The word “cult” makes you think of crazy people prophesizing about the coming apocalypse. But there are sex cults too, and you should know about them.
Sex sells. Come up with an advertisement with a well-shaped, half-naked man and woman touching one another, and you can sell anything from food, gadgets, perfume, and yes, even religion.
Theoretically, if two religions offer the same promise of paradise in the afterlife, but only one offers all the guilt-free sex you can have *as a bonus*, people will most likely choose the latter.
What is a sex cult and how does it work?
Full disclosure: sex in religion has been here for ages.
Before the major religions even became popular, our ancestors have treated sexuality and fertility as something of divine origin. Ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, and Polynesian creation myths even involve sexual acts between deities as the origin of some aspects of the world. For them, sex is a natural and essential part of life.
So what’s the difference between ancient religions and what these sex cults have to offer? Mainstream and ancient religions treated sex as a part of life – and a means to an end. Sex cults, on the other hand, used sex as their main doctrine and as their form of worship. [Read: 30 sex positions for 30 days]
Some cults even use sex as a form of reward and as a means to control their members. Besides this, there are other signs to know that you’ve found yourself in a sex cult:
– Cults have a small number of members and are pretty recent or short-lived compared to other religions.
– Cults will always have a guru, a master, or a teacher. Basically, a prophet figure that’s chosen to teach you that having sex is the path to holiness.
– There will be money involved – from membership fees, tithes, and “volunteer work” to sell organic produce, work at the commune’s farm, or sell their instructional videos.
– Sex cults will require your loyalty and will ask you to swear into an oath of secrecy.
– And the obvious dead giveaway: sex cults will teach and ask you to do the weirdest and outlandish things, which are all beyond the average person’s understanding. [Read: Dirty ways to have rough sex]
5 (In)famous sex cults
There are a lot of sex cults out there, but due to their relative obscurity and small membership, we only know of a handful. Some of these cults occasionally find themselves in news headlines due to the bizarre, outrageous, and sometimes illegal actions of their members.
#1 Rajneesh Movement (currently known as Osho International Foundation) – The Rajneesh movement was founded during the early 1970s by Indian mystic and spiritual teacher Bhagwan Rajnesh after his stint as a philosophy professor in his native country.
Similar to the zeitgeist of the era, his teachings advocated spiritual self-awareness, the celebration of life, creativity, and practice of meditation among his followers.
He is mostly known for his open attitude about sexuality which earned him the moniker of “sex guru” after his claims that he has had sex with more women than anyone in history.
Polyamory, free love, and group sex are common occurrences within the cult, which can be quite alarming if only he’s not a strong proponent of safe sex and contraception. [Read: How to have safe sex]
Other than that, the group is mostly based on Rajnesh’s cult of personality. The guru is said to have asked his followers to wear only orange robes and a pendant with his portrait in it.
He is also claimed to be addicted to laughing gas (nitrous oxide) from which he gets his inspiration for this teachings and has owned almost a hundred Rolls Royce automobiles.
#2 The Family International aka the “Children of God” – The Children of God cult is more infamous than other cults.
Founded by former preacher David Berg during the late 1960s, the group is primarily based on a mixture of fundamentalist Christian theology, apocalypticism, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, with an unhealthy dose of sex on the side.
The group also became popular with the hippies during that era due to its rock music-themed worship services and yes, free peanut butter sandwiches. The group was initially dismissed as a bizarre and harmless cult.
But after David Berg claimed himself to be a “king and a prophet,” he started preaching extreme ideas, such as the fact that sex and masturbation were gifts from God and should be practiced all the time. [Read: Sexy benefits of masturbation]
There are also documented claims that David Berg and his partner had been molesting minors within their congregation and have even engaged in incest with their very own children.
The cult is known for recruiting members by means of “flirty-fishing,” where female members recruit men by having sex with them.
#3 The Source Family – The Source Family is what happened when an ex-marine hippie James Baker (Father Yod to his followers) met a Sikh mystic and started to learn from him.
Originally a proto-hippie philosopher who operated a sandal shop and two health food restaurants, Father Yod decided to preach an amalgamation of Indian spiritual philosophy and the late 1960’s famous slogan of sex, drugs, and rock and roll – albeit with more emphasis on the sex and drugs part.
The cult got its name from the health food shop operated by Baker from where he started to teach meditation, breathing techniques, yoga, and veganism. Father Yod attracted a lot of young followers from his teaching that marijuana-induced sex is best way to achieve enlightenment.
His cult, however, fell apart after he died after leaping off a cliff with a hang glider that he didn’t know how to use. [Read: Things that can resurrect your dwindling sex drive]
#4 The Wesson Cult – The Wesson cult is something that would seem familiar if you’ve watched True Detective in terms of its bizarre beliefs and practices, and its horrific end.
The cult was named after its founder, Marcus Wesson, a former Seventh-day Adventist who decided to start a new religion based on a mixture of the Bible and vampire lore.
Wesson’s cult included his immediate family and a few residents of his hometown in Fresno, CA. Wesson taught that Jesus is a vampire and incest is the way to preserve their “purity” which will eventually turn them into vampires.
Wesson started the cult when he moved in with a woman in San Jose, CA. He then “married” the woman’s 15 year-old daughter, Elizabeth, after having a child with the mother. The couple had seventeen children which he sexually abused regularly, starting when they were 8-years-old.
The horrific cycle of abuse ended in tragedy when nine of his children were killed after an alleged suicide pact within the cult. Wesson now faces death penalty for his crimes. [Read: Abusive relationship signs of a devious lover]
#5 The Branch Davidians – The thing that separates a sex cult from other cults is pretty obvious: a sex cult is where the so-called “leader” demands to have sex with the women of his congregation as the path to “salvation.” Such is the infamous legacy of the Branch Davidians under the leadership of David Koresh.
The cult started as a far more fundamentalist offshoot of the Seventh-Day Adventists on Mount Carmel, Texas. The cult took a radical approach to their teaching after the rise of their charismatic leader, David Koresh who demanded that all males become celibate and offer up their wives and daughters to him as his “spiritual wives.”
Koresh allegedly had indiscriminate sexual relations with the female members of his congregation – both young and old. Because of his charisma and control over the activities of the members, Koresh gained the absolute loyalty of his followers.
And he used this control during his tragic end at the Waco siege where he and some of his followers were killed during a raid by Texas law enforcement officers.
[Read: 50 Shades of Grey – a new frontier in kink on film]
Cults are everywhere. And they are based on common recurring themes: borrowed doctrines from other religions, the end of the world, aliens, recreational drugs, and sex. But it’s best to not fall prey to cults that will ultimately control your life and probably ask you to do something against the law.
