Define "Cult"?

Question

What is a cult? is it simply an unpopular religion? I would go so far as to say when a religious group compels you to hurt yourself or another person that would be a cult. But short of that what makes a cult a cult? Also I will give your answer no credibility if you bash other beleif systems just because they are not yours.

oops sorry looking more for philisophical ponderances than concrete definitions

Answer 1

Typically,,,, a cult has a few identifying aspects
normally fewer than a million or so followers...after that...it seems to take on an "accepted" belief image....

Cults are typically secretive, preserving their "special" knowledge for its initiates. The longer one stays in...the more one pays, the more one gives up their own individuality...the more "special" the revelations of the cultish views...the more esoteric the understanding. Cults rely on this isolationism...it furthers the leaderships' control, strengthens the sense of "special" revealed knowledge, and furthers the initiates disassociation with "reality" and non-cult members...making the initiate that much more emotionally dependant on the group
Cults isolate the person from "normal" people....for a variety of reasons....to maintain control, to maintain the "mind set" -some would say "brain washing".to maintain control of the $$$$

Cults usually center around a "chosen" one or "leader" or "mystic" or an "adapt" or ones that are close followers of such a leader....
Cults typically select people with low self esteem, emotionally and intellectually -if not infantile-immature...This is the main "draw" of a cult...it gives people that perceive themselves as somehow inferior...a chance to be superior...have "special" knowledge, special insights, special "awakenings" of a spiritual sort...
Cults offer what they say is "special" knowledge, mystical revealations, "inner truths"....they typically use their own language and have their own set of "special" symbols, quasi-occultish rituals and rites....all serving to create an atmosphere of "peace, love and brotherhood" - a catch phrase from the 60's


Cults????? as long as they respect the individuality of the believer, do not isolate them from reality, do not use them or abuse them in any way [financial and sexual abuses are very frequently reported]., that offer the believer a way of living that is satisfying ....who cares???

I hope you understand that I hold all belief systems to be equal..given the above mentioned caveats

Answer 2

The current definition of cult is the other guy's religion

Once, Christianity was a cult to the Romans. Now, paganism is a cult to Christianity.

Originally, a cult was a way to spread knowledge - such as the mystery Cults. In fact, that's pretty much all Cult means - Occult means secret knowledge. Mythrain, Dionysian and so on. Unfortunately, the term has devolved.

I get the impression most people see any small religion with a central, strong willed leader as a cult, particularly if the small religion believes anything slightly radical.

Cult is now an insult. Which too bad. Religion is one of the few remaining ways to separate people without the PC Police pound on your door with a search warrant for your thoughts.

Sad, no?

Answer 3

Technically, according to the early usage of the word, any religious group could be considered a cult. But today, people use the term to describe NRMs (New Relgious Movements) or groups that don't fall into the mainstream.

To me, a cult would be an organization that didn't want to let a person go, if that person wished to leave the group. The more controlling a group is, the more likely it is that they could be considered a "cult" in the modern sense.

Answer 4

All religions are cults. Some are just larger.



cult  /kʌlt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[kuhlt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun 1. a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies.
2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.
3. the object of such devotion.
4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.
5. Sociology. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.
6. a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.
7. the members of such a religion or sect.
8. any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific.

Answer 5

Every cult can be defined as a group having all of the following five characteristics:

1. It uses psychological coercion to recruit, indoctrinate and retain its members

2. It forms an elitist totalitarian society.

3. Its founder leader is self-appointed, dogmatic, messianic, not accountable and has charisma.

4. It believes 'the end justifies the means' in order to solicit funds & recruit people.

5. Its wealth does not benefit its members or society.

Are Cults Harmful?

To remain within the strict mental and social confines of a cult for even a short time can have the following disastrous effects:

Loss of choice and free will.
Diminished intellectual ability, vocabulary and sense of humour.
Reduced use of irony, abstractions and metaphors.
Reduced capacity to form flexible and intimate relationships.
Poor judgement.
Physical deterioration.
Malnutrition.
Hallucinations, panic, dissociation, guilt, identity diffusion and paranoia.
Neurotic, psychotic or suicidal tendencies.

Answer 6

I assume the definition of a cult varies from church to church. If I remember correctly, a cult was a religion that does not base their teachings on any written word, such as the Quaran or the Bible... I think that the Scientologists would qualify as a cult under this system...

Answer 7

In religion and sociology, a cult is a cohesive group of people (often a relatively small and recently founded religious movement) devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture or society considers to be far outside the mainstream. Its separate status may come about either due to its novel belief system, because of its idiosyncratic practices or because it opposes the interests of the mainstream culture. Other non-religious groups may also display cult-like characteristics.

Answer 8

By definition it means:

"1. a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies.
2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.
3. the object of such devotion.
4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.
5. Sociology. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.
6. a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.
7. the members of such a religion or sect.
8. any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific.
–adjective 9. of or pertaining to a cult.
10. of, for, or attracting a small group of devotees: a cult movie "

Problem is, people just use it as a term to bash whatever religion they don't like.

Answer 9

1.
a. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.
b. The followers of such a religion or sect.
2. A system or community of religious worship and ritual.
3. The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual.
4. A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease.
5.
a. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.
b. The object of such devotion.
6. An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest.

Answer 10

Stereotypically, a cult is a small to medium group of people who worship a person or an entity. Some people will call a cult a cult *because* of its size. A lot times, it's led by a person claiming to have spoken directly to God, or that God is speaking through him or her. It's different from church and things because the beliefs they preach tend to be outlandish, even for something as drastic as evangalism.

Cult
–noun 1. a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies.
2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.
3. the object of such devotion.
4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.
5. Sociology. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.
6. a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.
7. the members of such a religion or sect.
8. any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific.
–adjective 9. of or pertaining to a cult.
10. of, for, or attracting a small group of devotees: a cult movie.


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[Origin: 1610–20; < L cultus habitation, tilling, refinement, worship, equiv. to cul-, var. s. of colere to inhabit, till, worship + -tus suffix of v. action]