What is the difference between a cult and religion?

[Warren Clark]

Can anyone help me understand this?

I've been watching different TV shows like Lie to Me and Law & Order.
Each of them bring up a case with an "insane" cult leader that truly believes his own bullocks and has an entire following.
I put "insane" in quotation marks because I know that its just relative to the believer.

But can someone help me decipher what makes a cult and how it is different from any other religion?

 

[Storm]

In my book, a cult is deliberately harmful to its members, typically isolating them from non-cult members and swindling them out of money.

 

[Quintessence]

The word "cult" has several definitions depending on context. I tend to only use the term in the more formal sense. One of the better frameworks for evaluation you can access online can be found here (link) at the late Isaac Bonewitz' web site. It is similar to the frameworks I came across in more formal texts. To excerpt for those too lazy to click the link:

• Internal Control: Amount of internal political and social power exercised by leader(s) over members; lack of clearly defined organizational rights for members.
• External Control: Amount of external political and social influence desired or obtained; emphasis on directing members’ external political and social behavior.
• Wisdom/Knowledge Claimed by leader(s); amount of infallibility declared or implied about decisions or doctrinal/scriptural interpretations; number and degree of unverified and/or unverifiable credentials claimed.
• Wisdom/Knowledge Credited to leader(s) by members; amount of trust in decisions or doctrinal/scriptural interpretations made by leader(s); amount of hostility by members towards internal or external critics and/or towards verification efforts.
• Dogma: Rigidity of reality concepts taught; amount of doctrinal inflexibility or “fundamentalism;” hostility towards relativism and situationalism.
• Recruiting: Emphasis put on attracting new members; amount of proselytizing; requirement for all members to bring in new ones.
• Front Groups: Number of subsidiary groups using different names from that of main group, especially when connections are hidden.
• Wealth: Amount of money and/or property desired or obtained by group; emphasis on members’ donations; economic lifestyle of leader(s) compared to ordinary members.
• Sexual Manipulation of members by leader(s) of non-tantric groups; amount of control exercised over sexuality of members in terms of sexual orientation, behavior, and/or choice of partners.
• Sexual Favoritism: Advancement or preferential treatment dependent upon sexual activity with the leader(s) of non-tantric groups.
• Censorship: Amount of control over members’ access to outside opinions on group, its doctrines or leader(s).
• Isolation: Amount of effort to keep members from communicating with non-members, including family, friends and lovers.
• Dropout Control: Intensity of efforts directed at preventing or returning dropouts.
• Violence: Amount of approval when used by or for the group, its doctrines or leader(s).
• Paranoia: Amount of fear concerning real or imagined enemies; exaggeration of perceived power of opponents; prevalence of conspiracy theories.
• Grimness: Amount of disapproval concerning jokes about the group, its doctrines or its leader(s).
• Surrender of Will: Amount of emphasis on members not having to be responsible for personal decisions; degree of individual disempowerment created by the group, its doctrines or its leader(s).
• Hypocrisy: amount of approval for actions which the group officially considers immoral or unethical, when done by or for the group, its doctrines or leader(s); willingness to violate the group’s declared principles for political, psychological, social, economic, military, or other gain.

It's important to note cults are not necessarily religious. Informally, "cult" may be used to describe a small religious group, but given the more formal meaning of cult, I tend to discourage people from doing this (it is often patently wrong from a formal standpoint).

 

[methylatedghosts]

As far as I know, there's no clearly defined line that separates cults and religions. Some religions have started as cults. But I think there are some key things to watch out for:

Cults generally attempt to exercise quite a bit of control over the followers. They try to isolate followers from the outsiders. They tend to paint a picture of a world that is evil, mistrustful, dangerous, and that people must do the things the leader tells them in order to remain safe from such a terrible world. Quite often they ask for sums of money, and aren't too clear on where the money goes and what happens to it. A cult leader may portray himself to be divinely inspired, or in direct communication, or in some way more special than the average other person. He or she is generally very charismatic and easily liked.

Of course, quite a few of those have parallels to several respectful religions and religious figures, but I think what makes it a cult is the extremes they are taken to. Also, if your leader has crazy eyes and is asking you to drink the cool-aid, that should probably raise a little red flag or two.

 

[Warren Clark]

In my book, a cult is deliberately harmful to its members, typically isolating them from non-cult members and swindling them out of money.

See, I have always thought that in my mind, but there are those leaders that truly think they are doing good for their followers.
In Lie to Me, there is a cult leader that is being audited for suspicions of tax fraud under the religious non-profit rules. But it turned out it was a true belief he had that he and his followers were after the "true" path of happiness with God; but the followers were free to leave if they wanted. But if they chose to stick with the congregation the children would be separated from the outside would, education and all.

