The concept, classification and attributes of the sect. Sects in Russia: "Jehovah's Witnesses", "Unification Church"

One of the most characteristic needs of a person is the desire to seek God. This is proved by the fact that throughout history of mankind there was not a single culture devoid of the notion of higher reason, who created the world and directed all that is happening in it. Always people sought for him, but the ways for this were chosen by different, sometimes leading them completely in a different direction.

Dangerous levity

Long decades of total atheism and the theomachism raised to the level of state policy have been replaced in our days by the freedom to practice any religion and become a follower of any of the cults that are widespread in our time. The natural interest in the issues of spiritual life has grown into a fashion that is sometimes followed without going into the essence of the teachings offered by the new-found preachers and "teachers."

The superficial obsession with spirituality observed today is fraught with considerable dangers, since faith is the area of life that requires knowledge of its laws, and undoubtedly the false belief that any religion is better than atheism often leads to very sad consequences. It is this frivolous attitude to the questions of faith that is used to involve new members in their ranks of religious groups, called sects.

The meaning of the term "sect"

Before starting a conversation about them, it would be appropriate to clarify the very meaning of this term and to explain which religious structures they are designated. The very word "sect" is a single root and similar in meaning with such a verb as "cut off", that is, to separate a part from the whole. This is not accidental, since it means precisely the groups that have separated from the main world religions, which are considered to be Christianity, Buddhism and Islam.

Signs of the sect

Today there are several thousand different sects in the world, but all of them are united by common signs, to some extent inherent in each of them. Usually researchers of this social phenomenon put on the first place characteristic for them religious advertising - a kind of marketing, allowing to impose their teachings, like a certain market commodity, to the maximum number of potential consumers. By the way, the technologies used in this process are direct borrowing from the world of commerce.

Further, the signs of the sect include the common for most of them the aggressive nature of involving in their ranks new adepts, in which methods of psychological pressure are widely used. This is especially characteristic of totalitarian sects, the discussion of which will be discussed below.

Lying as a method of recruitment and a system of internal hierarchy

Also, a very important feature inherent in sects is the so-called double teaching - a practice in which recruiters, wanting to entice another proselyte (a new member), hide from him not only the true history of the organization and its leaders, but even distort, making it more attractive, itself The essence of their teaching.

An important feature is the strict hierarchy, on the basis of which the whole internal structure of education is built. Usually a member of a sect must pass several levels of initiation, each of which brings him closer to the knowledge of the promised Truth. By what stage it is at the moment, its status is determined.

Claims on infallibility and control over consciousness

Of course, each sect declares its absolute infallibility and superiority of its leader over all others, including the founders of the world's leading religions. The doctrine of each of them pretends that it is an expression of the Supreme Truth and is not subject to criticism. All those who put this in doubt are usually referred to as "two-legged animals."

Considering the most characteristic features of the sect, one should not lose sight of the technique used by them, such as programming the consciousness of its members. The fact is that sectarians usually become people with unstable psyche, lack of solid moral criteria and spiritual knowledge. As a rule, they are easily suggestible, so they easily give up personal freedom and are ready to fulfill their teachers' instructions.

Total control over the "bearers of truth"

A characteristic feature of most sects is the claim to the spiritual election of its members. They are usually inspired by the thought that only they, being carriers of the same Higher Truth, must be saved, and all others who do not share their views are doomed to perdition.

And finally, the above-listed signs of the sect would be incomplete, if not to mention the total control over the life of the sectarians, carried out by their spiritual leaders. All its way from now on is consistent with the once and for all established rules. Needless to say, they reflect only the interests of the sect and its leaders? This can also include exorbitant monetary claims, as a result of which ordinary members of the sect often doomed to the miserable existence of themselves and their families.

Classification of Russian sects

Cults and sects in Russia can be conditionally divided into several groups. The first of these are those that have a long history in our country. They are Pentecostals, Adventists and Baptists. The Lutherans are also included here, as being separated from the main Christian direction.

Historically, their members were representatives of such ethnic groups as Lithuanians, Poles and Germans. However, due to the active involvement of new members in their ranks, in recent years many former members of the Orthodox communities have become proselytes.

