This past week we got to hear more of the case study presentations, all of which were very interesting. Something thats stuck with me though came from the Passionate Journey’s by Marion Goldman presentation. Overall the entire book seemed very fascinating with all of the different people and their unique stories. But what I found most enticing was that the author purposefully used the word “cult” when describing the movement. I found this interesting because the word “cult” tends to be used in a extremely derogatory way and that is what the author wanted to get away from. She wanted people to understand why women seek connections and spiritual meaning and I thought the book was a compelling idea. Cults tends to be a devotion or spiritual practice towards something seen as different by others or even seen as strange as defined by google. But Goldman strays away from this specific and negative outlook in order to show the movement in a brighter light.

Something else that I found very interesting is that all the women that joined Rajneesh were looking to find themselves. I feel like most people join religions looking for answers and guidance in life and this did not change for these women. They were also looking for answers and they just happened to leave everything they had ever known to find these answers. Whether one is spiritual or religious or neither I feel that everyone wants to find themselves and figure out their purpose in life. People turn to religion for these answers because religion goes deeper than we even know including divine nature. As we’ve discussed in class and read throughout these past couple weeks, people seek individual relationships in their religion which is why non-official and official religions exist. There is something out there for everyone because everyone is looking for answers to life or death.