For many years, the cults have been the subject of great controversy. A cult is a group of people bound together by an appreciation of the same thing, person, ideal, etc. These groups usually stick together for religious reasons, but their beliefs are almost always considered strange by outsiders. Cults are similar to clans or congregations, but are usually called sects. There are many different categories that a sect can be classified into. Apocalyptic, utopian, spiritualistic, satanic, and witchcraft/voodoo cults are just a few of the most basic types. While an apocalyptic cult would focus on the end of the world, a utopian cult would focus more on a perfect earth, or in other words a heaven on Earth. Spiritualistic sects often obsess over the teachings of the Bible while satanic ones, worshiping the devil, do the exact opposite. Finally, a cult of Witchcraft or Voodoo would direct all their attention towards sacred rituals and ceremonies of that nature. Many reasons people join cults are to seek God, seek eternal life, avoid hell, or simply fit in. they usually do this during epidemics, wars, financial ruin, the end of a relationship, or failure to achieve a goal. Cults have been a controversial topic for centuries. Critics argue that cults are dangerous and should be stopped, while Christian leaders argue that cult members endanger their souls by refusing to embrace Christianity. While many think that cults are very dangerous organizations, clan members themselves claim that they are harmless. They also say they are being denied their constitutional right to worship as they choose. Utopian cults, as mentioned before, are groups of people who search through... paper... on November 18, 1978, 912 corpses were found. It has been 31 years since this tragedy occurred and today the Peoples Temple is known to be the most recognized cult of all time. The Peoples Temple was one of many deadly cults along with the Branch Davidians, led by David Koresh and Heaven's Gate, proving that many cults are dangerous. Cults will always be a very controversial topic. Works Cited Streissguth, Thomas. Charismatic cult leaders. Minneapolis: The Oliver Press, Incorporated, 1995. Zeinert, Karen. Cults. Springfield: Enslow Publishers, 1997. Dolan, Sean. Everything you need to know about cults. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2000.Cult. March 8, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CultJim Jones. March 8, 2010.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_JonesTop Ten Crazy Cults. 2010.http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/top-10-crazy-cults-1.html