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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Psychology of Religion Module EXPLORATIONS IN PSYCHOLOGY: David Koresh and the Branch Davidians SOME CULT LEADERS gain extraordinary power over their followers. One such recent cult leader was David Koresh, who led the members of his Branch Davidian cult to violent deaths. Koresh, whose original name was Vernon Howell, was born in 1959 and attended school in Texas.

He was reported to have memorized large portions of the Bible, although he had been indifferent to schoolwork. As a young man he became attracted to the Branch Davidian offshoot of the Seventh Day Adventist religion. He became its leader and gradually established himself as the absolute authority over all of its affairs and its members. How do such leaders gain such complete control over their followers?

In Koresh’s case, he defined himself as an equal to God, convincing his followers that he had divine insight. He taught an exclusive “us” versus “them” approach by saying that “we” (he and his followers) were God’s chosen people and “they” (everybody else) were controlled by Satan. Koresh convinced members to disconnect themselves from the evils of the outside world and established a group of “lieutenants” to enforce his dictates.

In addition to control tactics like Koresh’s, characteristics of followers also need to be taken into account to understand how cults come about. Koresh’s followers were religious seekers who followed him because they were dissatisfied with the ordinary religious options in their world. Step by step, as they developed the habit of going along with Koresh’s and the group’s expectations, their conformity to the cult became more established. Eventually, Koresh gained control of the entire group.

Two tragic events occurred to Koresh and his followers. On February 28, 1993, agents from the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms decided to invade the sect’s compound just outside of Waco, Texas, because they thought the group had illegal weapons. (In fact, it turned out that the sect had stored a large supply of weapons, some of which were illegal, and ammunition.) A gun battle ensued in which four federal agents were shot to death. A 51 day standoff followed.

After weeks of discussion and failed negotiations, the federal officials decided to end the conflict by attacking the compound. As the military vehicles of the federal agents approached the compound, it and its people were swiftly engulfed in flames.