Cults That Performed
Acts of Sexual Abuse
All cults are bad, but cults that performed acts of sexual
abuse might just be the worst of them all.
If there is one thing that
shows religion as a terrifying
weapon, it's the stories you'll
hear about the cults that
committed acts of violence,
theft, and insanity. Cults are,
plain and simple, as
dangerous as organizations
can be.
The problems with cults are
manifold. In them, you have
an incredibly devoted base of
followers who will blindly
follow whatever a power-
hungry despot tells them to
do.
No amount of explanation or
cajoling will convince a cult
member to leave or diverge
from the direction of the
group. It's not unheard of for
cultists to destroy their own
families, sell all their goods, or
even harm others in order to
gain praise from their leader.
Many cults have done serious
damage to people, but if you
really want to see true horror,
take a look at the cults that
performed acts of sexual
abuse on their members.
These stories will chill you to
the bone, and make you sick
to your stomach.
Sathya Sai
One thing that always seems to
shock people is how many cults
that performed an act of sexual
abuse against its members fly
under the radar. Indian guru
Sathya Sai is one such example.
The guru had become famous
for seemingly making miracles
happen, including vomiting
eggs made of gold and reading
minds. Using his amazing sleight
of hand abilities, he was able to
springboard himself into owning
over 126 different meditation
centres and used the extra
money to fund health programs.
The only problem with his work,
though, was that he used his
meditation centres as a way to
find young boys to molest. When
news broke of his predation, he
went into hiding. He died in
2011.
Perhaps one of the most famous
cults that performed acts of
sexual abuse on its members is
the Family International. It's
currently still active and has
recruits throughout the world.
This cult, once known as "the
Children of God," believed that
followers should have sex with
potential members and use
affection to gain more people
into their crowd.
The practice was called "Flirty
Fishing," and was a main
component of recruitment. Those
who had sex with newcomers were
seen as sacred prostitutes doing
God's work. Needless to say, this
attracted sexual predators like flies
to honey.
The doctrine of the cult said that
having sex was pleasing God and
that Satan hated sex. The more sex
you had, the more devout you were
as a follower.
The Osho Movement
Another "free love" movement that
has been linked to extreme sexual
abuse is the Osho Movement, also
known as the Rajneesh Movement.
This cult was founded by Bhagwan
Shree Rajneesh, a man who called
himself the "rich man's guru."
Followers of the Osho movement
were required to wear orange, give
up their "worldly ties," and take
Hindi names. Rajneesh warned
against materialism and extolled
sex as a sacred act, all while owning
a total of 93 Rolls-Royces!
The Cult was also known for
swapping wives and occasionally
sexually assaulting women.
However, that's not all they did.
After an attempt to gain control of
the local political scene was foiled,
the Osho movement carried out a
biological attack that left hundreds
sickened.