Cults Entering the Media Age
In June of 1982 the husband and wife pair of Keith and Kate Haigler stunned the country by hijacking a bus headed from Arkansas to Kansas. They were not terrorists nor clinically insane. Instead the Haiglers were part of a small religious group called Foundation of Ubiquity. They believed that they were the witnesses to the return of the messiah spoken about in chapter 11 of the Book of Revelations. Their demands were not money nor privileges. The hijackers instead demanded to meet the media so they could spread their message and “tell the world the messiah has arrived” to lead their group. In the chaos that ensued the pair were wounded by police leaving Kate Haigler to kill her husband and then herself. (Docherty 160). In the times that followed crisis negotiators would use the event to explain how access to the media was an effective bargaining strategy in religiously motivated hostage or hijacking situations. Foundation of Ubiquity would not be last to use and be used by the media.
As we enter more deeply into the technology age the relationship between cults and the media grows ever more complex. Cults attempt to control the access of their own members to the media all the while influencing their image in the wider world. We can see this complex dichotomy by examining the individual actions of four different cults, the Branch Davidians (made famous for events in Waco, Texas), the Scientologists, and the members of the group Heaven’s Gate.
In June of 1982 the husband and wife pair of Keith and Kate Haigler stunned the country by hijacking a bus headed from Arkansas to Kansas. They were not terrorists nor clinically insane. Instead the Haiglers were part of a small religious group called Foundation of Ubiquity. They believed that they were the witnesses to the return of the messiah spoken about in chapter 11 of the Book of Revelations. Their demands were not money nor privileges. The hijackers instead demanded to meet the media so they could spread their message and “tell the world the messiah has arrived” to lead their group. In the chaos that ensued the pair were wounded by police leaving Kate Haigler to kill her husband and then herself. (Docherty 160). In the times that followed crisis negotiators would use the event to explain how access to the media was an effective bargaining strategy in religiously motivated hostage or hijacking situations. Foundation of Ubiquity would not be last to use and be used by the media.
As we enter more deeply into the technology age the relationship between cults and the media grows ever more complex. Cults attempt to control the access of their own members to the media all the while influencing their image in the wider world. We can see this complex dichotomy by examining the individual actions of four different cults, the Branch Davidians (made famous for events in Waco, Texas), the Scientologists, and the members of the group Heaven’s Gate.
Cult Theory
Cult is a broad term with highly negative connotations, so it is important to define the term within any discussion of cults. Merriam-Webster defines a cult as “A small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous” (Merriam Webster). Even this definition is highly subjective with plenty of room for argument about where the line is drawn on level of acceptance, size and the “craziness” of beliefs that constitute a cult. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has attempted to pin the term down even further, defining shared characteristics of doomsday cults, including charismatic leadership, control over membership and the belief that they are “the persecuted chosen” (Canadian Security Intelligence Service 6). It are these characteristics that determine and control the cult’s relationship with information and the media access and dissemination of it.
The controlling the information cult members have access to is one of the most important ways to control the flock by the leader and so becomes vital to the mission of the cult as a whole. In this way “groups monopolize members’ daily lives and circumscribe their belief system within rigid doctrines, insulting them from the influences of broader social constraints,” (Canadian Security Intelligence Service 2). This allows the leader to shape the will and ideas of the members so that he or she might retain their power base. Cults as we have defined it could not exist without this rejection of the information that media provides as well as the separatist view that follows it.
However, the world exists outside the bubble that the cult creates, presenting a larger problem with controlling the cult’s image and story in the outside world. Many cults, like Foundations of Ubiquity and the Haiglers, want to get their message out into the world, others “chafe at their loss of control over the interpretation of their movement… and the freedom of public and academic discourse that openly question’s orthodox accounts,” (Zablocki and Robbins 472) in sharp contrast to the control they have within the movement. In either case, cults are then compelled to spar with the media in mainstream society in contradiction to the separatist culture they have established. What comes out of this struggle is unique to the individual cult and can determine their fate.
Cult is a broad term with highly negative connotations, so it is important to define the term within any discussion of cults. Merriam-Webster defines a cult as “A small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous” (Merriam Webster). Even this definition is highly subjective with plenty of room for argument about where the line is drawn on level of acceptance, size and the “craziness” of beliefs that constitute a cult. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has attempted to pin the term down even further, defining shared characteristics of doomsday cults, including charismatic leadership, control over membership and the belief that they are “the persecuted chosen” (Canadian Security Intelligence Service 6). It are these characteristics that determine and control the cult’s relationship with information and the media access and dissemination of it.
