10 Most Disturbing Cults That Are Still Active

10 Disturbing Cults You Never Want to Meet

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at 10 Disturbing Cults You Never Want to Meet.

For this list, we’re looking at bizarre cults that are somehow currently active. There are inactive cults that are far more sinister, such as Jonestown, but we’ll save those for a different list.

Which of these do you find the strangest? Let us know in the comments.

The Rajneesh Movement [aka Osho]

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.

Order of the Solar Temple

The Order of the Solar Temple - or International Order of Chivalry Solar Tradition - was founded in Geneva in 1984. The Order took its influence from the Knights Templar which had been reformed into several factions in 1805. In its heyday, the Order had a presiding council, as well as multiple “lodges” around the world, in which they would perform initiation rites and ceremonies. The Order believed that an apocalyptic event would occur sometime in the mid-90s, and that in order to survive, they had to achieve a higher plane of existence. In the mid-nineties, over seventy of its members were murdered or took their own lives, with more to follow. Despite this, the group is still thought to have between 140 and 500 active members.

Raëlism

Though its classification as a cult is sometimes debated, Raëlism was (or is still) at some point in the cult category. It’s essentially what’s called a “UFO Religion,” and was founded in France by Claude Vorilhon in 1974. They believe that an alien race known as Elohim created humans; the Elohim have been mistaken for gods, historically, and any prophetic figure (such as Jesus or Muhammad) was created by them. Vorilhon, known as Raël, is the fortieth and final prophet. Followers believe that the world is in an “age of apocalypse,” and that new technologies must be developed, after which time the Elohim will return to Earth and share their extraterrestrial knowledge with us. Current Raëlian members were counted at around 18,000 in 2017.

Aleph

Aum Shinrikyo (or more recently “Aleph”) was founded in Japan in 1987 by Chizuo Matsumoto, later known as Shoko Asahara. It’s a doomsday cult, and its beliefs combine aspects of Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism, Christian Millenarianism, yogic practices and the prophecies of Nostradamus. It started off fairly tame, but eventually the cult became criminal, with accusations of extortion, murder and forced membership, among other things. They performed a number of attacks. At some point, the group began to manufacture sarin gas, and were responsible for the attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, which left upwards of 1,000 injured. A number of the more prominent members were executed in 2018, but there were still indications of active membership as of 2019.

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.

Happy Science

Founded in 1986 by former businessman Ryuho Okawa, Happy Science focuses on a four-fold path to happiness. Members of the group attend seminars and training in order to climb the group ladder. They worship El Cantare, a being that is said to have been born over 300 million years ago on Earth and reincarnated through time until its current incarnation, which is, of course, Okawa himself. The problem with this one comes in the form of major, uncredited claims, for example, that the organization can cure the pandemic with “spiritual vaccines.” Okawa’s own son has left the group, and subsequently denounced his father’s actions. Happy Science claims to have eleven million followers, however a former member has said it’s more like 30,000.

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.

Superior Universal Alignment

Our second UFO cult in the list, Superior Universal Alignment, or Lineamiento Universal Superior was founded by Valentina de Andrade in 1981. She claimed to have received messages from extraterrestrials warning her of destruction. If, however, she shared their warnings with others, she and her followers would be saved. Similar to the Raëlians, SUA believes that Jesus was actually an extraterrestrial messenger. They also believe that males born after 1981 are evil, and that their lives should end as payment to the superior beings. Between 1989-1993, nineteen Brazilian boys disappeared, mutilated and left to die in the woods. The guilty cult members were sentenced, but de Andrade was acquitted. The cult is still active, and has been running a website since 2009.

The Family International

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.