An event

©2 20 00 05 5--2 20 00 07 7 Q Qu ua al li it ta at ti iv ve e S So oc ci io ol lo og gy y R Re ev vi ie ew w V Vo ol lu um me e I II II I I Is ss su ue e 3 3 w ww ww w. .q qu ua al li it ta at ti iv ve es so oc ci io ol lo og gy yr re ev vi ie ew w. February the 28th, 1993, Waco, Texas. An event which took place that day, attracted the world's attention. It started with the visit of the ATF agents (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) who showed on the Branch Davidians farm with the search warrant. The leader of this religious group, David Koresh, was suspected of the illegal traffic in arms. It was the first day of a siege, which had been lasting approximately 51 days. When the negotiations with the community leaders were giving no satisfactory results, the authorities decided to use force. They tried to compel the members of the Branch Davidians to leave the ranch. Different techniques were used to do so, such as pointing searchlights to the farm in the night and playing loud noise through the speakers. When these methods had failed the ATF and FBI decided to carry out an assault. The consequences of the occurrence were tragic. As a result of the shooting and raging fire, 76 members of Branch Davidians and 6 FBI agents were killed (Moore 1994). The Branch Davidians case and the assault carried on by the authorities is interesting for the social scientists and practitioners in two aspects. On one side, one can examine the mechanism or a set of mechanisms that lead a group of religious people conducted by an authoritative individual to form a sect. How these mechanisms change one's perception of the surroundings and the group definition of situation so that ordinary people change into a group eager to sacrifice it's members' lives in the name of the professed beliefs? The crucial part of that analysis is to examine thoroughly the process of creating the leader of such a sect -a charismatic individual who spread his or her perception of reality into the minds of the followers. On the other side, social scientists can inspect the attack itself. It is a matter of reservation for those involved in the occurrence both as the representatives of the authorities, the Branch Davidians community as well as the observers worldwide. The civil and criminal trials lasting for several years show how complicate this case was. President Clinton himself confessed that the ATF raid on Mount Carmel Ranch was one of the biggest failures of his presidency (Haldeman, Wessinger 2007: 169). It is worth looking at the assault from the sociological point of view. How the definition of the situation was created by the sides of the conflict? What kind of interactions occurred before, during and after the attack? What symbols were used by both side

Cults, Cant, and Converts: An Ideological Issue in Xena: Warrior Princess

Modern and Contemporary Studie