The controlling the information cult members have access to is one of the most important ways to control the flock by the leader and so becomes vital to the mission of the cult as a whole. In this way “groups monopolize members’ daily lives and circumscribe their belief system within rigid doctrines, insulting them from the influences of broader social constraints,” (Canadian Security Intelligence Service 2). This allows the leader to shape the will and ideas of the members so that he or she might retain their power base. Cults as we have defined it could not exist without this rejection of the information that media provides as well as the separatist view that follows it.
However, the world exists outside the bubble that the cult creates, presenting a larger problem with controlling the cult’s image and story in the outside world. Many cults, like Foundations of Ubiquity and the Haiglers, want to get their message out into the world, others “chafe at their loss of control over the interpretation of their movement… and the freedom of public and academic discourse that openly question’s orthodox accounts,” (Zablocki and Robbins 472) in sharp contrast to the control they have within the movement. In either case, cults are then compelled to spar with the media in mainstream society in contradiction to the separatist culture they have established. What comes out of this struggle is unique to the individual cult and can determine their fate.
The Branch Davidians
The event that occurred in Waco, Texas in 1993 is one of the most famous tragedies in American history and stands as a warning against pushing a fringe group too far. On February 28, 1993 Agents from ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) attempt a raid of the Branch Davidians base known as Mount Carmel. However, they are met with resistance and after ninety minutes the ATF agents withdraw, four of them dead and many wounded. The leader of the Branch Davidians, David Koresh, is also wounded as well as an unknown number of his followers. Negotiation teams are called in and the FBI takes over. They treat it as a hostage situation, hoping to extract women and children. After a fifty-one-day siege, on April 19, 1993 the FBI inserts tear gas into the compound, calling for men, women and children to come out. Instead, fires start and the entire compound burns to the ground, killing most of the residence, including twenty-one children and two pregnant women.
While the radically different worldviews of those on both sides of the negotiation table made having a conversation between the two difficult to say the least the media and contact to third parties made things even more complex. At the initiation of discussions one of the first bargaining chips was access to the media to spread their message. The person chosen to speak for the group on Mount Carmel told negotiators “If you play message, children will be let go,” (Docherty 159). The FBI hoped to get the children they perceived as hostages to safety, and access to the media continued to be a bargaining chip throughout the negotiations. When the tape was ultimately not played on television, the Branch Davidians responded with anger, saying “When you block the truth it puts you right in the judgment,” (Docherty 164). The theology of the Branch Davidians was tried up in their exposure in the media despite the concerted efforts of David Koresh to limit the inhabitance of Mount Carmel from accessing the media’s information themselves (Docherty 121). A dependence on the media is established early, leading to another aspect of negotiations that could be either used or abused.
The event that occurred in Waco, Texas in 1993 is one of the most famous tragedies in American history and stands as a warning against pushing a fringe group too far. On February 28, 1993 Agents from ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) attempt a raid of the Branch Davidians base known as Mount Carmel. However, they are met with resistance and after ninety minutes the ATF agents withdraw, four of them dead and many wounded. The leader of the Branch Davidians, David Koresh, is also wounded as well as an unknown number of his followers. Negotiation teams are called in and the FBI takes over. They treat it as a hostage situation, hoping to extract women and children. After a fifty-one-day siege, on April 19, 1993 the FBI inserts tear gas into the compound, calling for men, women and children to come out. Instead, fires start and the entire compound burns to the ground, killing most of the residence, including twenty-one children and two pregnant women.
While the radically different worldviews of those on both sides of the negotiation table made having a conversation between the two difficult to say the least the media and contact to third parties made things even more complex. At the initiation of discussions one of the first bargaining chips was access to the media to spread their message. The person chosen to speak for the group on Mount Carmel told negotiators “If you play message, children will be let go,” (Docherty 159). The FBI hoped to get the children they perceived as hostages to safety, and access to the media continued to be a bargaining chip throughout the negotiations. When the tape was ultimately not played on television, the Branch Davidians responded with anger, saying “When you block the truth it puts you right in the judgment,” (Docherty 164). The theology of the Branch Davidians was tried up in their exposure in the media despite the concerted efforts of David Koresh to limit the inhabitance of Mount Carmel from accessing the media’s information themselves (Docherty 121). A dependence on the media is established early, leading to another aspect of negotiations that could be either used or abused.
