The majority of religions promote peaceful respect, tolerance, and the pursuit of a better life. But then there are religions that are the exact opposite. From belief systems based around cosmic alien masters, to predictions that God will appear on TV, it all gets a little crazy. But as crazy as it all sounds, these cults really do exist.

Whether you consider a cult as a true religion or not is up for debate, but the fact of the matter is that many bizarre cults do exist. More to the point, there are many active today. Here are some of the strangest cults from the past, most of which have disbanded.

Aetherius Society

The Aetherius Society came about in the 50s, lasted for a few years, then faded away entirely. The cult did get some press in the 50s, but with many considering it nothing more than a bizarre fad, if a rather humorous one.

The Aetherius Society was founded by a taxi driver. He claimed to not only have knowledge about Cosmic Masters from Venus and Saturn, but to also be tasked with preparing the world for the aliens return. He set about spiritually charging the earth for the next Cosmic Master, a being that would return to earth in the near future.

The Cosmic Master did not return, leaving the taxi driver seeming rather full of nonsense. His followers abandoned him.

The True Way Cult

The True Way Cult is more widely known than others, mostly due to the outrageous claims of the founder. Chen Hong-min is now widely accepted as having suffered from schizophrenia, though his followers didn’t seem to notice at the time. Even after he claimed that earth had been saved by a flying saucer riding deity on 5 occasions in the past.

When his prediction that God would appear on an American TV channel didn’t come true, his shockingly large 160 follower group disbanded.

Imagine browsing an NZ online gambling site, only for God to appear on your TV for a chat. It’s an occurrence that would send most to the nearest mental hospital, not convince them to start a religion.

Order Of The Solar Temple

While other cults on this list may be funny, this one from the 70s is not. The Order Of The Solar Temple cult ended in a horrifying massacre, triggered by a member claiming that an infant was the antichrist. The child was killed, after which the entire group committed ritual suicide. One of the core beliefs of the cult was that death was an illusion, and that life would continue on alien planets.

Freedomites

Last we have a cult both worthy of laughter and horror. The Freedomites started in the early 1900s, only to persist until as late as the 30s. The group refused to wear clothes, demonstrated in the nude publically to show disdain for governments, and eventually resorted to bombing public buildings. Until the bombings most had thought of the group as silly. But after the show of violence authorities quickly cracked down and disbanded them.