What is your definition of a religious cult?

Ed Shanley 1643

A cult won't let you leave (easily), a legitamite religious group will kick you out.

Michael Cooke 1905

Is a subjective thing, the 'cult'. Generally the religion that's less familiar that you have any reason to resent could by you be labelled a 'cult'.

Famous cult behaviour, like suicides and weird sex - seem to have as a common element a factor where the cult isolates its members from their families and the influence of the 'outside' world.

Trent Christensen 1691

Any belief system that is not accepted by society as a whole.

Unknown Brain New Brain

I think a religious cult would be when there is a group of people who strongly believe in certain things and they try to push those beliefs onto others. When I think of them I typically think of when there are mass sucides in the name of religion or anything drastic like that. But I think that there could be ones that do good things as well, its just when I hear the word "cult" I think of the bad.

Ryan Harwood New Brain

A religious cult, would be or includes any group or large number of people that worship and/or carry out activities focused on their religion.

David Souza 2399

Given the actual ambiguity of the term "cult" it is very hard to see where this question is going.

Any religion is a cult, but I don't think that's what you are looking for. Please correct me if I am wrong. You are probably looking for "cults" as in obscure religious groups whose origin is shrouded in mistery and controversy. Ex: Heaven's Gate.

My definition of a cult is a group that follows one person and they usually end up dead or serverely impaired. Since it's impossible to determine until after said consequence I would not even attempt to guess which groups already mentioned are cults. Who am I to know or judge?

Joseph Morgan 2400

You said - Don't forget the Masons which many don't even realize is a religious organization. They've disguised themselves very well by all the community work that they do.

The Masons = Freemasons, whom I mentioned.

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No problem ;-)

Melissa Merritt 2399

They are smaller and therefore less popular, and therefore more suspected of any and all mischief. (Father Divine was a leader AND a black man in the '30s...therefore he MUST have been plotting against the government, end of fucking story--right??)

As far as I know his church still exists.

Divine also got a lot of flak cause Jim Jones claimed to be his reincarnation. As if the dead guy had any control over that, right? A side note--Jones was already born when Divine died, so ya know--but hey the claim got Jones followers *shrugs.* But Jones was a "cult" cause the group was small, not cause they were nuts. And of course they were nuts cause they were small, not cause they drank poison koolaid. Priorities, people! (oh come on, admit it--or not, but u see my point?) Otherwise ppl would be calling the Inquisitors cultists. But they don't. Even the most anti-religion person is biased in favor of larger groups, and therefore majorities just by the words they choose.
(I like the answers here tho.) And yes I know small religious groups can have their drawbacks--a friend of mine recently had a bitch of a time getting out of one, and they tried to make him choose between them and his fiancee. He chose his fiancee, thank God. (I actually am going to decline to give the name of the group, for personal reasons, one being I still know some members right now--it's not a fear thing, but I feel like a backstabber, since they are wonderful ppl. Messed in the head a bit, but delightful and kind. No I am not in it, never have been, never will be.) However, the sweeping generalizations bug me, as clubs and groups are part of FREEDOM--and prejudice is the first step toward policing and censorship. So IGNORE THEM UNLESS THEY'RE PULLING A MANSON OR SOMETHING. It's no one's business--what are we, the KGB? (Obviously not referring to anyone here.)

Of COURSE ya gotta cut yourself off from your know it all family--cause (whatever group) is hated and you will go back to your old depressive ways!!! (By the way, I'm not EVEN joking.)

Yes I know the Manson Family was a cult. Without the spiritual whackness, they would be a "revolutionary" terrorist group or street gang. (You know back in the olden times when anyone could be a terrorist, not just Muslims :X )

Scientology sounds whacko with the evil alien tyrant stuff, (Hubbard was a sci fi novelist) but as far as I can see, Dianetics is typical mind over matter self help stuff--so I can see why ppl might like it.

(A side note--my sophomore year of college I was infatuated with the idea of starting a cult but it seemed to be too much effort and I had a short attention span anyway.)


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Oh I wouldn't doubt it for a second...tho on the other hand I suppose I'm glad said religion was based on the whole "Choose Happiness" thing that is pretty generic BUT I can say WORKS after lots of practice. I'm not too big on the accompanying alien story but to each their own *shrugs* But yeah, didn't he disappear ALONG WITH a bunch of money?? lol or am I confusing him with someone else...

GeeBee Khalique 1199

when people join a group and are are willing to follow the leader regardless of what he commands them to do.

Emma Kinnison 1212

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;
3. The object of such devotion;
4. A group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc;
5. 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.