The public's fascination with cults continues, with Netflix fans obsessing over the 'chilling' Keep Sweet Pray and Obey. The series follows the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), a denomination of Mormonism.
Defined as a 'social group connected by religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals' cults often have a dark side. Since the 19th century there have been thousands of groups which promote 'excessive devotion' leading them to be seen as cults.
Cults are most commonly associated with the United States, where it is estimated between 3,000 to 5,000 cult-like organisations have operated. However, the UK has a history of cults preying on vulnerable victims, including many in Scotland.
Read More: What was the 'Children of God' cult? Twisted sect said to encourage child sex abuse and mass orgies
Three notorious cults in Scotland
1. Children of God (1968 to present)
The Children of God was founded by David Berg in 1968 in America and was a secretive religious doomsday cult which actively encouraged child sexual abuse - some as young as two years old.
Berg preached “God is love and love is sex” which facilitated the exploitation of children in communes across the world, including in Scotland.
Now known as The Family International, the 'Children of God' sect had communities scattered across Scotland in Renfrewshire, Lancashire, Ayrshire, and Edinburgh, and still operates today.
At the cult’s peak it had 30,000 members across the globe, and 130 communities. Hollywood celebrities Rose McGowan and Joaquin Phoenix were born into the cult in the US.
One Scottish victim of the cult, Verity Carter, in her 40s, has publicly spoken about the impact the cult had on her. Verity was born into the cult in Scotland, and told ITV’s This Morning in August last year that she could remember being sexually abused from the age of four.
Speaking to Eamonn Holmes on the show Verity said: “It's caused me a lot of damage. There was a period of my life when I went off the rails. There was a significant level of self medication, which has left me with some physical after effects.
“Mentally, I still have long term effects, I have insomnia, I have flashbacks. I do receive help and counselling. These are things I've learnt to manage rather than to cure. Day to day life, there's still things that occur each day that may or may not trigger me, or may set something off.”
Verity added that she still struggles socially due to gaps in her cultural knowledge from growing up in the isolation of the cult. She has since had her own family and lives a life “as close to normal as I can expect”.
Responding to Verity’s accusations at the time Family International said that the organisation "has extended apologies to anyone who has been hurt" but that "they don't give credence to tales of institutionalised abuse", the Mirror reports.
Derek Lincoln, a senior member of the cult, was jailed for 11-and-a-half years in 2020 at Glasgow High Court after pleading guilty to the rapes of two victims more than three decades ago in cult centres around Scotland.
Details of the cult’s activity in Britain were released in the 2021 documentary Children Of The cult, on Discovery Plus . The cult’s workings are also explored in the Netflix documentary Children Of God .
2. The Brotherhood of the New Life (1860s to 1906)
Thomas Lake Harris was the leader of The Brotherhood of the New Life. It was a religious sex cult based in New York that came to Langside, Glasgow, to recruit disciples in 1903.
Harris, who was 80 at the time, manipulated his disciples to have sex with him in order to meet their “spiritual counterparts” and rid the earth of mortal evil, Glasgow Live has reported. He claimed to have been chosen by God to announce the second coming of Christ.
The cult leader only managed to convert one Scot into the fold of his cult, taking 62-year-old Jessie Donaldson with him on his return to New York. Decades of scandal, including a conviction for fraud and accusations of sexual victimisation, followed the ‘prophet’.
University of Glasgow lecturer Dr Tanya Cheadle’s book, Sexual Progressives: Reimagining Intimacy in Scotland, 1880-1914, explains: “He preached this archaic doctrine of conjugial marriage, that everyone had a spiritual counterpart who could descend into the body of another person, enabling you to have a relationship with them – and your spiritual counterpart wouldn’t necessarily be with the person you were married to. Exactly what this entailed he never made explicit but his critics thought it was all very suspect.
“In many ways, he was like an archetypal cult leader. According to his accusers, he claimed that his disciples’ counterparts had descended into his body and the only way they could have a relationship with their spiritual counterpart would be to get into bed with him. He was really manipulative and attracted people who are vulnerable.”
3. Woman died following 'Breatharianism' fast cult
A woman was found dead near a Scottish loch after suffering hypothermia and dehydration whilst on a 21-day religious fast diet. 'Breatharianism' tells followers they can survive on light and fresh air alone.
Verity Linn, 49, originally from Australia was found dead by her tent in Loch Cam in north-west Sutherland in 1999. She had been working as an assistant manager at Cluny Hill College in Forres, part of the Findhorn Foundation, the Daily Record reported at the time. She had been granted a six-month sabbatical from the college and planned to travel the world.
Verity’s diary confirmed that she had been following the 'Breatharianism' diet. Days before her death Verity wrote that she believed not eating or drinking would ''spiritually cleanse'' and ''recharge her physically and mentally'" before the new Millennium.
'Breatharianism' is believed to have been founded by American Wiley Brooks, it rose to popularity among Hollywood celebs in the 80s. The cult preached that humans can exist without food or water, yet Brooks - who claimed to have fasted for 19 years - was allegedly caught eating McDonald's by his followers, The Mirror reports.
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