religion or cult?

Question

religion-Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

cult-In religion and sociology, a cult is a term designating a cohesive group of people (generally, but not exclusively a relatively small and recently founded religious movement[1]) devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture or society considers to be outside the mainstream. Its status may come about either due to its novel belief system, its idiosyncratic practices, its perceived harmful effects on members, or because its perceived opposition to the interests of the mainstream culture. Non-religious groups may also display cult-like characteristics.

so i ask you all is it basically not the same.....christaians, mormons, masons, catholics...so on and so forth

bro..how are they worldy? they are defined this way int he dictionary and last time i checked i wdid not write the dictionary.....secualr i think not, i think reasonable and fact related i think you have no answer

excuse me worldly

Answer 1

The difference between religion and cult is directly proportional to the number of members, their access to weapons, and how close they are standing to me right at that minute. If I was staring David Koresh in the face, with his "flock" behind him, you better believe I'd call them a "religion."

Answer 2

There are a million definitions out there, but here are 2 that I think are the most useful: 1. Formal - a religion is an established belief system, and a cult is a permutation or altered version. E.g., technically Christianity is a cult of Judaism, and Mormonism is a cult of Christianity. 2. Common - the common understanding is tha a mainstream religion is an established faith held by millions. E.g. Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc. A cult in this view would be a dangerous sect that alters the teaching of said religion and usually has more sinister elements like bilking for money, communes that won't allow you to contact your family, ritual abuse of any type, etc. So, those are really the two best ways to understand the terms. Hope that helps. Ath

Answer 3

I guess you can look at things from different views and see them as different things. Do you really feel that the revelations of everyone who's had them are wrong? In a way your viewpoint is your revelation. You are your own cult. Are you wrong then? Actually spirituality has been studied for thousands of years by the most brilliant of minds to be dismissed without even an introduction to the fields involved. If one blocks off streets it makes driving difficult and an open mind gets closed down. So many refuse to look at phsychology, read only fiction and watch television 24 /7. The brain works better with information. The mind is a machine and so is the body. Spirituality is about the feelings, including hunches and a sense of things. A search to understand or reach out for something more than the mechanics of a human being to find a life force, meaning and wonder if our awarenewss is totally just electrons and chemical reactions or part of and intelligence in nature, or is it just electrical energy and we are a feeling computer who thinks we are something special when we are not? That robs a store if we think we can get away with it, because it doesn't matter unless we get caught. Do we value other computers because they want to live and we empathize or do we realize that to want to live is silly, we are only a computer and so are they and we like killing? Doesn't it matter? I want to know. I sense something else. I feel part of something big. Computers aren't part of something big. I can get another one and will have to soon. We know so little about our true nature. Is that because we have none and don't want to look at ourselves and find out that we are trash and why should we get any respect? I feel like I'm tuned in to a consciousness of the universe and feel that it's tender and loving. It answers all my questions about life and the universe. Many scientists and great people down through time say that answers come to them intuitively and they just test them mathematically and otherwise. It's a very remarkable machine and that groups believe in a higher consciousness seems OK with me until they get narrow and close their minds to the rest of the universe. Spirituality is a higher study to reach to higher places for man, not just a study of matter. Machine or not, that certainly is a good idea.

Answer 4

If you are part of a cult, you point out that all major religions began sometime. But an iconoclastic small religious movement might just be a group of weirdos getting together.
Some major established religions have horrible track records when it comes to hurting people as well.
The question, I feel, is are those you are turning to for spiritual comfort using you, hurting you, cheating you, or controlling your mind?
Some major religions are! Some new Religious Movements are!
Clambake.org, the anti Scientology website states that when dealing with someone who is actively being used, hurt, cheated or controlled by Scientology or any religious group, to remember they adhere to them because they have invested so much in them.
Is there a difference? Depends on your point of view.
I, for one, am done with this kind of abuse.
The need for human beings to be comforted when in crisis is abused by both religion and cults.

Answer 5

Religion = Cult

Answer 6

Most of the major religions that survive today started out as cults.Are they cults today?The way some fanatics practice them,it sure looks that way sometimes.I wish people would just get with it already.Religion is an invention of man.

Answer 7

The only difference between a cult and a religion is one of subjective perception.

Answer 8

Its only a matter of what is legally recognized and tax-exempt by the government. All religions are cults, but all cults are not religions because not all cults are legally recognized and don't receive tax breaks.

Religion/cult...cult/religion...they're all equally rediculous.

Answer 9

One of the good ole boys from my neck of the woods once defined it as this: "A cult is just a name for the curch down the street from the one you go to."

Answer 10

christanity =cult
chatholic=cult that doesnt use condoms
islam=the most retarded among the cults
JW=cult that likes to knock on doors
paganism=your either that or dressing up like a jedi knight
athieism=not realy a cult but i dont want them to feel left out
judism=who's judy?
satanism=cult..And where the heck is my cat?
scientology=idoits..battle field earth was a good book tho
kool-aid=not realy a cult but if im gonna die by kool-aid i hope it cherry flav