What defines the lines between a cult and a religion???

Question

I think religions are nothing more than large organised cults (more numbers than sence sometimes) what would the masses think?

Answer 1

I think you're going to get different definitions of "cult" and "religion" depending on who answers.

There's a pretty darned good evaluation of cult tendencies out there on the internet. Here it is:

http://www.ra-info.org/library/programming/Bonewits.shtml

Answer 2

Counterfeit Christianity is probably 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 the various cult groups have assigned entirely different meanings to these terms.
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 at an advantage if we know what to expect from a cult. Cultists are very well trained to appear "Christian", and indeed believe they are the true churches, and you need the deliverance! Therefore, be bold and ask the question, "do you believe the group you represent is the only true church on the face of the earth?"
If they reply that they are, or if they are evasive, making remarks like "Well, every church has a measure of truth but...", you have made an early detection of a Cultist.
Every true Christian, if asked the same question, regardless of his denomination, would reply that the true church is comprised of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, and HE (not some organization) is THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE, (John 14:6). No legitimate denomination would claim that they alone and their members have salvation exclusively, but the cults (the counterfeits) do.

Answer 3

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

In common usage, "cult" has a negative connotation, and is generally applied to a group by its opponents, for a variety of reasons. Understandably, most, if not all, groups that are called "cults" deny this label. Some anthropologists and sociologists studying cults have argued that no one yet has been able to define “cult” in a way that enables the term to identify only groups that have been claimed as problematic[citation needed].

The literal and traditional meanings of the word cult is derived from the Latin cultus, meaning "care" or "adoration", as "a system of religious belief or ritual; or: the body of adherents to same"32. In English, it remains neutral and a technical term within this context to refer to the "cult of Artemis at Ephesus" and the "cult figures" that accompanied it, or to "the importance of the Ave Maria in the cult of the Virgin." This usage is more fully explored in the entry Cult (religious practice).

In non-English European terms, the cognates of the English word "cult" are neutral, and refer mainly to divisions within a single faith, a case where English speakers might use the word "sect", as in "Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism are sects (or denominations) within Christianity". In French or Spanish, culte or culto simply means "worship" or "religious attendance"; thus an association cultuelle is an association whose goal is to organize religious worship and practices.

The word for "cult" in the popular English meaning is secte (French) or secta (Spanish). In German the usual word used for the English cult is Sekte, which also has other definitions. A similar case is the Russian word sekta.

Answer 4

A cult is a religion with mass attendance, like christianity and catholocism. A religion is simply a belief. I would dare you to tell a priest he's running a cult, and when he responds with passion, tell him to look up the definition. There is a huge difference between a cult and the occult.

Answer 5

a cult is something, thought to be sinister, often practised in the showdowns of the night, hidden from the main stream , some thing new in the area, week in numbers just starting out. new ideas,and new ways of doing things. a religion is a defined practise that is established and excepted by many,

Answer 6

At their start most religions are considered cults. There are a lot of elements the two concepts have in common. In general, though, cults are farily new, generally have practices that are considered non-traditional by established religions, and often focus attention on an earthly leader.

Answer 7

A cult is someone elses religion.

Answer 8

I think there is one simple difference: religions last for millenia (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism etc) but cults are relatively short lived.

Answer 9

The number of members following the set of beliefs will define if such followers of those beliefs are a member of a religion or a cult.

Answer 10

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