Can anyone tell me the definition of a cult?

Answer 1

All groups of people that follow a particular leader or set of ideas / beliefs are members of that cult. Christianity is a cult. Communism is a cult.

Today the word has been so abused it has lost all useful meaning. It's used as a derogatory term to imply those people are being misled. If you are thinking of its use with religions, it would be better to define what faiths adhere to the core, essential teachings and practices of one religion, and what groups are out on the fringes with more 'unusual' and unacceptable ideas tacked on.

Answer 2

A cult is a religion that is said to be unorthodox or that emphasizes devotion according to prescribed ritual. Many cults follow a living human leader, and often their adherents live in groups apart from the rest of society.

Answer 3

1. a system of religious worship or ritual. A quasi-religious group, often living in a colony, with a charismatic leader who indoctrinates members with unorthodox or extremist views, practices, or beliefs. 2. devoted attachment to, or extravagant admiration for, a person, principle, or lifestyle, especially when regarded as a fad (the cult of nudism). The object of such attachment. 3. a group of followers; sect.--Webster's New World College Dictionary.
Anything that goes against sound doctrine--The Bible (KJV)

Answer 4

Cult roughly refers to a cohesive social group devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture considers outside the mainstream, with a notably positive or negative popular perception. In common or populist usage, "cult" has a positive connotation for groups of art, music, writing, fiction, and fashion devotees, but a negative connotation for new religious, extreme political, questionable therapeutic, and pyramidal business groups.

Answer 5

1: formal religious veneration : worship
2: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents
3: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents
4: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator
5 a: great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b: the object of such devotion

thats all i know hope i helped

Answer 6

Here's a site full of information on cults - http://www.cultinformation.org.uk/faq.html#cult

This is also an excellent site: http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/faq/

As is this: http://factnet.org/

Answer 7

Cults—What Are They?

FEBRUARY 28, 1993—more than a hundred law-enforcement agents raided a compound of buildings housing dozens of men, women, and children. The object was to search for illegal weapons and to arrest a suspected criminal. The agents, however, were caught by surprise when a hail of bullets came flying toward them from inside the buildings. They returned the fire.

This confrontation left ten dead and several wounded. During the following 50 days, hundreds of government agents laid siege to the compound with enough guns to wage a small war. The standoff ended in a showdown that left 86 dead, including at least 17 children.

But who was the enemy? An army of drug-dealing mobsters? A guerrilla faction? No. As you may know, the “enemy” was a group of religious devotees, members of a cult. Their tragedy made an inconspicuous community on the plains of central Texas, U.S.A., the focus of international attention. The news media flooded the airwaves and the printed page with a barrage of reports, analyses, and comments on the dangers of fanatical cults.

The public was reminded of previous instances in which cult members were led to death by their leaders: the 1969 Manson murders in California; the 1978 mass suicide of cult members in Jonestown, Guyana; the 1987 murder-suicide pact engineered by cult leader Park Soon-ja of Korea, which resulted in the death of 32 members. Significantly, most of these people claimed to be Christians and professed belief in the Bible.

Understandably, many who respect the Bible as the Word of God are appalled at the brazen misuse of the Scriptures by these cults. As a result, over the years hundreds of organizations have been established for the purpose of monitoring cults and exposing their dangerous practices. Experts on cult behavior predict that the coming of a new millennium in a few years may trigger the proliferation of cults. One news magazine noted that according to anticult groups, there are thousands of cults “out there poised to snatch your body, control your mind, corrupt your soul. . . . Few are armed but most are considered dangerous. They’ll seduce you and fleece you, marry and bury you.”

What Is a Cult?

The term “cult” is used loosely by many who may not be fully aware of its connotations. To prevent confusion, some theologians actually avoid using the term.

The World Book Encyclopedia explains that “traditionally, the term cult referred to any form of worship or ritual observance.” By that criterion, all religious organizations could be classified as cults. However, in general usage today, the word “cult” has a different meaning. The same encyclopedia notes that “since the mid-1900’s, publicity about cults has altered the meaning of the term. Today, the term is applied to groups that follow a living leader who promotes new and unorthodox doctrines and practices.”

Endorsing the popular usage of the term, Newsweek magazine explains that cults “are normally small, fringe groups whose members derive their identity and purpose from a single, charismatic individual.” Similarly, Asiaweek magazine notes that “the term [cult] itself is vague, but it usually denotes a new religious creed built around a charismatic leader, who often proclaims himself to be the personification of God.”

The language used in a joint resolution of the 100th Congress of the State of Maryland, U.S.A., also conveys the derogatory connotation of the term cult. The resolution states that “a cult is a group or movement exhibiting excessive devotion to a person or idea and employing unethically manipulative techniques of persuasion and control to advance the goals of its leaders.”

Clearly, cults are generally understood to be religious groups with radical views and practices that clash with what is accepted today as normal social behavior. Usually they conduct their religious activities in secrecy. Many of these cultic groups actually isolate themselves in communes. Their devotion to a self-proclaimed human leader is likely to be unconditional and exclusive. Often these leaders boast of having been divinely chosen or even of being themselves divine in nature.

Answer 8

A group of people bound by similar beliefs.

Answer 9

Apparently, from many of the posters here, it is anything that does not follow your exact beliefs. No matter how plain and precious it is.

Answer 10

Any religion that doesn't believe in the one and only true God. Atheism for example.