For some who turn for answers to religion, there will be no answers in the organized religions, so they instead turn to practices they are less familiar with in hopes that different ideas might satisfy their needs. Traditionally the family, through instruction and example, has provided acceptable answers to questions about the purpose and meaning of life. Now, with the breakdown of the family in most segments of modern society, the duties and responsibilities of such instruction are increasingly left to the media, the state, or to chance. We have many people looking for answers to their confusion and pain. These are the very ones that cults try to attract.
Cults recruit members in a very interesting and effective way.
Their newest members, eager to pass on their new-found truths, are sent out to contact new prospects, interest them in the cult and direct them into the organization. This is not particularly difficult when dealing with a young person who is already confused and has a feeling of hopelessness. The promise of relief from suffering is usually enough to create interest. If the cult member is unsuccessful in channeling the outsider into the organization or getting him interested, he simply looks for another to contact. Almost every cult has some sort of instruction and training in its particular method of getting outsiders interested enough to explore the cult.