Cults Parent Alienation Syndrome

The word “cult” is a very subjective term because there’s a small, but important distinction between a religion and cult. J. Gordon Melton, professor at Baylor University, makes the statement, “All cults are religions, but all religions aren’t cults” (What’s the Difference, Melton). The perplexing part to the uninformed is that cults may appear in a religion, for example The People’s Temple was a cult within Christianity. Ted Peters, theology professors in Berkley, California states, “Like Classic Coke and Diet Coke, both religions and cults look alike even if they taste different” (What’s the Difference, Peters). Peter’s proceeds by explaining that religions belong to “a wider culture” and let believers come and go as one may please. Cults

Studies have shown significantly that children need both parents in their life, especially during times of development. Girls growing up without a father, or emotional bond with their fathers, can cause them to search for love in men elsewhere – which could be cults. Children hold resentment to parents who leave, or are absent in their lives, often having feelings of loneliness and abandonment. Parent Alienation Syndrome can also prompt children to want to find a new place to participate in to get away from their parent/guardian. It is imperative for parents to understand some indicators of their child potentially being involved in a cult. The internet makes it easier for predators and cult members to interact with the outside world, and all it takes is one wrong click or search to end up on the wrong websites. Children, like adults, follow cults for the same reasons: yearning to belong, wanting recognition, and the desire to feel loved. Holmstrom recommends parents should watch their children on the Internet as they would in the real world – “you wouldn’t send an eight-year-old into the mall by him or herself, so you need the same parental awareness…” (Holmstrom). Isolation from normal behaviors, views of a group as good and everything else evil, and thinking feelings are more important that rational thoughts are all indications or signs that one may be involved in a NRM (Holmstrom). If one suspects changing behavior in a child that could be unsafe and out of the norm it is important to receive counseling. Counseling should involve the child’s reasoning or pre-involvement to the cult to fully understand what pushed them to take those steps. A large number of people join a charismatic group during the transition from childhood to adulthood (Coates). Joining a cult during this point in life can be looked at as a coping strategy to get thorough concerns