5 largest religious sects of our time, which have amassed a fortune on the blind trust of people

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

There is a common phrase: "If you want to get a million - come up with a new religion." It is money that has become the driving force, thanks to which about 20 thousand religious organizations are registered in our country alone. According to rough estimates, several dozen of them can be considered totalitarian sects - that is, dangerous not only for financial and personal well-being, but capable of bringing their followers to crime or self-destruction.

Temple of the Nations

A massive tragedy was associated with this religious movement, which makes it one of the most dangerous sects in world history. The successful amalgamation of the ideas of Christianity, national and racial equality, and communist principles turned out to be incredibly attractive. In 1955, American preacher Jim Jones founded the "Temple of the Nations." Within a few years, a 20,000-strong army of his followers was formed. In the 1970s, the Temple used ten to fifteen huge buses to transport members on California freeways each week for recruiting and fundraising. Jones openly planned this business: the annual income from travel should be at least $ 1 million per year. An additional considerable inflow of funds (about $ 400 per day) was brought by mailings - the sect thus traded in oils, particles of their leader's clothing and souvenirs.

In the late 70s, Jones founded an "agricultural commune" in the South American state of Guyana, establishing a kind of "religious communism." Judging by the information of the people who fled from this "paradise", the order reigned there very harsh. On November 17, 1978, Jones ordered all of his followers to drink a flavored drink mixed with cyanide. A total of 918 people died, including 276 children. Until September 11, 2001, this tragedy - the deaths of nearly a thousand civilians - was the worst for the American people. Until now, various versions of this mass suicide are being considered and discussed. The notorious leader himself was also found dead, but he did not die of poison, but was shot.

Aum shinrikyo

Any sect basically has a teaching that tells about wisdom and simple truths. In just a few years, the Aum Teachings of Truth from Japan has gone from “final Liberation and Enlightenment” to forcibly holding back its followers and forcing donations of money - such a massive lawsuit was filed against the organization in 1989. On March 20, 1995, 10 members of "Aum Shinrikyo" committed a terrorist act - they sprayed poisonous gas sarin into the Tokyo subway. 12 people were killed, several dozen were injured. Probably, there could have been many more victims if it were not for the vigilance of workers at other stations and the well-coordinated work of the police. After searches of the organization's buildings across the country, components for the manufacture of chemical and biological weapons (cultures of anthrax and Ebola pathogens) were found, as well as a military Mi-17 helicopter. Experts estimated that the chemical stock was sufficient to produce massive quantities of sarin. Poison gas of this volume could kill 4 million people. Only twenty years later, in 2018, after a lengthy trial, the leader of the sect, Shoko Asahara, was sentenced to death.

Branch of David

Another destructive sect that also emerged in the mid-1950s in America. Having survived several schisms (some related "divisions" that have broken away from the Seventh-day Adventists still successfully exist), the Branch of David has become a separate teaching. The example of this sect shows that the most important element that sets the tone and direction of the teachings is its leader. In 1990, a young, charismatic preacher, Vernon Howell, became the head of the sect. The new teacher took a name in honor of King David and Persian King Cyrus - David Koresh. Under his brighter leadership, the sect quickly grew - the preaching of the near end of the world found a massive response in the souls of people.

The organization bought the Mount Carmel estate in Waco, where members of the sect and their families settled. However, the police soon received reports of child abuse and illegal possession of weapons. On February 28, 1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives attempted to search the estate. The sectarians opened fire in response. For almost two months, police crews and the FBI besieged the rebellious "holy men". They responded surprisingly effectively. In the end, it was decided to start the assault (with the use of heavy artillery and tanks!). A violent fire broke out in the estate, killing 76 members of the sect, including women and children. The sect leader also did not survive.

Heavenly gates

In 1975, the charismatic religious leader Marshall Applewhite organized a rather original sect. His followers firmly believed that the Earth would soon collide with the comet Gale-Bopp. These people could be considered safe eccentrics if they, under the leadership of their leader, did not prepare for a special transition to another world. Applewhite promised the adepts that they would leave their earthly bodies and go on a journey in a spaceship, only for this everyone must prepare - to achieve physical and spiritual purification and to reject earthly delights. As a result, several hundred people left their families (bringing a "material burden" as a gift to the organization) and dressed in hooded cloaks, began to drink lemon juice to cleanse their bodies. On March 26, 1997, 39 Heaven's Gate followers committed mass suicide on a ranch in California. A few weeks later, suicides continued across the country. People left notes about the spacecraft journey and their hopes for eternal wonderful life.

Movement for the Revival of the Ten Commandments of God

One of the most terrifying sects of recent times has split from the Roman Catholic Church in Uganda. In 1989, a certain Kredonia Mverinda, who had recently been a "lady of easy virtue", announced that she had a vision of the Virgin Mary, and now she is her messenger. Surprisingly, the woman very quickly was able to find faithful followers, and among them were Catholic priests. Having gathered several hundred people, the new community moved to live on a farm. A few years later, the "Movement" began a financial crisis, and it was decided to sell all the property of the adepts, and give the money to the sect. Around this time, Credonia began to predict the imminent end of the world. The date, of course, had to be constantly shifted. The first was scheduled for May 9, 1995. After another postponement of this event, unrest began among the sectarians. As much as they were carried away by new ideas, they could not fail to notice the obvious inconsistencies. The question was even raised, which for the leaders of the sect was more terrible than the end of the world - about the return of donated money.

Another round date, January 1, 2000, also did not live up to expectations, and then the leaders of the sect went to extreme measures - they announced a new close date, sold the last property of the sectarians, and burned the remaining things. Absolute fasting and continuous prayer were declared. While the adepts (about 500 people), having gathered in the building of the community, fulfilled these requirements, the "siloviki" of the organization - the detachment "blessed of God" - boarded up a wooden structure and set it on fire. The first version of the police investigating this tragedy was a mass suicide of sectarians, but then they found the bodies of people who probably managed to get out of the locked burning building. They were all stabbed to death. After the discovery of a mass grave with hundreds of strangled people, it became clear that this was a mass murder. A total of 778 people died on March 17, 2000. Credonia Mverinda managed to escape.

Read the story of another famous sect leader: Three Myths About Charles Manson, or How a Maniac Wanted to Destroy All White Americans