The new-found holders of higher truths

The next large enough group consists of pseudo-Christian totalitarian sects. These include structures that call themselves the New Apostolic Church, the Church of Christ, the Family, and so on. Taking advantage of insufficient religious awareness of their adherents, all of them, referring to the Holy Scripture, snatch out of it tendentiously selected quotes, which, apart from the context, they use to prove the positions put forward by them.

They are followed also by a very extensive list of sects declaring their exclusive possession of a "new revelation." The most famous of them are "Jehovah's Witnesses", "Mother of God Center", Mormons and the notorious Aum Shinrikyo sect. The latter also includes the signs of a totalitarian, extremist and even terrorist sect. Created in 1987 by the Japanese Shoko Asahara, she gained notoriety with her gas attack in the Tokyo Metro.

Occult and Satanic sects

In recent decades, from Western European and American countries, sects related to the so-called New Age movement have penetrated into Russia. All of them have a pronounced occult character and rely on the development of man's paranormal properties. Their adherents are, as a rule, people who classify themselves as psychics and sorcerers, as well as followers of numerous Eastern cults.

However, among the variety of religious trends and trends that make up today sects in Russia, the most odious are those practicing various satanic cults. Their fanatical nature and pronounced orientation towards the youth puts these organizations among the most dangerous for society. The cult of violence, sexual promiscuity and rejection of moral principles propagated in them awakens in the still fragile consciousness of young people the lowest instincts and pushes them not only to break with society, but sometimes even to commit crimes.

The sect that came from America

Today, one of the most numerous sects in Russia is the separation of an international religious organization that calls itself Jehovah's Witnesses. Its headquarters are in New York, and the total membership exceeds eight million. This sect, pseudo-Christian and denying the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, first appeared in Russia at the end of the XIX century, but was officially registered only in 1913.

During the Soviet era, when the struggle against any manifestations of religiosity was going on, members of the sect "Jehovah's Witnesses" were subjected to general persecution. They even suffered a worse fate than ordinary believers: in the period from 1949 to 1951, thousands of its adherents and members of their families were forcibly deported to Siberia, Kazakhstan and the Far East.

In the post-perestroika period, like many other sects in Russia, this organization repeatedly registered in local government bodies. Receiving a temporary right to exist, she was then deprived of it, going underground. Despite the fact that today it is not legalized, its members in our country are, according to experts, at least one hundred and seventy thousand people.

The brainchild of a South Korean preacher

Another example of the penetration of foreign and alien religious teachings into our country is the "Unification Church" sect. It appeared in 1954 in Seoul, and its founder was a South Korean religious figure and preacher Moon Son Myung. His teaching is a wild mixture of separate provisions of Christianity, Buddhism, shamanism, occultism and many other religions and cults. In the general public it is known as Munism.

In our country, the ideas of this doctrine first appeared in the seventies, but, for understandable reasons, they did not spread. The Korean preacher received freedom of action in the USSR only at the beginning of perestroika and, having visited Moscow in 1991, was even received by Mikhail S. Gorbachev. Since that time the "Unification Church" has received our official status.

Its founder hoped, as it turned out, in vain that the post-Soviet space would be a fertile ground for the dissemination of his ideas. However, practice showed that even in the most successful years for him the number of adherents of the sect did not exceed six thousand people. On the scale of Russia, this undoubtedly indicates its extreme unpopularity.

Sectarianism is a universal evil

Both totalitarian sects and other religious movements preaching pseudo-Christian ideas have always been ardent opponents of the Orthodox Church, whose spiritual traditions clearly expose their deceit. Historical experience shows that societies struck by sectarianism inevitably degrade and lag behind in their development. Where sectarian propaganda achieves success, progress is impossible in any areas of life.

A big role in the opposition to evil is played by the dissemination of information that opens people's eyes to the harmful consequences that entail participation in these organizations and the provision of assistance to their activities. Sectarianism is a global evil, therefore every world religion is interested in fighting against it. The sect that has separated from it is always an attempt to wrest its followers from the sphere of professed spiritual values, and therefore, irrespective of which religion it is, the problem is topical for all.