What's the difference between a Religion and a Cult?

Question

Don't give a vague answer.It's because of the vagueness that I'm asking what you think.

Answer 1

Did you know that that is an opening line to a joke?

What's the difference between a Religion and a Cult?
One million people.

And actually, if you think about that answer for just a minute or two...you'll see that it also has some significant meaning to it.

Just look at how many of the main stream religions we have that started off as "cults."

Answer 2

All religions start out as cults. The only difference between a religion and a cult is the amount of followers.

Answer 3

It's a hard one to answer. Most church's can be classified as a cult, because they tell you how to live. But the extreme cases of cultism, is when a human being anoints themselves as a god. Demand you give up all earthly possessions (usually to their personal bank accounts) and live in service of them. They cut themselves and their followers off from society, because they don't want anyone to talk any sense into these people. And typically they are breaking any number of laws, and don't want the authorities to intervene. But of course all this is justified, because they are a god. However most mainstream religions are getting away with these same type of behaviors on a much smaller scale.

Answer 4

Well, my version is that a religion is just a cult with a lot of members!

But I think the formal version is that a cult will:
a) Try to isolate you from non-cult members
b) Try to immerse you 100% at the expense of all other aspects of your life
c) Try very hard to prevent you ever leaving

And a cult may also encourage you to do things that harm you, such as self-harm, suicide, or - at the very least - making you pay them far more money than you could really afford.

Answer 5

A religion and a cult are two very separate things. But, an organized body governing religion could be declared as a huge cult. I'm Christian, and think the Catholic Church can act like a cult sometimes, telling me "harry potter books" are evil; The catholic church does cult like things when they release statements based on their belief system, not their holy book, the Bible.

Answer 6

It's hard to answer because what one person considers a religion another person might consider a cult. But here's how I would define the difference. In an organized religion, you have a certain set of unchanging tenets that you try to follow in your daily life. You consider your priest or preacher a man of god and someone who communicates what these beliefs mean, someone who can show you the path, but not someone who has total control of how you live your life. In a cult, the beliefs may change on a daily basis according to the whims of some self-appointed deity. Cults are usually comprised of people in desperate search of someone to lead their lives for them because they are unable or unwilling to do it themselves. All it takes is one charismatic or strong-willed person to come along with all the answers and they're hooked. And of course there are the more obvious differences. I don't know of any western religion that requires you to turn over all your worldly possesions to the church or to avoid contact with so-called non believers, including members of your own family.

Answer 7

A religion is a large faith that believes in a non-earthly divinity and has a lot of money and adopted by a large number of followers.

A cult is a small faith that may believe in a non-earthly or earthly divinity, has limited funds, and only adopted by a smaller number of people.

You may legally discriminate against a cult, but not against a religion. There is a blurry line of course

Answer 8

Religion is a thought process, and a cult is an organization.
After that, I beleive that one leads to another, no matter how one labels it. The more of a religous zealot you become in the organization, the more of a cult you are.

Answer 9

the spelling

hmm. Don't the self-appointed leader of cults generally think THEY are the God to be worshipped?
Just thinking along the lines of Jim Jones et al.
Usually they have a charismatic leader that hoists himself on a lofty pedestal to be adored by his followers.
I wouldn't put the Pope in that category, so that is how I'd explain the difference.

OY! Who gave me a thumbs down!? The son of Jim Jones?

Answer 10

sent you an IM.

BTW,

Religion gives you the choice to believe ancient writings.
A cult not only brainwashes you, but threatens if you leave they will do harm to you.