By the 'sect' we mean a group of people that share the same opinion and the same religion. They gather to do certain things together, which makes them different from others. There are some common rules of the organization of the sect. They consider people outside the sect stupid and hopeless. Most sects don't allow their members to drink alcohol or smoke tobacco. They create some special predictions and base their beliefs on them. Most of the sects concentrate on answering the questions about the end of the world. They build philosophical doctrines and make the members believe in them. Usually there is one most important person in a sect. It is a founder of it, who is believed to be chosen by some God.
We are taught to believe that sects make great threat to us. Some of them regard devil most powerful. They may be dangerous to young people. They hate everyone, who is not with them. It may happen that they kill others or even their members. In 1994 in Switzerland, 48 bodies were found. Those people were members of the sect named 'The Order of Neo-Templars'. The members of the sect were poisoned with very strong drugs. In France, in 1995, the police discovered 16 dead bodies, which were lying in such way, that they made symbol of the sun.
Most sects require financial support from their members. The Scientology Church is said to be the most powerful and the most prosperous sect in the whole world. Many rich people and authorities give money to this sect.
In Poland people are afraid of sects. Nevertheless, these groups grow larger and more powerful. In my opinion, the crisis of the Christian religion, the lack of authorities, lead children to sects. The doctrine of democracy tells that people should be free in choosing their religion and that they may have their own believes. Nevertheless, the fact of the growing expansion of the popularity of sects needs to be seriously considered. They are dangerous for people.
All sects may badly influence the members. Their leaders use different methods based on psychological knowledge, like 'love-bombing', 'brain-washing' and others. They are helpful to make people believe that what the sect says is true. Most prone to be recruited are young people, who struggle with strong crisis. They often feel lost and seek for the everlasting values. They want their lives to make real sense. Often, they feel that others don't understand them. The sects may take advantage of such attitudes and characteristics of teenagers.
The sects usually forbid their members to keep in touch with friends or families. They have no contacts with normal world. They are constantly controlled by the group. When they agree to join the sect, they are deprived of their personal freedom. They are not allowed to get any information from radio, newspapers or TV. If they have any money, they need to contribute all of them to the group. The leader decides, what the money is spent for. The leader (guru) is usually very despotic and he requires full obedience from his people. In most sects people work very hard everyday. They pray, meditate and listen to the lectures of the guru. Sometimes they are given some drugs, which make them feel as if they were sleeping. Only few of them are able to get out of the sects, even if they really want to do it. If they succeed in getting back to normal life, the other members of the sects often look for them. They blackmail and threaten those, who did it. It requires much time to come back to normal living in society. The experience of being the member of the sect becomes truly traumatic.
