USA

321 group profiles operating in USA. All scores are BITE-derived from publicly available sources.

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Christian

Peoples Temple (Jim Jones / Jonestown)

40/40· Extreme

Originally an integrationist Disciples of Christ congregation in Indianapolis, the Peoples Temple under Jim Jones evolved into a totalitarian movement that culminated in the 1978 mass murder-suicide at Jonestown, Guyana, killing 918 people.

New Religious Movement

Heaven's Gate

40/40· Extreme

UFO-religion led by Marshall Applewhite ('Do') and Bonnie Nettles ('Ti'). On 26 March 1997, 39 members were found dead by coordinated suicide near San Diego, believing they would board a spacecraft trailing the Hale-Bopp comet.

FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

39/40· Extreme

Polygamist sect that broke from the LDS Church after the 1890 Manifesto. Under Warren Jeffs (Prophet 2002–present, imprisoned 2011) the FLDS practised forced underage marriages, expulsion of teen 'lost boys', and total community control. Heavily documented in court records and federal raids.

Branch Davidians (Mount Carmel, David Koresh)

38/40· Extreme

Adventist offshoot led by Vernon Howell (David Koresh) at Mount Carmel near Waco, Texas, where Koresh claimed exclusive sexual access to all female members including minors. The 1993 ATF/FBI siege ended in fire killing 76 inside the compound.

Children of God / The Family International

38/40· Extreme

Founded by David 'Moses' Berg in 1968. From 1976 to 1987 practised 'Flirty Fishing' (using sex for evangelism and recruitment) and published 'Mo Letters' explicitly endorsing sexual contact between adults and children. Reorganised as 'The Family International' in 2004.

Lev Tahor

38/40· Extreme

Extreme isolationist Haredi-fringe sect founded by Shlomo Helbrans (1980s, d. 2017). Practises full-body covering for women, child marriages, and total community control. Leadership convicted in multiple jurisdictions; community has fled across borders to evade child-welfare investigations.

New Religious Movement

Church of Scientology

37/40· Extreme

One of the most heavily documented high-control religious organisations in the modern era, with court records and ex-member testimony spanning five decades. Practices include disconnection from family, billion-year billion-dollar contracts, and the 'Suppressive Person' designation.

New Religious Movement

Synanon (defunct, 1958–1991)

37/40· Extreme

Founded as a drug-rehabilitation programme by Charles Dederich (1958) in Santa Monica. Evolved into the 'Synanon Religion' practising 'The Game' (mass attack therapy), forced head-shavings, abortions, marriages, and the 1978 attempted-murder rattlesnake-in-the-mailbox attack on attorney Paul Morantz.

Word of Faith Fellowship (Jane Whaley)

36/40· Extreme

Spindale, North Carolina-based Christian sect led by Jane Whaley. The 2017–18 Associated Press investigation documented corporal punishment of children, forced labour at member-owned businesses, and 'blasting' prayer sessions to expel demons.

Nation of Yahweh (Yahweh ben Yahweh, defunct)

36/40· Extreme

Black Hebrew Israelite organisation founded by Yahweh ben Yahweh (Hulon Mitchell Jr.) in Miami (1979). Mitchell convicted in 1992 of federal racketeering including conspiracy in 14 murders. Functionally defunct.

Political / Ideological

The Order / Brüder Schweigen (Robert Mathews, 1983–84)

36/40· Extreme

White-supremacist Christian Identity terror group founded by Robert Mathews (1983). Conducted multiple armoured-car robberies and the 1984 Alan Berg murder. Mathews killed in FBI siege December 1984. Subject of Steve Earle's song and many academic studies.

Tony Alamo Christian Ministries (defunct, founder convicted)

36/40· Extreme

Founded by Tony Alamo (Bernie Lazar Hoffman) and his wife Susan in 1969. Tony Alamo was convicted in 2009 of multiple federal counts of transporting underage girls across state lines for sexual purposes; sentenced to 175 years.

New Religious Movement

NXIVM-style Wellness Cults

35/40· Extreme

NXIVM (1998–2018) and its imitators dressed coercive control as 'executive success programmes' or 'women's empowerment'. Founder Keith Raniere was convicted in 2019 of racketeering, sex trafficking, and forced labour.

Shincheonji Church of Jesus

35/40· Extreme

Korean apocalyptic Christian movement founded by Lee Man-hee (1984) claiming to be the promised pastor of Revelation. Notorious for deceptive 'gospel-fishing' recruitment via front churches and the 2020 COVID-19 super-spreading event in Daegu.

Kingston Order / Davis County Cooperative (Latter-Day Church of Christ)

35/40· Extreme

Polygamist sect of fundamentalist Mormons headquartered in Davis County, Utah. Distinctive teaching of 'pure blood' that has produced documented systematic incest. Multiple federal and state investigations including the 2020 federal $511M tax-fraud sentence of leader Jacob Kingston for biofuel tax-credit fraud.

La Luz del Mundo (Naasón Joaquín García)

35/40· Extreme

Mexico-based Christian Restorationist movement founded by Eusebio Joaquín González (1926). Current leader Naasón Joaquín García was convicted in California in 2022 on multiple counts of child sexual abuse and sentenced to 16 years.

Providence / Christian Gospel Mission (JMS, Jeong Myeong-seok)

35/40· Extreme

Korean Christian-derived movement founded by Jeong Myeong-seok (1980). Leader convicted of multiple counts of sexual assault in 2009 (10y) and again in 2024 (23y). Subject of Netflix's 'In the Name of God' (2023).

LeBaron clan polygamist groups

34/40· Extreme

Network of fundamentalist Mormon polygamist groups descended from the LeBaron family. Notable for the 1972 Joel LeBaron assassination ordered by his brother Ervil; the 1977 'Lambs of God' assassinations across the US; and the 2019 Mexico cartel-related massacre of nine LeBaron family members.