All of this can facilitate ,at different times , when we are not in balance a way to restore it and put as again in harmony with our self and the world that we live in . Faith can truly be the ideal shelter , it can hide and protect use from people that try to harm us , it can refresh our dose of optimism and faith in humanity , it can be our only friend when all the ones that we have had abandoned us.
But when our faith can become a danger for us? This may be a question that makes many uncomfortable , as we know , our insecurities ,our fear of the world at times can determine us retreat in our faith in God . At first this dose not seem like a harmful thing , after all , we can develop a more strong relationship with our congregation which will be beneficial , especially when you need a shoulder to cry on .
What we don't realize many times , blinded by the circumstances and by the rapid pass of time , is that after we close the door to society and open the door to our faith will we ever be able to open society's door again? Various sociological studies proved how hard is for people that were a long time members of conservative segregated religious groups , many of which were actually cults , to reintegrate in to society after leaving that group.
This is not only the case of individuals who were part of a cults , the same thing can happen to ones who developed fanatic / fundamentalist types of personality traits even in main stream religious organizations.
What dose actually happen when somebody gets involved in to such a group , that prevents him from remaining a active member in the life of the community in which he lives and fully dedicate his time to his new found "passion".
Fundamentalist religious believes can be described as a set of social norms , their content being a translation of religious teachings in to rules that regulate the daily life of a individual and of community. The norms of fundamentalist groups have a few defining characteristics :
1. ban possible contact of group members with people from outside the group.
2. describe the unique character of the group , purity of doctrine and faith , all the other teaching that come from outside the group are labeled as heretic.
3. they might set a hierarchy within the cult .
4. set levels of a individual's faith .
5. try to induce a fear of the exterior world , describing it as a dangerous place to live in and putting a stress on the quality of relations between group members.
Life within the group has a series of interesting characteristics to , also , their relations with the exterior world. As observed in a series of analysis done on the structures of some cults , they tend to have a very well structured group life with a very well defined system of norms backed up by a very harsh system of social sanctions .
Routines are very well determined and hierarchies as also , the unexpected is the biggest enemy in many cases so every activity is planned ahead , keeping routines in place makes the group survive the pressure of time.
Fundamentalism is most often displayed in group formats , a group that can range from four people (a family) to a large groups numbering hundred of members . When you want to base your hole life on such rigid rules you need a very strong support system composed from people who share your fundamentalism , this is important do to the fact that your way of life will be incompatible with the one of the members of the larger society in which you live . Effects like segregation most often come in to place here , people who decide to live such a rigid and unfriendly life have the need for constant validation from others , this is the reason why they practice such believes within a group .
For the ones who decide to leave the group a hard road unfolds in front of them , having lost most of their links with society , the social skills developed within the group can provide them social integration in the exterior world.
The most difficult cases are for those who are born in to such groups and decide to leave it when they reach their teenage years , one of the most characteristic effect of such a isolated lifestyle is a poor range of social representations , this condition many times the success of social integration . We need to understand that faith can be a pill , but if we take if in big amounts it can become quickly a drug . Recovery from a cult type life style is very hard and many ex-members even after years of therapy can't fully recover , having scars left that can't be healed .
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