suicide cult
Fatal belief group
A suicide cult is a religious or ideological group whose beliefs lead members to kill themselves, typically in a collective act.
The term usually describes groups where charismatic leaders convince followers that death serves a spiritual purpose—achieving salvation, escaping apocalypse, or reaching another plane of existence.
Jonestown and Heaven's Gate are notorious examples.
The phrase sometimes applies more loosely to any group seen as leading members toward self-destruction.
- Branch DavidiansApocalyptic Texas sect
- brainwashingCoercive psychological manipulation
- mind controlDirecting another's thoughts
- deprogrammingReversing coercive belief implantation
- poisonHarmful ingested substance
apocalypticism · leader · true believer · eschatology · Jonestown · groupthink · coercion · indoctrination · follower · social alienation · charismatic leadership · chanting · martyrdom · final exit · Aum Shinrikyo · doomsday · end times · psychological counseling
suicide cultlife celebration
Upbeat funeral gathering
pro-life movement · hospice care · wellness retreat · birth celebration
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