Throughout our history, sects have become a predominant part of our society. More and more cults are forming every day. Although not all are dangerous, some can practice practices that are toxic to their members. Cults use fear and control to gain more and more members. Once members join a cult, they are obligated to perform practices required by the cult's leaders. It is through these practices that cult leaders convince their members to stay in the cult. Through mind control and scare tactics, cults have become a very powerful and dangerous part of our society. Although cults have become a very common practice in our society, few people actually know what a cult is. A cult is a group that demonstrates excessive devotion to an idea, person, or thing. Cults will engage in manipulative and persuasive behavior to advance the leader's goals (Langone). There are many types of cults, but they generally fall into four categories: religious, commercial, self-help and counseling, or political. Many people confuse religions with cults, but that is not the case. Religious sects are sects centered around a belief system, as many mainstream religions are, but they are classified as cults due to their practices and mind control. Mainstream religions do not practice these techniques. Commercial cults are those who seek to make money. These cults use their scare tactics and mind control techniques to get their members to give them money and even work for them. Self-help and counseling cults are centered around a company that offers programs designed to help people by counseling them. By taking their classes, members learn that they will become better people. Of course, this is not the case and these cults are between...... middle of paper ...... poison, making Jones the most infamous cult leader in American history. Scientology was founded in 1952 by L. Ron Hubbard. . The Church of Scientology is known for using manipulations such as isolation and lawsuits to keep its members in line. Many consider the Church of Scientology to be a church and not a cult because it is recognized by the IRS, but many countries refuse to recognize it as a church, including the United Kingdom, Greece, Canada, Germany and France. Reverend Sun Myung Moon founded the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity in 1954. After 7 years in the church, his followers were told they could choose their marriage partners and he is become famous for its mass wedding ceremonies. In the 1970s, Moon renamed the sect the Unification Church and moved it to New York. The cult still exists even though Moon died in 2010.