Cult Conversion: Freewill Or Brainwashing? :: essays research papers fc

The controversy surrounding unfermented religious movements seems to be foremost concerned with whether or not the members of these religions discern of their own freewill or if they convert as a obligatory and inevitable response to advanced coercion, or brainwash techniques employed by the cult leaders.The concept of persuade came into popular existence in the 1950s as the result of attempts to try and explain the behaviour of some American GIs who defected to the Communists during the Korean War (19 Oct 1999). Many people, including some professionals, shew brainwashing to be an acceptable explanation for the otherwise unexplainable behaviour. However, the brainwashing theory did nothing to explain why hundreds of other captured GIs chose to remain true to their country even at the risk of organism tortured. It could not accurately account for the behaviour of a select fewer GIs when it did not offer any explanation for the behaviour of the majority.Since the 1950s, the co ncept of brainwashing has faded in and out of public disposition with a tendency to flare up once more in the daring of public controversy. In the 1960s and 1970s the brainwashing believe again took center stage, this time in an attempt to explain the behaviour of questionable radicals who left behind a normal life and opted instead for a cult existence.Although scholars of new religious movements would agree that religious groups often declare substantial influence over their followers, they would also argue that the influence exerted in "cults" is not very different from influence that is present in a great deal every arena of life, (19 Oct 1999). Mainstream religions also exercise influence over their members concerning matters such(prenominal) as lifestyle choices, familial relations and monetary donations. Furthermore, most favorable scientists concede that some degree of influence is inevitable in apiece culture and facet of life even outside the arena of relig ious choice. Despite the fact that there do not appear to be any studies that conclusively provide evidence of brainwashing as a legitimate explanation for joining an NRM, and in spite of the many studies that score refuted that brainwashing defense successfully, the brainwashing theory continues to be debated regularly. The concept of brainwashing is still often relied on to account for behaviour that is otherwise culturally unjustifiable. If brainwashing is not an appropriate explanation for the conversion of people to NRMs than what is? A common theme on the anti-cult side of the conversion debate is the argument that members are, to varying degrees, predisposed to becoming cult members.