuring the Bruderhof, Arnold was inspired by the example of the Hutterites, a 16th Century Anabaptist group which pioneered the communal church form. The Bruderhof's relationships with present-day Hutterites has been stormy. The Bruderhof was accepted into the Hutterite Church in the 1920s, separated in the 1960s, re-accepted in the 1970s, and re-separated in the 1990s.
Former members sometimes claim that the Bruderhof uses techniques that amount to mind control to gain and retain members. The Bruderhof itself dismisses such charges.
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Outside of the opinions of mainstream Christian orthodoxy, others may find that a reading of the documented personal and political behavior, statements and policies of the founders of the LDS, Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, shows seeming patterns of behavior (esp. financial improprieties, polygamy and other sexual misconduct) which may cause some to question the motives of the early leaders, at least, of the LDS movement.
Some former Mormons make various charges of cultlike behavior, including group-thinking, fanaticism, secret initiation, adoration of charismatic leaders, and varying degrees of coercive conditioning and mind control.
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On its Web site, Scientology says it is not a cult but "a religion in the fullest sense of the word." It also says:
The church responds to such allegations on its Web site:
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The organization says in a letter to a member on its Web site that those concerned about Jews for Jesus being a cult have "been influenced by propaganda promulgated by those who would detract from the credibility of your witness and ours. Some Jewish community leaders spread this kind of misinformation in order to counteract Jewish evangelism, which they erroneously consider a threat to Jewish survival. ... If your friend finds Jesus as her Savior, she will measure our doctrine and our conduct in the light of the Scriptures. Then she will know that Jews for Jesus is not a cult."
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Followers purport Sathya Sai Baba's group is not a cult because it displays atypical characteristics like charity and tolerance towards other beliefs. Also, it does not claim to be the only way to God and truth, and does not advocate proselytizing. They point out that often cults will expect their adherents to abandon worldly duties and to severe ties with their families, which is something Sathya Sai Baba has explicitly said not to do.
The Temple of Set
Lupo LeBoucher, a former member, had this to say about the Temple of Set:
"More trivially, they are your typical mail-order cult in any number of ways. They require large amounts of participation on the parts of their members, to the extent that participation in the group becomes a central organizing principle in their lives. They sponsor getaway vacation/conventions which all members are required to attend. They have strict hierarchy, a charismatic leader and apocalyptic prophecy (the "Gifted of Set" are supposed to survive an upcoming apocalypse, according to their Seminal document "The Book of Coming Forth By Night" - though lately they have been making noises that this is only a metaphorical apocalypse [perhaps to avoid legal intervention in the wake of other post apocalytics, such as the Branch Davidians and the Solar Temple mass suicides, and the Aum nerve gas attacks; there was literal belief in this passage as prophecy in the not-too distant past]. They have a number of secret documents which one must have certain levels of "attainment" to read; much like the OT grade documents of Scientology. They have all manner of bizarre theories about atlantis, ancient astronauts, "Tesla Physics," a theory of creationism, holocaust revisionism, and so on..."
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Note that a quick survey of Usenet posts and Internet web pages will likely show that those who disagree with Lupo LeBoucher are as numerous as those who agree with them. Further, while it is easy to find those who agree with him among past members of the Temple, it is equally easy to find those who disagree with him among past members of the Temple, as is the case with any purported cult.
Unification Church
The Unification Church has been called a cult for alleged corruption in its top leadership, mind control, and (in the past) fears that its members would commit mass suicide.
The church does have a novel view of the trinity (and of Jesus' divine nature), but is accepted as Christian to some extent. Allegations of corruption are based primarily on Rev. Moon's conviction in the early 1980s on charges of criminal tax fraud, although the amount allegedly underpaid was less than $7,500 and the case was initiated nearly ten years after the fact based on the first three returns Rev. Moon filed after coming to the US. The jury is still out on charges of mind control, with critics' accusations balanced by church insistence that its recruitment and indoctrination techniques are no different from any Christian denomination. Fears of mass suicide, played up in the aftermath of the People's Temple disaster of 1980, have not been realized in the succeeding two decades, and the church considers suicide a terrible sin (claiming that suicides go to hell).
Another criticism of the Unification Church is that it is centered to an extreme degree around its leader, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, whom the members of the Church believe to be the Messiah. Of course, if he really turns out to be the Messiah that would prove this criticism invalid.
Others
The teachings, methods and results of Lifespring and its offshoots appear comparable to those of Landmark.
The exclusive branch of the Plymouth Brethren are considered as a cult by most other Christians, and non-religious observers as well.
The Church of the SubGenius has made numerous attempts to be included on lists of cults and controversial religious movements. This organization is widely seen as a humorous parody of religious cults, though members of the organization vehemently deny this; they state that while they are seen as a "joke disguised as a religion," in actuality they are a "religion disguised as a joke."
Falun Gong, or Fa Lun Da Fa, is a quasi-spiritual group that practices Qigong with some overtones of Taoism and especially Buddhism. The group became so popular in China (alleged to have at one point upwards of 100 million adherents) that it was repressed and eventually criminalized as a cult by the Chinese Communist Government of the PRC. It has remained relatively popular regardless, and has gained a sizable following internationally as well. Some see it as harmless exercise, yet the public statements and methods of Falun Gong's founder, Li Hongzhi (now living in the US), seem controversial to many more traditional Qigong schools (schools not necessarily sympathetic to the communists) as well as the Chinese Government.