What is the difference between a cult and a religion?

Answer 1

A cult of Christianity is a group of people, which claiming to be Christian, embraces a particular doctrine system taught by an individual leader, group of leaders, or organization, which (system) denies one or more of the central doctrines of the Christian Faith as taught in the sixty-six books of the Bible

Answer 2

According to my Oxford dictionary, a cult is a system of religious worship, devotion, or homage to a person or thing. So in one usage it is a religion (I believe, technically, that a cult is smaller than a religion, and usually confined to one region) but in the other usage, you could say that paying homage to a person or thing, like Hollywood stars and Oscars, is part of a cult. In on of the Pacific Island nations, there is a cult that firmly believes a great plane is going to land and unload crates and crates of goodies which will be given to the people. All they have to do is believe strongly enough in this (it's called the Cargo Cult) and it will happen. It's believed this cult originated during WW2, when cargo planes did land on a couple of Pacific Islands and dumped their cargos, or crashed, and their cargos were looted. Word spread, and the followers of the Cargo Cult are still waiting for their planeload of goodies to arrive. It's not much sillier than the TomKat thing, when you come to think of it......

Answer 3

Normally a cult uses indoctrination methods to control your thoughts, usually, sleep deprivation, Lectures, peer pressures from others in the group, everything is geared to get you feeling included in the group, Usually there is no outside contact allowed as this could break the indoctrination routine. This is called Programming, or "brainwashing". A person can be changed to beleive in anything, and re-inforcement of the beliefs can make the beleifs permanent.

Organized religion "CAN" be similar...The closest one I can think of is Jehovas Witnesses, Where If one person of a family is out of favor with the church, all members of the church, including this persons family, with shun them. on penalty of being thrown out of the church and it;s beleifs. But all religions (christian) are cultish to some degree. But the amount of control exercised by the leaders depends on the actual church and the suseptabilty of the parishioners. God is God...Church is an interpretation of religion.

Answer 4

Very little, in some cases. Probably the biggest characteristic of a group that is labeled a "cult" has to do with following a single person, and basically, turning over everything...including your personal freedom...to that person. While some may argue that sounds like a some churches, most mainline church-goers don't put all their assets into the church. The church is lucky to get the dollar bill tossed into the collection plate!

Answer 5

Hey, I already answered this question when someone else asked it a few days ago! Here it is again:

Definition of "cult"

In sociology: a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.

OR 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.

In other words - SOCIETY dictates whether or not it is a cult.

Answer 6

Cult = Counterfeit Christianity
That is the best description I can give for a cult. Counterfeit Christianity is an imitation of real Christianity. Bible terms like "Jesus Christ, resurrection, salvation and atonement," are used by the Cult but entirely different meanings have been assigned to these terms by various cult groups.
Like counterfeit money which is sometimes difficult to detect, so it is difficult to detect counterfeit Christianity, since it looks like the real thing. Experts examining counterfeit money often hold it up to a strong light and look for identifying marks. Counterfeit Christianity also has identifying marks which can be seen when held up to an even stronger light, the light of God's word, the Bible.
We are repeatedly warned in Scripture to watch out for false prophets, false teachers, and false doctrine. To do this, we need to examine the prophecies, teachings, and doctrines of the various groups claiming to be Christian, and then we need to expose them.

Answer 7

As far as I can see, and given their respective behaviors, there is no difference. It just happens Christianity, Judaism and Islam are the three most successful cults in history.

Answer 8

Whether you believe it or "they" do is the main difference.
People who belong to a cult think it is a religion.
Calling someone else's religion a cult defines your own as the true religion.

Answer 9

The dictionary states, Cult = Devoted attachment to a person or principal. Sorry worshipers. All religions are cults.

Answer 10

A cult usually follows a man. Some have made up their own definition that those who deny the trinity are part of a cult, although the Bible does not teach it.