Initially this desire for access to the media was motivated by a fear by the Branch Davidians that the ATF and the FBI were going to overtake them and destroy them, making an attempt to get their message and their story out of the utmost importance. Later, the media and America through them became witnesses to what was occurring. When the press was told to pull back from Mount Carmel, Koresh expressed fear that the FBI was planning to attack and didn’t want it to get on camera (Docherty 240). The media then functions as a witness, not only a means to an end, but a third party capable of effecting what was occurring at Mount Carmel.
Media and media access was a shifting target during the situation at Waco. It was a bargaining chip, a threat, a third set of eyes, and a goal all wrapped up into one. The media continued to effect the group even in the aftermath of Waco as public opinion was shifted away from anger at the “vicious, insane cult” shown during the situation to horror at what had happened as they watched the destruction.
While one of the most common relationships between the media and a cult, what happened in Waco Texas is not the only outcome that might result from this intersection.
Media and media access was a shifting target during the situation at Waco. It was a bargaining chip, a threat, a third set of eyes, and a goal all wrapped up into one. The media continued to effect the group even in the aftermath of Waco as public opinion was shifted away from anger at the “vicious, insane cult” shown during the situation to horror at what had happened as they watched the destruction.
While one of the most common relationships between the media and a cult, what happened in Waco Texas is not the only outcome that might result from this intersection.
Scientology
Some cults are more systematic in their dealings with the media. One of these is Scientology, holding the term “cult” almost all to itself. Started by L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 Scientology has rose to prominence in the years that followed as the religion of the rich and famous. It has wooed big name stars, built glossy centers and developed a reputation for ruthless dealings with the outside world. Conscious of their less than stellar public image Scientology has, almost from the beginning, attempted to tackle the issue in a myriad of creative ways. While adherents to Scientology are forbidden from looking at anti-Scientology material at the pain of being exorcised from the community (Miscavige Hill 337) the church is highly proactive in the community.
High level Scientologists, particularly those who are part of Scientology’s task force OSA (Office of Special Affairs) in charge of dealing with public relations are trained in tactics that promote the church’s message and deflect any pointed questions from problematic topics. (Sweeney). This includes cutting interviewers off, intentionally aggravating them and using legal and emotional pressure to silence opposition. Stories of threats of lawsuits and the hiring of private eyes to follow dissenters and reporters alike are not uncommon. All of these things indicate that Scientology is making a concerted effort to control their public image by attempting to repress critical commentary.
The Church of Scientology also is more offensive in trying to create a space for itself in mainstream consciousness. They maintain a YouTube channel (ChurchOfScientology) detailing the humanitarian aid of the church, history and policies, as well as tours of various sites across the globe. These videos are high quality and well produced and intend to establish Scientology’s presence online to counteract many less than favorable videos already present.
Some cults are more systematic in their dealings with the media. One of these is Scientology, holding the term “cult” almost all to itself. Started by L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 Scientology has rose to prominence in the years that followed as the religion of the rich and famous. It has wooed big name stars, built glossy centers and developed a reputation for ruthless dealings with the outside world. Conscious of their less than stellar public image Scientology has, almost from the beginning, attempted to tackle the issue in a myriad of creative ways. While adherents to Scientology are forbidden from looking at anti-Scientology material at the pain of being exorcised from the community (Miscavige Hill 337) the church is highly proactive in the community.
High level Scientologists, particularly those who are part of Scientology’s task force OSA (Office of Special Affairs) in charge of dealing with public relations are trained in tactics that promote the church’s message and deflect any pointed questions from problematic topics. (Sweeney). This includes cutting interviewers off, intentionally aggravating them and using legal and emotional pressure to silence opposition. Stories of threats of lawsuits and the hiring of private eyes to follow dissenters and reporters alike are not uncommon. All of these things indicate that Scientology is making a concerted effort to control their public image by attempting to repress critical commentary.
The Church of Scientology also is more offensive in trying to create a space for itself in mainstream consciousness. They maintain a YouTube channel (ChurchOfScientology) detailing the humanitarian aid of the church, history and policies, as well as tours of various sites across the globe. These videos are high quality and well produced and intend to establish Scientology’s presence online to counteract many less than favorable videos already present.
