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Texas Polygamists: Sect or Cult?
Sociologist explores such groups and what keeps people there
By Matt Cantor
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Posted Apr 10, 08 2:12 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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While much of the media is calling the polygamous group raided in Texas a “sect,” some experts say it’s better defined as a cult, LiveScience reports. One scientist points out that the word “cult” is often avoided in academia for its negative connotations. But “if you've got a group that's abusing hundreds and hundreds of women and children,” says a sociologist, “let's call it what it is.”
By not using the word, “we let them hide behind the veil of religion,” the sociologist notes. She defines a cult as a religious movement in which the object of worship is a “human leader,” rather than a higher being. But what keeps people in abusive societies? A warped worldview, she says, coupled with fear of punishment: “You take on new reality.”