The word cult in current usage is a term often used to describe a new religious movement (NRM) or any group whose beliefs, practices, or organizational structures are viewed as abnormal, eccentric, or bizarre by the larger society.
At the same time, the label "cult" has been used in popular culture and media as a sensationalized term, contributing to stigmatization and fear of these groups, sometimes based more on social prejudice than factual analysis.
The Italian novelist Sibilla Aleramo, in Amo, dunque sono (I Love, Therefore, I Am) (1927) depicted Julius Evola's UR Group, a hermetical circle and intellectual movement — strongly influenced by Anthroposophy — that attempted to provide a spiritual direction to Benito Mussolini's fascism.
[6] Aldous Huxley wrote the dystopian novel, Brave New World (1932) which is set in a future society where traditional religion has been replaced by a secular, state-enforced belief system.
Lovecraft’s cosmic horror often involved secretive cults worshipping ancient gods or supernatural entities, a reflection of fears surrounding the marginalization of traditional religious systems and the rise of unconventional beliefs.
A leading figure in his early "Future History" series (see If This Goes On--, a short novel published in Revolt in 2100), Nehemiah Scudder, a religious "prophet", becomes dictator of the United States.
By his own admission in an afterword, Heinlein poured into this book his distrust of all forms of religious fundamentalism, the Ku Klux Klan, the Communist Party and other movements that he regarded as authoritarian.
[8] In That Hideous Strength, C. S. Lewis describes the National Institute for Co-ordinated Experiments, or "NICE", a quasi-governmental front concealing a kind of doomsday cult that worships a disembodied head kept alive by scientific means.
The latter work criticizes the lust to "belong" to a powerful clique — a common human failing that Lewis believed was the basis for people being seduced into power-hungry and spiritually twisted movements.
[10][11][12] In William Campbell Gault's Sweet Wild Wench, L.A. private eye Joe Puma investigates the "Children of Proton", a fictional cult that has attracted the support of the daughter of a wealthy businessman.
[13] Gore Vidal's Messiah depicts the rise of Cavism, a nontheistic new religion of radical death acceptance, from its origins as a fringe cult to its ultimate takeover of the established world order.
[14] Vidal's Kalki, a science-fiction novel, recounts how a small but scientifically adept cult kills off the entire human race by means of germ warfare.
The show delves into how charismatic leadership, manipulation, and exploitation can be disguised as self-improvement programs, capturing the psychological and emotional traps set by cult leaders.
Karyn Kusama directed The Invitation, this psychological thriller centers around a dinner party where the guests slowly realize that the hosts have become involved in a mysterious cult.
While the story is fictional, it explores how vulnerable young women can be seduced into dangerous cults, manipulated by a charismatic leader, and subjected to a groupthink mentality.
While not entirely set in the 21st century, Willocks' novel takes place in the historical context of the Crusades and reflects how cult-like movements and religious extremism have always been part of human history.
The documentary Holy Hell follows the experiences of former members of the Buddha Field, a Los Angeles-based cult led by a man named Michel, who presented himself as a spiritual guru.
The film offers a firsthand look at the emotional and psychological toll cults can have on individuals, including the exploitation and manipulation of vulnerable members Aleister Crowley, founder of the English-speaking branch of Ordo Templi Orientis and of a short-lived commune (the "Abbey of Thelema") in Sicily, wrote poetry (anthologized in 1917 in The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse) and novels (Diary of a Drug Fiend (1922) and Moonchild (1929)).
[17] The travel-writer, poet and painter Nicholas Roerich, the founder of Agni Yoga, expressed his spiritual beliefs through his depiction of the stark mountains of Central Asia.
In a bibliographical study of his works, Marco Frenschkowski agrees with Stephen King in regarding Fear (1940) as one of the major horror tales of the 20th century, and praises "its imaginative use of the prosaic and its demythologizing of traditional weird fiction themes".