Think about it...things like being Mormon, or any religion for that matter.....at what point does this become a religion, and not some belief started by an individual, that is considered odd.
2006-11-28 06:25:34 · 18 answers · asked by dcsportbiker 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Well.... pretty much whenever they have a vicious legal team at their disposal ready to fight for tax exemption. That's what Scientology did.
2006-11-28 06:28:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
First I will say that calling another's belief system a "cult" is a perjorative term to start with. It is used mostly by other religions to marginalize a belief system or spirituality that they disagree with, or feel is inferior. For true believers it is not necessary to be validated by other religions or by society as a whole - spirituality and religion are very personal - and if other people want to call it a cult, it is their freedom, but it says more about their own narrow-mindedness than it does about the actual spiritual practice being judged. Cults may truly exist, but it is mostly just a way of putting other people down for their personal lifestyle and beliefs.
So I would say that when a spiritual practice or lifestyle becomes common enough for it to be accepted as a valid alternative to the main-stream practice, then it becomes a religion and no longer a cult.
2006-11-28 06:39:45 · answer #2 · answered by Everett D 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are really one in the same - a cult can be defined as any organized religion or group...and people think a religion that is "mysterious" (like the Mormons) or whatever must be a cult because they don't know much about it.
So really, a religion is a cult and a cult is a religion.
"Cult" has just been used to specify the "scary" religions so that's probably where the difference started...
2006-11-28 07:59:09 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
IMHO, as a general rule?---when they have sufficient numbers to command significant economic, social, political, or legal power/clout/influence, within a certain region.
For a wild and crazy example.....if the "Slappatarians" had a substantial base (say, 10% of population), and had been hanging around that region for years, the folks of that area might be more inclined to feel that it's a "real" religion, than are the people from far away, with one Slappatarian per million general population.
2006-11-28 06:39:33 · answer #4 · answered by samiracat 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The moment a religion makes all the decisions about righteousness and individual spiritual growth is lost it becomes a cult.
2006-11-28 06:28:28 · answer #5 · answered by tofu 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends on God, not on man's opinion. Christ was not mainstream by any means. He was considered radical and blasphemous by just about every other religion. That did not change the fact that he was Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am Mormon, and the situation for me seems quite similar. People can think we are a cult, but God's opinion is the only one that matters.
2006-11-28 13:41:00 · answer #6 · answered by whapingmon 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A cult will change right into a faith both at the same time as it is going to change into so large that the individuals can now no longer be managed and remoted, or at the same time as outsiders intermingle with its individuals and provide them option existence kinds. The LDS church change right into a decrease in the start and at the same time as it moved to Utah. It grew fairly large as cults bypass because it change into so bodily remoted. there are a selection of reports of human beings that tried to go away Utah being murdered. As non LDS human beings moved into Utah, LDS began to have ideas except following the chief's orders. The leaders eased up on administration and allowed the individuals to change into better like outsiders. They eradicated polygamy. they're nonetheless in the mind-set of 'mainstreaming', yet they have not been a properly managed cult for over one hundred years.
2016-10-07 22:16:05 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The defination of a cult is a minority group rejected by the majority!
The way a cult becomes a religion is when the number of people following it takes them from being a minority to being a majority!
The way monotheistic religions (CULTS) have gone about this is torture and murder of those different from them!! Remember the crusades and inquisitions! Well over 1000 years of Christian torture and murder to promote their religion! A religion that says God loves you! Yea loves to torture and kill!
2006-11-28 06:34:24 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hard to say...since cult is a subjective term and therefore is defined by each individual in the light of their own experience and knowledge. I think of Shintoism (Japan) as a cult, yet it has millions of adherents and has been around since at least 500 BC.
2006-11-28 06:33:26 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christianity started out as a cult until Constantine recognized it as a State Religion. so presume any cult can eventually be recognized as a Religion after getting approval from " higher authority " especially in the U.S.
2006-11-28 06:33:24 · answer #10 · answered by Marvin R 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
At the point when at least 1,000 people buy it? I don't know, but my guess is that the larger the number of people who believe it, the less it is considered a cult. I just consider all religions widely accepted cults.
2006-11-28 06:28:16 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