| Description |
In today's media, one often hears of startling events associated with cults. The extreme sacrifices made by cult members, including ceasing all contact with family and friends, giving up careers, and participating in mass suicides and murders, have brought a great deal of attention to these religious groups. Because of the dangers associated with cults, it is necessary to understand the ways in which cult leaders persuade so profoundly. This project studies the communication of two contemporary cult leaders, Sun Myung Moon and Jim Jones, in order to better understand cult leaders' uses of persuasive language. By analyzing the rhetoric of these leaders, it becomes clear that they persuade audiences through the use of threats, promises, empowerment, humiliation, unification, flattery, and admonitions. Because there are consistent similarities among the strategies and forms used by Moon and Jones, this study enables one to begin to understand cult discourse as a rhetorical genre. Once readers acquire an awareness of this rhetorical genre, they will be better able to make sense of the ways in which cult leaders can persuade hundreds, thousands, and even millions of people. |
