Top 10 Disturbing American Cults That Are STILL ACTIVE
Kashi Ashram
Kashi Ashram was founded in 1976 when Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati, born Joyce Green, established a commune in Florida. Years later, the founder was found at the center of serious accusations surrounding marriage and its youngest members. Members were allegedly encouraged to have children so Ma Jaya could take care of more young people. There were cases where the founder’s name was placed on birth certificates of infants outside of her family. The religious leader also reportedly made one of her daughters marry a man against their will. There were also numerous accounts of people of all ages being physically assaulted for not doing what Ma Jaya commanded. Her organization still continued to move forward after the leader’s death in 2012.
Word of Faith Fellowship
There are conflicting reports as to whether people in this organization follow a list of rules that range from asking permission to buy cars to having to ask what their college major will be. But the Word of Faith Fellowship has definitely stirred up a lot of controversy. According to former members, congregants who didn’t follow rules were subject to physical or mental torment. Known as “blasting” within the organization, members were allegedly punished for their sexual orientation, impure thoughts, acting out in school and more. Over 40 members once came forward to the Associated Press to detail horror stories about what happened to them. To this day, founders Jane and Sam Whaley continue to insist that the Fellowship is free of wrongdoing.
The Nuwaubian Nation
20 Most Disturbing Cults That Are Still Active
When Dwight York A.KA. Malachi Z. York started what would become The Nuwaubian Nation in New York, his followers were instructed to give up material possessions. They were also expected to raise a certain amount of money or face physical punishment. After attracting more followers, York moved his organization to Georgia and built an Egyptian themed headquarters. After claiming he lived in a sovereign state, local officials arrested him for the reports of what happened there. York was charged with over 100 counts of mistreating young people that were a part of The Nuwaubian Nation. He was sentenced to 135 years in prison for his various crimes. However, York’s followers still kept the belief system alive.
The Nation of Yahweh
10 Most Disturbing Cults That Are Still Active
A religious movement begun by Yahweh ben Yahweh became the source of serious acts of violence. After the group was criticized for promoting violent Black supremacist ideals, multiple incidents suggested that members were taking lives. Additionally, multiple people who tried to leave the group were either threatened with violence, brutally assaulted or even killed. Those who stayed within the group weren’t safe from punishment. Members who failed to meet quotas to collect money were subjected to physical torment. In 1991, Yahweh ben Yahweh faced jail time for his involvement in 14 murders. His incarceration eventually caused the group to retreat for two years before it returned and continued. While current leaders have moved away from the violent teachings, the movement’s dark history still remains.
The Church of Bible Understanding
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American members who left this group reported that their time with this church was exceedingly difficult. Founder Robert Traill pushed for followers to completely disconnect from their old lives. Once inside, members were expected to give the majority of their earnings to The Church. While Traill and the organization profited, they lived in overcrowded and sometimes pest-filled places. Members of The Church of Bible Understanding were also discouraged from getting information from the outside world or marrying at all. Outside of America, the organization was criticized for running orphanages in Haiti that subjected young children to horrible conditions. After Traill died in 2018, organization members still continued to practice their faith and kept running homes for orphaned people.
The Rajneesh Movement [aka Osho]
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Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, a controversial philosophy scholar and professor, founded his movement in the late 1960s-early ‘70s. He dismissed established religions, and instead focused on freethought, meditation and sexual freedom. He also had a marked interest in communist literature, which influenced his teachings. He moved his facility to Oregon in the early 1980s, after attracting too much controversy in India, yet found the same hostilities in the States. In order to gain political influence, the movement committed crimes such as mass local salmonella poisoning and an attempted assassination of a US attorney. He was then deported, and the movement’s commune was reestablished in India in 1985. Rajneesh died in 1990, but the movement, now called Osho, is still very much active.
Twelve Tribes
Founded in Tennessee during the evangelical Jesus movement of the 1970s, the Twelve Tribes might seem like a simple, wholesome community on the surface. It aspires to recreate the original Christian church as depicted in the Book of Acts. However, it allegedly exerts authoritarian control over its followers’ lives, and promotes strict corporal punishment - reportedly by parents and non-parents alike - which has led to accusations of child abuse. Once followers reach a certain level, they’re allegedly instructed that Jews are cursed for murdering Jesus, that gay people should be put to death, and that Black people are naturally servants to whites. The group has often flown under the radar, but there’s a lot more going on beneath the smiling and folk dancing.
The Family International
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The Children of God, more recently The Family International, was founded in 1968 by David Berg, and was immediately subject to controversy, as it used sex to lure potential members (Berg’s own invention, which he called “Flirty Fishing”). They established colonies worldwide, as many as 130 in seventy countries. The Family International draw their beliefs from the Bible, yet with a heavy emphasis on “Loving Jesus,” which is done through sexual interaction. Over time, there have been a large number of child mistreatment allegations raised against them. Celebrities such as River and Joaquin Phoenix, as well as Rose McGowan, were partially raised in this group before finding their way out. TFI is still active, albeit as an online community, boasting 1,450 members.
NXIVM
Founded in 1998 by Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman, NXIVM started out as a self-help group which offered classes called “Executive Success Programs.” In 2017, former members urged authorities to investigate, initially for a sub-group within NXIVM called “The Vow.” It was a group of women branded with Raniere’s initials and on a rotation to have relations with the founder and recruit members, in a sort of exceedingly complex relationship scheme. On top of this, in 2018, charges were brought against Raniere and five female members for a number of crimes including extortion, sex trafficking and the list goes on. Raniere got 120 years in prison. As of 2020, a number of groups branched from NXIVM are said to be active and recruiting.
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
The LDS church spawned some fundamentalist sects when the core religion opted to renounce the practice of polygamy. Those who wished to continue the practice branched off, remaining Mormon but on their own terms. Polygamy remains illegal, however, and in 1953, an entire FLDS community was arrested in Short Creek, Arizona (modern-day Colorado City), and most had their children taken from them. A compound in Texas was raided in 2008 after CPS was made aware of allegations of abuse. Over 400 children were taken from the compound and placed in CPS custody. Leader of FLDS Warren Jeffs remains in his position despite being in prison for life after acts against minors. The sect currently has between 6,000 and 10,000 followers.
