Groups called “sects” or “cults” are an increasing problem in Eastern Europe reports the Slovak Spectator. One official in Slovokia explained, “They control people through psychological terror.” He stated that 20 to 50 religious groups in the country are considered “dangerous” and compared involvement with them to “drug dependency.”

Describing the mindset of some sects the official said, “A person identifies the organization with God, and to disobey the organization is to disobey God,”

One group that has caused serious concern in Slovokia is”Jehovah’s Witnesses.” There are 20,000 members within the small country.

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that their organization alone is the exclusive channel used by God to communicate with the world and that all other faiths are false. Members reject blood transfusion due to the group’s interpretation of the bible and many have died rather than accept blood in a medical emergency. Witnesses also focus intensely upon the end of the world and believe that God in Armageddon will murder all those who don’t share their beliefs. They also reject the Christian belief of the trinity and see Jesus as an angel rather than the Son of God, according to orthodox Christian tradition.

A Slovak official described those vulnerable to sect recruitment frequently “feared the future.” And it seems within Eastern Europe as countries struggle to emerge from the Cold War and Communism, such a fear may be quite common. Many destructive groups and movements have historically fed on such fear by promising supposed certainty. Ironically, this was part of the promise made by both Fascists and Communism.

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