An email pen pal mentioned having a discussion
of the definition of a religious cult last night, and said she came away still not knowing just how to define one. In my opinion, all religions are cults, but that's just me. What say the learned among us?

Not "learned," but I don't see all religions as cults. I see a cult as more negative, much like the Wikipedia article:

quote:

The word cult pejoratively refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre.

However, I think it's a good question because I imagine there is a lot of variance in what people think.

I pretty much agree that all religions are cults, but not all cults are religions. Anyway, a cult is a religion that somebody from another religion does not like and is to be deprecated.

I think the whole difference between a religion and a cult comes down to how well established it is in society. Is, say, Scientology a "religion" or a "cult"? Its supporters would presumably say the first, its opponents the second. I note that the Wikipedia article also says:

quote:

It is also a result of the anti-cult movement which uses the word in reference to groups seen as authoritarian, exploitative and that are believed to use dangerous rituals or mind control.

In my opinion, this could apply to any number of established religions.

I was going to say pretty much exactly what zm said. Probably in the same words.

In English, the word had a positive meaning until the early decades of the previous century. It originally meant simply the worship of divine being(s), and was almost a synonym for religion. It is from the Latin word cultus 'tilling; care; reverence, worship, veneration', past participle of colo 'to till, cultivate; cherish; worship'.

I suppose if you consider Catholicism, Judaism, etc., as bizarre, then you'd consider them religions cults. If I were to consider them "bizarre," I'd have to consider many, many things bizarre, which doesn't jive with the definition of the word ("odd or unusual").

Interesting perspectives.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,

Was Akhenaten's monotheism considered a cult by the Egyptian polytheits? Probably, and it's been suggested that it is from him that Judaism's ideas sprang. So, maybe Judaism is a cult in a long historical sense, just as Christianity was considered a cult until Constantine militarized it, then it was mainstream.

The word is used pejoratively in American society; it implies dogmatic leaders and a membership so craven or deluded that antisocial, self-destructive or illegal acts might be committed in the name of the dogma, threatening the civil rights of others. Religion and law were one throughout early civilization; every major religion had its day as a lawbreaking cult.

One might view all religions as cults in an intellectual sense, I suppose. The point is the legal system must support that belief like any other.