Social institutions and their role in society

Sociology

The Branch Davidians, a popular religious cult at Waco, Texas, was indeed considered a religious cult because of the nature of the group's cause. As a group that stemmed from Seventh-Day Adventists, the Branch Davidians believed in the concept of apocalypse or end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ. The Branch Davidians gained popularity because of communal life in Waco, living in the Mount Carmel Center. As a religious cult, the Branch Davidians was respected because of their alternative religious belief and due to the strong leadership of its founder Victor Houteff.

However, changes in the religious group emerged after Houteff died in 1955. Under the leadership of David Koresh, the religious group became synonymous with the prejudiced, negative view of cults, stemming from the fact that Koresh's practices as the Branch Davidian leader deviated from the religious, or even at least, normative life of a Christian. He began practicing polygamy, and commanded his members to stock on food, weapons and fuel. The seemingly exclusive and autonomous nature of the Branch Davidians furthered the negative image it eventually became known for, heightened by the fact that the media projected the group as a "cult" with non-Christian, even immoral practices. Thus, towards the end of the religious group's existence, the Branch Davidians were considered as a cult with 'cultish' or deviant practices and beliefs. This transition from religious group to a cult led to the strong belief that groups who deviate from their original organizations lead to practices that are abnormal or deviant in nature.

Looking into the case of Branch Davidians, it can be said that due to the increased relevance of the mass media to the lives of the public, the group, despite its religious background, became a cult in the view of Americans. Despite its being Christian in nature, the clandestine and sometimes considered deviant practices of the group made it assume a negative image, at least as projected to the public by the mass media and groups with vested interests. The label "cult" was given a negative connotation because of the prejudice that the mass media, special interest groups, and former Branch Davidians has provided the public. There was unequal dissemination of information from the part of the Davidians, having observed the image of exclusivity and non-interaction with non-members of the group. Thus, the negative image of it being an 'evil cult' prevailed, leading to the uncalled-for raid by the AFT that led to the group's abolishment and deaths of its members.