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

Question

GURAQT2ME, you described the difference between the two
There's no difference, look at history, look at the world today
people killing people in the name of their god, Churches collecting money for the needy (then you see a Big new church being built)
a religion and a cult are the same, they pray apon people in need (The weak, for the lack of a better word)

Beeglynn you say christianity is built around god, it's built around a man named jesus. There is no proof he was a god

Answer 1

Well in the U.S.A I believe the difference is if the ATF has a warrant to search you and or your property!

Answer 2

A cult is a small sub group of a religion, generally centered around one specific and charismatic leader.

If the group continues growing after the death of the original leader the group becomes a denomination as opposed to a cult.

Occasionally a cult will become a new religion.

For example Martin Luther started a cult that eventually became the Lutheran denomination of Christianity.

Every religion can be traced back to a "Cult Status", Abraham and Judaism for example.

Buddhism is an example of a cult that became a religion as opposed to being a denomination.

Answer 3

Christianity is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Christians are not religious or a cult. To answer your question religion is the way to find God and a cult is a religion that practices false belief.

Answer 4

Actually, in today's world, there really isn't much difference.

However, perhaps you meant to ask what is the difference between a cult and Christianity. Now that's a question I can answer from my perspective.

A cult is built around a person or idea, sinking sand.
Christianity is built on God, solid rock.

Answer 5

Anthony: I like your question ! "Religion" describes ritualism, which is found through out this world's societies. Religion encompasses the pursuit of sex, drugs, cars, careers, the biggie - money, intellectualism, sports, music, education, etc., etc. !!! Consumerism is a religion too ! In other words, what you serve, is your god. A cult is a group, which is controlled by its human leader, usually in "God's name", to further, his or her own, personal agenda. Cults tend to lend them selves to a code of behavior apart from God but done in His Name. Cults typically, rape an individual of his or her identity (they lose "who they are" as a person), leaving them empty, shame-based and full of guilt. Cults are masters at fear, doubt, and worry. Cults are "soul" murders, masking in God's Name - void of SPIRITUALITY !

Answer 6

No difference at all. By definition anyhow.
Most people refer to cults when they speak of the "bad" kind where one man get 20 women pregnant and then talks them all into killing themselves. But most all religion is or started out as a cult.

Answer 7

Well, I refuse to be "boxed " into a "religion", but the instructions I have in the Word of God is this :
James 1 : 27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this ; To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep yourself unspotted from the world.

Answer 8

If you are talking about the standard dictionary definition, there isn't one; however, we Christians have adopted another definition:
1. A group which is either unorthodoxic in teaching or else unorthopraxic. That is, either they teach things which controvert the scriptures, or they do things which violate the scriptures.

Cult recovery groups also have expanded the definition, and have given us helpful means to measure the level of control a cult holds over its members:
The group is focused on a leader to whom members seem to display excessively zealous, unquestioning commitment.

The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.

The group is preoccupied with making money.

Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.

Mind-numbing techniques (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, debilitating work routines) are used to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).

The leadership dictates sometimes in great detail how members should think, act, and feel (for example: members must get permission from leaders to date, change jobs, get married; leaders may prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, how to discipline children, and so forth).

The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s), and members (for example: the leader is considered the Messiah or an avatar; the group and/or the leader has a special mission to save humanity).

The group has a polarized us- versus-them mentality, which causes conflict with the wider society.

The group's leader is not accountable to any authorities (as are, for example, military commanders and ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream denominations).

The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify means that members would have considered unethical before joining the group (for example: collecting money for bogus charities).

The leadership induces guilt feelings in members in order to control them.

Members' subservience to the group causes them to cut ties with family and friends, and to give up personal goals and activities that were of interest before joining the group.

Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group.

Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members

Answer 9

Christianity was a cult of Judaism (according to the Jews)
By their fruits you shall know them...do they result in duplicating and multiplying the life and teachings of Christ? or do they go away from what Christ taught and does their path end in destruction (Jim Jones, David Koresh, etc)?

Herein lies the difference between cult and Christian: truth vs error

Answer 10

A religion (or even the right religion) is the belief uin which you believe.

A sect is a group of beliefs that closely parallels your beleifs, but differ in some minor ways.

A cult is a group of beliefs that is just not that close to what you believe.

Answer 11

none

Update:
And, um, pathfinder, How many cult members does it take to become a religion then?
And what's the best way to increase a cult's numbers? How about making every non-procreative act an "abomination to god"?

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