| dc.description.abstract | This study examines the Christian Union students‟ perception of family background as a
factor influencing cultism in public universities in Kenya. Studies have shown that cultism is
prevalent among university students, resulting in suicides, drug abuse, crimes, unrest,
withdrawal from family, academic malpractices and failure, attrition, and psychological and
financial exploitation, among others. The study was conducted in six public universities in
Kenya and employed a descriptive research design guided by the Bounded Choice Theory. It
established that the nature of family background contributes significantly to the prevalence of
cultism and that the setting in which a student lives affects their disposition toward cultism.
Dysfunctional families and cultic households seem to foster the recruitment into cultism.
Cults use expressions of overwhelming love, also referred to as “love bombing” techniques,
to give their members a false sense of affection to feel secure and accepted. The study
recommends that families be educated on the dangers of cultism, the importance of
understanding the biblical truth, and solid parental care. Since Christian Union (CU) members
hail from diverse family backgrounds, the CU should organise targeted discipleship
programmes to help debrief and reorient students to sound biblical teachings. Furthermore,
the CUs should provide a support system for their members from economically disadvantaged
backgrounds to shield them from the allures of cultists. In addition, the study underscores the
need for preemptive education, training, and psychological and spiritual counselling
intervention to enhance family values | en_US |
