The more alienated the person is, says Dr. Martin, the more likely he is to join a radical fringe group, led by an alienated, marginal figure such as David Koresh of the Branch Davidian. Once absorbed into a cult, members' wills are slowly subverted- in the most extreme cases to the point that they will kill themselves or others. For centuries, millenarian cults have tended to flout taboos, especially sexual taboos such as incest, says David C. Rapoport, a professor of political science at the University of California at Los Angeles. Violence, however, is a recent phenomenon. Although many cults expect persecution and view the outside world with hostility, few turn violent.
Some scholars say it's no wonder that cults have become more violent-so has America.
The cultural norm is to have the best weapons you can. Some see them as true believers corrupted by power, others as cynical charlatans who deliberately exploit their followers for wealth, sex or power. Dr. Melton, who has studied nonconventional religions for more than 20 years, says he rarely has encountered groups in which anything but sincere belief was operating. However, Richard Ofshe, a Berkeley sociology professor, says some fringe groups don the mantle of religion as a shield against society's prying eyes. Many officials are reluctant to investigate valid claims of wrongdoing by cult leaders because they fear they'll be accused of religious prejudice, says Dr. Ofshe, who shared a 1979 Pulitzer Prize with the Point Reyes Light in California for an investigation of Synanon, a therapeutic group turned cult.