In 2008 the church went a step further, actively placing a video onto YouTube by a woman posing as a Scientology sympathizer, but not part of the church herself. She argued against the proposed protest of the church by the social activist group Anonymous (Heyerdahl). However, it was proved soon after that the woman in the video was in fact part of the organization as well as an actress. Though the channel was soon removed this indicates the church of Scientology making an attempt to change public perception without connecting the message back to them.
The most obvious way that Scientology attempts to interact with the media is in their wooing of the rich and famous to present a bright fact to the public. Tom Cruise is the most famous of these converts, but there are several others as well. Celebrity Centers are set up specifically to appeal to famous “targets” (Miscavige Hill). This allows the church to hook its own image onto that of an already popular figure.
Scientology is perhaps one of the most active cults in its dealings with the media, targeting and acting to get what it wants. This aggressive policy is not the only way that the media can change the makeup of a cult, however. The group known as Heaven’s Gate was influenced directly by the media and pop culture of the time which was integrated into their mythology.
The most obvious way that Scientology attempts to interact with the media is in their wooing of the rich and famous to present a bright fact to the public. Tom Cruise is the most famous of these converts, but there are several others as well. Celebrity Centers are set up specifically to appeal to famous “targets” (Miscavige Hill). This allows the church to hook its own image onto that of an already popular figure.
Scientology is perhaps one of the most active cults in its dealings with the media, targeting and acting to get what it wants. This aggressive policy is not the only way that the media can change the makeup of a cult, however. The group known as Heaven’s Gate was influenced directly by the media and pop culture of the time which was integrated into their mythology.
Heaven's Gate
The news broke on the 26th of March, 1997. 39 members of the little known Heaven’s Gate cult had committed suicide just outside San Diego, California. Their leaders, Marshall Herff Applewhite and Bonnie Lu Nettles claimed to be the witnesses to the messiah spoken of in Revelations, just like the Haiglers (Chryssides 2). Unlike the Haiglers, however, was the unique blend of Bible allusion and the pop culture of UFOs. Messages left by the Heaven's Gate members indicate that they believed they were stepping out of their “vessels” or bodies to hitch a ride on the UFO coming in the wake of the recently discovered Hale-Bopp comet (Chryssides 4). Most of the members were found lying under purple shrouds and were wearing black pants and Nike shoes. The change in each person’s pocket was thought to be intended for the interstellar fare (Chryssides 4). The individual messages left by members explaining their reasons for committing suicide provide a look into the belief structure of the group as a whole.
Heaven’s Gate was one of the first fringe religious groups that attempted to spread their message through the internet, primarily through chat rooms (Cowan 141). They also supported themselves through a web design company just as the internet was getting its start.
Their primary concern was, however, pop culture science fiction. Interested in everything from Star Wars to the X files, the group called those that committed suicide the “Away Team” in reference to the show Star Trek (Chryssides 7). Applewood used this term from the space aliens that had left their home planets and were in the process of “tagging” the select few on Earth for a ride to a higher state of consciousness (Cowan 142). The interest in “UFOlogy” that had been on the rise since the conception of shows such as Star Trek and movies such as E.T. played a powerful role in the formation of the Heaven’s Gate worldview.
The arrival near the Earth of the Hale-Bopp comet on its 2,500 year orbit coincided with these interests in space and alien life. Weaving more traditional Christian elements with concepts of extraterrestrials and interplanetary travel created a movement heavily affected by the media and its portrayal of these relatively new ideas. Heaven’s Gate did not struggle against the media, or try to use it to their own ends, but embraced it as an influential part of the mythology that they created.
The news broke on the 26th of March, 1997. 39 members of the little known Heaven’s Gate cult had committed suicide just outside San Diego, California. Their leaders, Marshall Herff Applewhite and Bonnie Lu Nettles claimed to be the witnesses to the messiah spoken of in Revelations, just like the Haiglers (Chryssides 2). Unlike the Haiglers, however, was the unique blend of Bible allusion and the pop culture of UFOs. Messages left by the Heaven's Gate members indicate that they believed they were stepping out of their “vessels” or bodies to hitch a ride on the UFO coming in the wake of the recently discovered Hale-Bopp comet (Chryssides 4). Most of the members were found lying under purple shrouds and were wearing black pants and Nike shoes. The change in each person’s pocket was thought to be intended for the interstellar fare (Chryssides 4). The individual messages left by members explaining their reasons for committing suicide provide a look into the belief structure of the group as a whole.
