When one thinks of cults, they often imagine a group of strange and misguided people flocking around a narcissistic and manipulative person. [A] cult is characteristically a loose associations of persons with a private, eclectic religiosity” (McGuire). This week’s readings made me realize that cults are more common than I could have ever imagined. In fact, I have unknowingly taken part in cultic practices (as have many people in the class). “Because of [the] pluralistic tolerance among historical cults, the [cultic] groups coexisted, indeed flourished, alongside [Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox] churches” (McGuire 153). I remember being a child and being told to pray to certain saints for guidance. It never occurred to me that the practice was a result of the Catholic Church absorbing cultic practices. In addition, it made me wonder if Jesus Christ’s following could have been considered a cult early in his teachings. He had a small group of apostles following him and living like he did. Likewise, people who were not followers of Christ were very critical of his message. I think that people need to remember that Christianity was not always a huge religion with millions of followers, it started out with Jesus and just a few eclectic believers. Early Christianity could possibly be defined as a cult in today’s times, which is an idea that many are uncomfortable imagining. It is important that we remember that cults are not always groups of crazy people. They could be religions that are not as developed or religions that do not fit into a more well known category. It is our duty to respect religions that respect others and cause no harm, even if that is a cult.

I was fascinated by the concept of anomie in chapter 2 of McGuire’s book. “Anomie means a crisis in the moral order of a social group” (McGuire 35). This crisis can cause members of the group to feel overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness and confusion because they have lost the comfort of a stable meaning system. I was reminded of my grandmother who abandoned Catholicism after losing her baby in childbirth. Followers of the Catholic religion proclaim that babies who die are sent to Purgatory. My grandmother was absolutely heartbroken at the idea that her child would be cursed to roam Limbo for eternity. She was very active in her faith precious to the incident, however, after the tragedy she questioned her place and meaning within the Catholic faith. It is for this reason that she abandoned Catholicism in search of another religion that would not condemn her baby. She is now a Jehovah’s Witness because she could not live without the social comfort of a religion, nor could she follow a faith that so drastically threatened her sense of security. My grandmother’s story is one of many Catholic mothers and families who could not accept that deceased children would be rejected by God. This anomie is an excellent, yet tragic, example of how trauma can affect one’s religious and world perspective for the worse. This example is more extreme than most examples of anomie seen today. “Rapid social change [also] leaves people unsure about where they “stand’” (McGuire 35). In addition, commodification of culture is also a cause for people to have crises of meaning. It was apparent that all three types of anomie were prevalent in people’s religious autobiographies and were the reasons behind many abandoning their faiths.