Memorable World History/Authors

20 Deadly Cults

Ho No Hana or Yorokobi Kazoku no Wa

This 30,000-member Japanese cult is ledby a crook. Hogen Fukunaga claims he can see someone's past andfuture by looking at their feet, according to the Japan Times.

Guilty of having extorted 150 millionyen (US$1.32 million) from 30 followers, Fukunaga diagnosed them withserious illnesses before having them pay for costly treatments thatwere supposed to cure them. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Scientology

Founded in 1952 by L. Ron Hubbard,Scientology has been accused of fraud. In 2013, a French court uphelda 2009 conviction against the church for taking advantage ofvulnerable followers. The group, which is considered a religion inmany countries including the United States, has a long list ofencounters with the law.

Hare Krishna

Founded in 1966 in New York by A. C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Hare Krishna movement publisheddetails of widespread child abuse of children in its boarding schoolsin the United States and India during the 1970s and '80s, accordingto the New York Times.

The article states that "themovement's leadership was first forced to confront the victims ofabuse at a meeting in May 1996, when a panel of 10 former Krishnapupils testified that they had been regularly beaten and caned atschool, denied medical care, and sexually molested and rapedhomosexually at knife point."

Order of theSolar Temple

In 1995, 16 membersof the Order of the Solar Temple were found burned on a plateau inthe French Alps, reported the Los Angeles Times.

According to thearticle, the scene closely resembled the deaths of 53 other templemembers in October 1994 in Canada and Switzerland.

Rajneesh or Oshocult

Bhagwan ShreeRajneesh, also known as Osho, began a spiritual movement in 1970 thatincluded "an odd mix of capitalism, meditation, ethnic and dirtyjokes, and open sexuality," according to an article from Slate.

In 1984, from acommune established in Oregon, Rajneesh's followers tried to takeover the Wasco county government by poisoning the entire town,contaminating salad bars in local restaurants. Over 750 people fellill, including 45 hospitalizations, but their plan didn't work. Theattack remains the first, largest, and worst bioterrorism attack inthe United States.

The Children ofGod

In 1968, David Bergstarted The Children of God, a cult that was described in an articlefor the Guardian as "devot[ing] themselves to the worship ofJesus Christ and promiscuous sex."

A 1974 report fromthe New York attorney general's office documented rape,incarceration, kidnapping, and incest inside the group. "Witnessestestified that child rape was used as an excuse to 'increase thetribe,' leading to many pregnancies in various communities."