Heaven’s Gate was one of the first fringe religious groups that attempted to spread their message through the internet, primarily through chat rooms (Cowan 141). They also supported themselves through a web design company just as the internet was getting its start.
Their primary concern was, however, pop culture science fiction. Interested in everything from Star Wars to the X files, the group called those that committed suicide the “Away Team” in reference to the show Star Trek (Chryssides 7). Applewood used this term from the space aliens that had left their home planets and were in the process of “tagging” the select few on Earth for a ride to a higher state of consciousness (Cowan 142). The interest in “UFOlogy” that had been on the rise since the conception of shows such as Star Trek and movies such as E.T. played a powerful role in the formation of the Heaven’s Gate worldview.
The arrival near the Earth of the Hale-Bopp comet on its 2,500 year orbit coincided with these interests in space and alien life. Weaving more traditional Christian elements with concepts of extraterrestrials and interplanetary travel created a movement heavily affected by the media and its portrayal of these relatively new ideas. Heaven’s Gate did not struggle against the media, or try to use it to their own ends, but embraced it as an influential part of the mythology that they created.
What We Must Learn
The media and all that entails holds an ever growing sway over the lives of the average person. It is only natural that this influence extends even to those that exist at the edge of more accepted society. As the media continues to grow and ships, so too will the influence that it has, making the examination of these changes of the utmost importance. Any influence, however small, might change the fate of lives as the future of many continues to be placed at the hands of a few. Cults are a reflection of parts of all of us, and as such we must be careful to learn from both their triumphs and their mistakes.
Works Cited
Canadian Security Intelligence Service. "Doomsday Religious Movements." 1999. Web.
Chidester, David. Salvation and Suicide. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1988. Print.
Chryssides, George. "Approaching Heaven's Gate." Heaven's Gate: Postmodernity and Popular Culture in a Suicide Group. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2011. 1-15. Document.
Cowan, Douglas. ""A Sometimes Mysterious Place" Heaven's Gate and the Maufactured Chrisis of the Internet." Heaven's Gate: Postmodernity and Popular Culture in a Suicide Group. Ashgate, 2011. 139-154. Document.
Docherty, Jayne Seminare. Lessons Learned from Waco. Syracuse: Syacruse University Press, 2001. Print.
I Love Scientology. Perf. Ruthie Heyerdahl. 2008. Youtube.
Miscavige Hill, Jenna. Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape. New York: HarperCollins, 2013. Print.
The Secrets of Scientology. Prod. BBC. Perf. John Sweeney. Panorama, 2013. Web.
Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJkQdLTJWwo>.
Young, Thomas J. "Cult Violence and the Identity Movement." Cultic Studies Journal (1990): 150-159. Document.
Zablocki, Benjamin and Thomas Robbins, Misunderstanding Cults. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2001. Print.
The media and all that entails holds an ever growing sway over the lives of the average person. It is only natural that this influence extends even to those that exist at the edge of more accepted society. As the media continues to grow and ships, so too will the influence that it has, making the examination of these changes of the utmost importance. Any influence, however small, might change the fate of lives as the future of many continues to be placed at the hands of a few. Cults are a reflection of parts of all of us, and as such we must be careful to learn from both their triumphs and their mistakes.
Works Cited
Canadian Security Intelligence Service. "Doomsday Religious Movements." 1999. Web.
Chidester, David. Salvation and Suicide. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1988. Print.
Chryssides, George. "Approaching Heaven's Gate." Heaven's Gate: Postmodernity and Popular Culture in a Suicide Group. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2011. 1-15. Document.
Cowan, Douglas. ""A Sometimes Mysterious Place" Heaven's Gate and the Maufactured Chrisis of the Internet." Heaven's Gate: Postmodernity and Popular Culture in a Suicide Group. Ashgate, 2011. 139-154. Document.
Docherty, Jayne Seminare. Lessons Learned from Waco. Syracuse: Syacruse University Press, 2001. Print.
I Love Scientology. Perf. Ruthie Heyerdahl. 2008. Youtube.
Miscavige Hill, Jenna. Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape. New York: HarperCollins, 2013. Print.
The Secrets of Scientology. Prod. BBC. Perf. John Sweeney. Panorama, 2013. Web.
Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJkQdLTJWwo>.
Young, Thomas J. "Cult Violence and the Identity Movement." Cultic Studies Journal (1990): 150-159. Document.
Zablocki, Benjamin and Thomas Robbins, Misunderstanding Cults. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2001. Print.