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No such thing as a cult

lukethethird

lukethethird

unknown member
Cult is no longer a part of my vocabulary. I heard the suggestion so I searched no such thing as a cult, a few articles have convinced me to ditch the term altogether.



One of the best things you can do for yourself as an honest student of religion is to throw away the common concept of a ‘religious cult’.
Religious Cult : No Such Thing


In the English-speaking world, the term cult often carries derogatory connotations. In this sense, it has been considered a subjective term, used as an ad hominem attack against groups with differing doctrines or practices. As such, religion scholar Megan Goodwin has defined the term cult, when it is used by the layperson, as often being shorthand for a "religion I don't like". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult


The application of this term is prejudice in practice. The vast canyon of meaning that people imagine exists between cults and religions is not there. It is a fabrication of sloppy thinking.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/about-thinking/201607/why-no-one-should-ever-use-the-word-cult


What say you?
 
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mikkel_the_dane

mikkel_the_dane

My own religion
lukethethird said:
Cult is no longer a part of my vocabulary. I heard the suggestion so I searched no such thing as a cult, a few articles have convinced me to ditch the term altogether.



One of the best things you can do for yourself as an honest student of religion is to throw away the common concept of a ‘religious cult’.
Religious Cult : No Such Thing


In the English-speaking world, the term cult often carries derogatory connotations. In this sense, it has been considered a subjective term, used as an ad hominem attack against groups with differing doctrines or practices. As such, religion scholar Megan Goodwin has defined the term cult, when it is used by the layperson, as often being shorthand for a "religion I don't like". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult


The application of this term is prejudice in practice. The vast canyon of meaning that people imagine exists between cults and religions is not there. It is a fabrication of sloppy thinking.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/about-thinking/201607/why-no-one-should-ever-use-the-word-cult


What say you?
Click to expand...

Well, it is easy to understand.
Societies have norms of behaviors. A cult is this:
"In Modern English, cult is a term for a relatively small group that excessively controls its members, who share a set of acts and practices which require unwavering devotion, who are considered deviant (outside the norms of society), and who are typically led by a charismatic and often self-appointed leader."
So a cult doesn't even have to religious, it could be political and social without being religious.
 
lukethethird

lukethethird

unknown member
mikkel_the_dane said:
Well, it is easy to understand.
Societies have norms of behaviors. A cult is this:
"In Modern English, cult is a term for a relatively small group that excessively controls its members, who share a set of acts and practices which require unwavering devotion, who are considered deviant (outside the norms of society), and who are typically led by a charismatic and often self-appointed leader."
So a cult doesn't even have to religious, it could be political and social without being religious.
Click to expand...
How do you define what norms are?
 
Ella S.

Ella S.

Well-Known Member
I think the term "cult" has two useful meanings.

First, in the sense of a group centered around "cultivating" a particular idol, temple, shrine, being, or idea, which is used neutrally and can refer to the "Cult of Mithras" or the "Witchcraft Cult" or the more modern "Cult of Qayin." I think this term is usefully descriptive, which makes it unfortunate that it is so overshadowed by the stigma against the word in pop culture.

Second, in the stigmatizing sense, but more narrowly defined by the BITE model. The BITE model is a helpful tool to evaluate organizations for structural abuse. Much of the material in psychology concerning abuse only focuses on direct, interpersonal abuse. The BITE model helps understand how this kind of abuse can exist institutionally or in larger, more organized ways.

There genuinely are abusive cults out there and I think it's fair to be weary of them.
 
lukethethird

lukethethird

unknown member

mikkel_the_dane said:
Yeah, but porn is only one norm. And it has change as a norm with different societies. You don't just look as how you see. You look as how society as an aggregate sees it.
Click to expand...
What does branding some as cults make us, normal? Does that legitimize us and our religions?

If we are all doing the same things such as worshipping or following, praying or meditating, there is a normal way of doing that and we are doing it right, the normal way because look at those cults?
 
Viker

Viker

Your beloved eccentric Auntie Cristal
In the classic sense I am a member and founder of a cult (or sect) as defined originally as "a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object". In the modern sense we use cult to describe a dangerous and destructive authoritarian organization.

Cults do exist.
 
lukethethird

lukethethird

unknown member
Viker said:
In the classic sense I am a member and founder of a cult (or sect) as defined originally as "a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object". In the modern sense we use cult to describe a dangerous and destructive authoritarian organization.

Cults do exist.
Click to expand...
"a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object" is not unique, political leaders completely concerned with their own wellbeing can persuade large numbers to follow them, nothing abnormal about that, and sometimes but not always, dangerous and destructive to all concerned. You don't have any special powers to manipulate people. The believers you tend to are not so different than other believers. Some will denounce their religions once they are free of a dangerous situation and seek another religion, or just remain spiritual, some will ditch religion altogether.
 
Stevicus

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
lukethethird said:
Cult is no longer a part of my vocabulary. I heard the suggestion so I searched no such thing as a cult, a few articles have convinced me to ditch the term altogether.



One of the best things you can do for yourself as an honest student of religion is to throw away the common concept of a ‘religious cult’.
Religious Cult : No Such Thing


In the English-speaking world, the term cult often carries derogatory connotations. In this sense, it has been considered a subjective term, used as an ad hominem attack against groups with differing doctrines or practices. As such, religion scholar Megan Goodwin has defined the term cult, when it is used by the layperson, as often being shorthand for a "religion I don't like". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult


The application of this term is prejudice in practice. The vast canyon of meaning that people imagine exists between cults and religions is not there. It is a fabrication of sloppy thinking.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/about-thinking/201607/why-no-one-should-ever-use-the-word-cult
Click to expand...

I haven't really thought too deeply about cults. (Definition of CULT)

1
: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious (see SPURIOUS sense 2)
also : its body of adherents
the voodoo cult

a satanic cult


2
a
: great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (such as a film or book)
criticizing how the media promotes the cult of celebrity

especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad
b
: the object of such devotion
c
: a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion
the singer's cult of fans

The film has a cult following.


3
: a system of religious beliefs and ritual
also : its body of adherents
the cult of Apollo


4
: formal religious veneration : WORSHIP

5
: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator
health cults

---

lukethethird said:
What say you?
Click to expand...

The only time it really seems to come up as an issue is when you hear of cases of abuse, although abuse of religious authority is something common to mainstream religions which aren't generally considered to be "cults." But maybe they are. It's kind of a touchy issue, since people might have different criteria for what they consider to be a cult, and moreover, no one seems to like it if their own religion is called a cult. Legally, the government seems more inclined to err on the side of religious freedom, although they'll draw the line at live snakes and human sacrifice.
 
Audie

Audie

Veteran Member
lukethethird said:
Cult is no longer a part of my vocabulary. I heard the suggestion so I searched no such thing as a cult, a few articles have convinced me to ditch the term altogether.



One of the best things you can do for yourself as an honest student of religion is to throw away the common concept of a ‘religious cult’.
Religious Cult : No Such Thing


In the English-speaking world, the term cult often carries derogatory connotations. In this sense, it has been considered a subjective term, used as an ad hominem attack against groups with differing doctrines or practices. As such, religion scholar Megan Goodwin has defined the term cult, when it is used by the layperson, as often being shorthand for a "religion I don't like". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult


The application of this term is prejudice in practice. The vast canyon of meaning that people imagine exists between cults and religions is not there. It is a fabrication of sloppy thinking.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/about-thinking/201607/why-no-one-should-ever-use-the-word-cult


What say you?
Click to expand...
The opposite. They are all cults.
 
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