{"id":2751,"date":"2026-07-23T13:58:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T13:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/?p=2751"},"modified":"2026-07-23T13:58:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T13:58:38","slug":"5-cults-that-are-still-active-today-and-what-they-believe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/2026\/07\/23\/5-cults-that-are-still-active-today-and-what-they-believe\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Cults That Are Still Active Today (And What They Believe)"},"content":{"rendered":"

From doomsday recruiters on university campuses to secretive sects being investigated by the FBI, these five cults prove that the phenomenon isn’t a thing of the past. They’re still here, still recruiting, and still destroying lives \u2013 one follower at a time. The only question is: how many more are out there that we don’t know about?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Shincheonji \u2013 The Apocalyptic Cult Recruiting On University Campuses<\/span><\/h2>\n

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Shincheonji is an “apocalyptic Christian cult” that uses sophisticated manipulation tactics to recruit new members. Followers believe Jesus’s return is imminent, and only those who follow founder Lee Man\u2011hee will be saved. The group sends teams to universities and shopping centres, compiling detailed dossiers on potential recruits. Former members describe it as “spiritual suicide” \u2013 once you’re in, you can’t look up anything critical of the church.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Twelve Tribes \u2013 The Yellow Deli Cult<\/span><\/h2>\n

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Founded in the 1970s, the Twelve Tribes still operates communities around the world. Members are promised a return to a simple, Old Testament life \u2013 but former members describe forced labour and severe corporal punishment of children. They run a chain of cafes called The Yellow Deli. The Southern Poverty Law Center has labelled them a “Christian fundamentalist cult”.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Lev Tahor \u2013 The ‘Jewish Taliban’<\/span><\/h2>\n

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Lev Tahor \u2013 Hebrew for “pure heart” \u2013 has been dogged by allegations of child abuse for decades. Women and girls above 3 are required to wear black robes that completely cover their bodies, leading some to call them the “Jewish Taliban”. In December 2024, Guatemalan authorities took 160 minors into custody, alleging forced pregnancy and rape. The group rejects all allegations and accuses governments of religious persecution.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church \u2013 Big Brethren<\/span><\/h2>\n

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With 55,000 members worldwide, the Plymouth Brethren operates like a “gated Christian community with walls around it”. They see the world as fundamentally corrupt and don’t recognise outside laws. Former members describe it as a “psychological cult” where obedience to leadership is absolute. One former member was offered a million dollars to keep quiet.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Church With No Name \u2013 The Cult At The Centre Of An FBI Probe<\/span><\/h2>\n

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This secretive underground Christian cult has no official name, no church buildings, and no published doctrine. TV, radio, the internet and music are banned, as is any independent thought. The FBI has launched an international investigation into multiple allegations of child sex abuse. Over 2,000 victims have reported upwards of 900 alleged predators to a survivors’ hotline.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From doomsday recruiters on university campuses to secretive sects being investigated by the FBI, these five cults prove that the phenomenon isn’t a thing of the past. They’re still here,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2752,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusives","category-photo-vault","category-weird-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2751"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2751\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2758,"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2751\/revisions\/2758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gleamgrid.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}