Basically, for each social association to be formed in the community, the existence of a series of cultural, economic and cognitive shortages are necessary. Regarding this fact that a community is consisting of a really complicated network of various factors for its creation and survival and progress, the existence of shortages, defaults, lacks and dominant spirits of the people of the community is an opportunity in the community for various associations to be formed and emerged. This requirement in the community alongside with other factors’ views, foreign supports and etc. Cause cultural, cognitive, economic, social and even military associations to be emerged in the society.
Like social association, cults are quite organized depending on this issue. For this reason, the shortages provide opportunities for cults to be formed.
The followings are the opportunities for cults such as Baha’ism to be formed
- The existence of cultural and cognitive shortages:
Because human being is a two dimension creature, the existence of various requirements for both materialistic and spiritual dimensions can’t be ignored in the community. Even, the lack of balance in providing the requirements of these two dimensions can cause various problems to be created for human beings in community. During history, ignoring and even the lack of balance in defining human being in various communities cause different intellectual school to be created such as communism and Liberalism.
Consequently, if the various requirements of human beings particularly in spiritual and mental dimensions aren’t paid attention in community, shortages and defaults will be definitely created for people of one walks off life.
So, it can be said that one of the main factors for people to turn to cults is providing materialistic, spiritual and mental requirements.
For instance; during Qajar dynasty and the government of Muhammad Shah, there were several wars between the Czar Russia and Iran which caused Iran to be defeated in these wars. Even, some regions of the north of Iran were confiscated by the Russians. Failures in these wars brought about poverty, humiliation, hunger and illness for the Iranian people. Because a kind of spiritual and mental disillusionment will be created inside Iran and community.
One of the other requirements is intrinsic ones. Because there are some problems concerning marriage discussion, people are turning to cults to meet their needs. For instance, the religious regulations don’t let each kind of relationship to be occurred and some people have problems meeting their needs sexually.
In these conditions, the cults let these relationships. For example, some cults consider meeting sexual needs as the main requirements of spirit. That is, one of the main factors of growing spirit is meeting sexual requirement
- The gap between the government and the political system of government and the religious scholars:
The tendency of government towards superstitious thoughts is of the main factors of forming cults in the society. The example of such issue is forming more than thirty cults in Turkey after the emergence of Laicism of Kamalism and Baha’ism in Iran during Muhammad Shah Qajar.
- Long termed plans of the Colonial countries for breaking the national authority of countries:
The materialistic investments of Satanic countries concerning deviating generations, confronting against pure religious thoughts, humiliating and negating though, Colonialism, confronting against community growth, exploiting the material capacities of communities, penetrating into the spiritual capacities of the world of Islam and tens of other factors from the tyrant powers cause various cults to be created in Islamic communities.
In Iran; after Safavi governments gained power and the Shia scholars became coherent, the Islamic scholar have consistently been a factor for preserving unity and national power in Iran during various periods of time.
- Family and inheritance:
Some people are born in the family of the followers of a cult and naturally turn towards the family thoughts. A person who is born in a Baha’i family will become a Baha’i. a person who is born in a Christian or Jewish family will be Christian or Jewish.
Anyway, one of the main factors of forming character and identity of people of a community is family.
- One of the other factors in the incorrect understanding of religion: For example, TV. Is broadcasting programs such as “The secret keys” or “maybe, it will happen for you”. They are usual in the first look, but such programs will provide people’s minds for being deceived or incorrect understanding of religion. Or concerning Corona issue, many people claimed for religion to be failed because it couldn’t cure human beings. Religion isn’t for curing the physical ills what an expectation!
۶) the tendency towards spirituality which is the intrinsic desire of human beings:
Intrinsically, human being is possessing a powerful tendency towards understanding the world truth. This tendency is originated from truth-seeking, live and holy things. Three key factors cause mirages to be emerged instead of realities:
- Not introducing reality and the right school in a merited manner.
- Replacing mirages
- The dominance of fleshes over the intellectual practical and mental domains during history.
۷) the next point is diresification:
Due to the existence of customs in the cults or the existence of their friends in the cults, our youth are turning to the cults
۸) another factor is the feeling of coercion: Those who are boycotted from the community will resort to cults because the will be no place for them to be refuged. For example, the street women. Because prostitution is forbidden and hideous in our culture, we will boycott these people from our community, but they may be turned to the cults.
۹) disillusionment with reality and modern science:
Since nearly 400 years ago; in the west part of the earth, separating from the divine religions started and no need to the divine religions was posed. So, they turned to two categories: Rationalism and science or scientism. The pioneers of such thought announced they could establish the promised heaven of the religion on the earth and there is no need to religion and the religious spirituality. However; after the passage of centuries and the miserable conditions of humanity in 20th century a serious suspect appeared created a modern stage in human life. The lack of God, meaning and holy things. Human beings gradually turned to the religions escaping from them.
