for everyone: is your religion a cult?

Question

by definition, every religion, INCLUDING CHRISTIANITY, is a cult

cult:
noun
1. a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies.
2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.
3. the object of such devotion.
4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.
5. Sociology. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.
6. 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.
7. the members of such a religion or sect.

8. any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific.
–adjective 9. of or pertaining to a cult.
10. of, for, or attracting a small group of devotees: a cult movie.

Answer 1

Darn tootin' it is.

In ancient heathen times, the major godhs all had local followings with specific rites and customs---Cult of Odhinn, Cult of Thor, and so forth. These are still reflected in place names throughout Northern Europe, and one can see certain differences among their practices reflected in the Icelandic Sagas. The active worship of the entire pantheon was either non-existent or quite rare, although the *belief* in it was not.

I have been reviving the Cult of Freyr for the last few years of my heathenry.

Answer 2

That's quite a large spectrum of definitions you have there. They seem to speak of things from very good to very bad. I would expect that, combined, they refer to everyone on the planet, but then what purpose does such a wide scope of meanings serve? Which definition do you believe? They're not all the same. I think each defintion should have it's own word to avoid confusion and misunderstanding. Are not words supposed to help people understand what specifically is being said? What are you saying? Who are you speaking of when you write out each definition? I'm not sure of your point. If I handed someone a dictionary, I might say that in here is everything I believe, and I would be right, though vague.

Answer 3

No, I do not believe i am part of a cult. But then again i do not consider myself to be part of an organized religion either.

I consider the path i walk a truely spiritual and personal one.Seeking only to find the divines will for me and the power to carry that out.

Personally, I like the prayer of St Francis. I have found it to be full of all of the aspects that i would like to be able to practice on a daily basis. However, i am just a mere person. Nobody is perfect!

Answer 4

I cannot agree with your definition of cult as given.
Number 6 comes close though.
To take something seriously, if it is the TRUTH you are acting on, is not a cult. That is the real thing.
Any time a mere human accepts worship, actively seeks it, in a religious setting, THAT is a BIG element of a cult.

Answer 5

I think those definitions would make almost everything a cult.

Of/attracting devotees.. this could be applied to jobs, mass media, tons of other things.

Answer 6

nope, a cult is simply a religion that hasn't been around long enough. if christianity has been around 2,000 years and is considered a religion, and mine has been around for thousands of years longer, i'd say mine is officially a religion ;)

Answer 7

ALL religions definitely apply to one or more of those definitions and need not apply to all of those definitions to be considered a cult.

Answer 8

Yeah but its a really cool cult. We ear a lot!

Answer 9

Can you get it? Christianity is not a religion. It is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Answer 10

I don`t need a religion ,so i`m not in any CULT.