۱۰) tendency towards promiscurity
During the contemporary periods of time, these tendencies have become as ideological and been increased. Inviting to sex and promiscurity by the cults has caused many people to be attracted by such cults.
۱۱) searching for identity:
Identity is in fact the original humane3 existence. The concept of “self” will be manifested by identity. On the other side, “I” is a humane reality or “self” is pointing out an aspect of a person which is the very “I”. when identity is being threatened to be ruined, the person will be afflicted by the identity crisis and his/her identity will be ruined. He/she will turn to mirages.
۱۲) turning to discover secrets:
There is a feature in human being which is achieving the world secrets. This feature has caused for many people to turn to groups claiming for having secrets.
۱۳) leaving ordering one to do something that is allowed by religion and dissuading one form doing something that is forbidden by religion:
Unfortunately ordering one to do 5th that is allowed by religion and dissuading one form doing 5th that is forbidden by religion have be left aside and many people don’t deem it as their duties to do it. In this case honesty, truthfulness, science, tyranny and fornication will be replaced by lie, betrayal, ignorance, justice, purity respectfully.
۱۴) being strict in religious affairs: The religion of Islam is easy because the holy prophet (P.H.) has said:
“بعثت بالشریعه السهله السمحه”
(Makatib Al-Rasoul, 1421 A.H., Vol. 1, 1391). If this easy religious law is introduced as a strict one, the generation will escape from it
۱۵) not acting by some religious scholars
Not acting the religious teachings by the lords of religious law is another barrier for piety and a factor for turning against religion and turning to deviant cults.
۱۶) limiting the circle of piety
This category is divided into two interpretations. The first is that the pious circles are assumed too limited to such an extent that a few numbers are remained which cause a mental calamity. The second interpretation is that piety is considered just as prayer and fasting and other affairs such as social, political, mental and artistic affairs are ignored.
۱۷) not acting some religious teachings in life
As long as the religion is considered as a chain of intelligent matters and theories and doesn’t enter into life scene, it won’t show its importance and efficiency. In this case, religion will be isolated. So, it causes the deviant cults to penetrate into youth’s hearts.
۱۸) not introducing religion in symbolic forms
As symbols reveal the deviant role, they play key roles in the domain of human education. The secret of the divine education. The secret of the divine prophets’ successors is in creating inner, emotional and communicative atmospheres. The symbolic education is the output of interactions between the trainer and trainee, temperament and environment, inner and outer action in special circumstances.
۱۹) the lack of emotional atmosphere in religious proselytizing
If religious advertisements are in lack of emotional atmosphere, they won’t affect and recruit people. The holy prophet (P.H.) has stated:
“الطیش لا یقوم به حجج الله (بحار الانوار/ ۱۴۳ه.ق، ج ۳و ۱۲۶)
۲۰) The danger of deviant schools isn’t a simple and easy issue. For this reason Imam Sadeq (P.H.) has stated:
“باوروا باحداثکم بالحدیث قبل ان یسبقکم الیهم المرجئه” (مجلسی/ ۱۹۸۷، ج ۲۵، ۳۴۴)
This tradition contains two notes: 1) Parents must know about the deviant schools of their time in order to preserve their youth’s thoughts.
۲۰) being unaware of the traps of deviant schools
They must proceed other deviant thoughts in order to educate their offspring religiously. The followings are some reasons for the parents to be less responsible for educating their offspring: giving absolute freedoms to offspring, being too busy, the economic problems, cultural contradictions and etc.
۲۱) The materialistic requirements
The material requirements are of the main and most essential factors of people in community followed by people everyday to be met. One of the way to provide them is cults people turn to cults to provide their requirements. Some cults are wealthy and recruit people easily specially the ones which are related to Colonial governments such Baha’ism and Wahhabism. These two cults have been able to recruit many followers a lot.
آنچه در ادامه می خوانید
conclusion:
There is an intrinsic traction towards reality, meaning and education in human being. So, in the present era in which the crisis of values and humane identity are of its cultural and cognitive characteristics the cults will be extensive and extended. The followings are the reasons for turning towards cults:
- The reasons from the preachers of cults and deviant sects.
- The reasons from the humane society.
- The reasons from the preachers of divine religious law
- The reasons from the families who don’t have any dominance over their offspring and are unaware of the deviant cults
- The reasons from the Satanic powers; such as the extensive attack by media, advertisements and material and non-material investing in this regard.
Sources:
- Zahedani, Seyyed Saeed Zahed, Baha’ism in Iran, Tehran, 8th edition, the center for the documents of the Islamic Revolution, 1394 S.H.
- Religions and cults comprehensive site, Qom theological school
- The clergyman Ali Reza Rouz Bahani, the manager of the group criticizing the deviant cults in the religions of the theological school and the manager of the studies about cults
- http://lib.eshia.ir/50016/1/226
- http://rss.razavi.ac.ir/article/864