I see this happening in churches everywhere and I was once a part of one.
Faith Baptist Church, lead by Pastor Jim Combs, was one of the churches my mother went to. They promoted their local Christian Private School as well as their HOME Team, a home schooling group of mothers. The church provided its own education classes from cake decorating to prehistoric science.
From my own experience of switching from the HOME Team to Public School, I can say that its nothing more than your traditional anti-evolution church.
However, the definition is very vague for "cult".

CULT -
a particular system of religious worship, especially with reference to its rites and ceremonies.

 

[Storm]

See, I have always thought that in my mind, but there are those leaders that truly think they are doing good for their followers.
In Lie to Me, there is a cult leader that is being audited for suspicions of tax fraud under the religious non-profit rules. But it turned out it was a true belief he had that he and his followers were after the "true" path of happiness with God; but the followers were free to leave if they wanted. But if they chose to stick with the congregation the children would be separated from the outside would, education and all.

I see this happening in churches everywhere and I was once a part of one.
Faith Baptist Church, lead by Pastor Jim Combs, was one of the churches my mother went to. They promoted their local Christian Private School as well as their HOME Team, a home schooling group of mothers. The church provided its own education classes from cake decorating to prehistoric science.
From my own experience of switching from the HOME Team to Public School, I can say that its nothing more than your traditional anti-evolution church.
However, the definition is very vague for "cult".

CULT -
a particular system of religious worship, especially with reference to its rites and ceremonies.

See, I didn't make any distinction between sincerity of the leaders' beliefs. I'm sure David Koresh was convinced he was the second coming, but that didn't mean it ended well for anyone.

 

[Warren Clark]

See, I didn't make any distinction between sincerity of the leaders' beliefs. I'm sure David Koresh was convinced he was the second coming, but that didn't mean it ended well for anyone.

I agree. But there isn't always harm in all cults.
Billy Graham in my mind has his own cult... =P

 

[Onkara]

Can anyone help me understand this?


But can someone help me decipher what makes a cult and how it is different from any other religion?

Hi Warren

Basically I don't think there is a religion which isn't a cult, in the loose sense of the word. Even the Catholic Church has power and members who are influenced by that power. However the Catholic religion is theology.

If you mean a dangerous cult versus one which isn't then I would say it can defined by making the members feel that there is something to be achieved that only the cult can provide. Also the achievement is always in the future or dependent on the members progress or behaviour. Like a carrot on a stick. There are lots of web pages on these types of characteristics, should it interesting you

 

[AdityaMookerjee]

Can anyone help me understand this?

I've been watching different TV shows like Lie to Me and Law & Order.
Each of them bring up a case with an "insane" cult leader that truly believes his own bullocks and has an entire following.
I put "insane" in quotation marks because I know that its just relative to the believer.

But can someone help me decipher what makes a cult and how it is different from any other religion?

Why this seems obvious, to me, when no one has told me, I don't know. When religion is seen to be basically practices, which lead to beliefs, because of the practices, then it is perhaps a cult. We are living a cult, not on any belief, but on practices, and not to do with religion, is the basic perception, of everyone perhaps, and people are not saying it. I must say, I could be wrong, about perceptions, but we see a practice, and if we don't like it, we feel, that the practice not associated with the practice is perhaps the way to go.

 

[Revoltingest]

There are dictionary definitions of "cult", but in practical usage......
"Cult" is a term applied to a faith for the purpose of denigration.
Once the faith acquires enuf real estate & survival time to become 'respectable', it will generally be known as a "religion".

 

[Twig pentagram]

A cult is a young religion and a religion is an old cult.

 

[AdityaMookerjee]

The Avatar whom I perceive, belongs to what people perceive as a religion, sect and cult. Religion sect and cult can be interdependent, independent, and dependent on each other. The gentleman was also a Christian and Muslim. He did not hear of the faith of Judaism.

 

[apophenia]

I think Twig Pentagram's answer is the best so far, but in my view a religion is a mainstream institution which characterises a culture ( from the latin 'religare' - to bind together ) whereas a cult is a minority group, defined by the fact that it is not culturally mainstream.

 

[Î Î¿Î»Ï Ï€Î­ÏÏ‡Ï‰Î½ Γʹ]

Originally, the word cult had no special meaning, and was basically synonmyous with terms like denomination or sect. In traditional usage it also could apply specifically to rituals and observances.

The modern word cult was introduced only in the 20th century as a new religious movement or other group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. However not all new religious movements are necessarily cults. As others have pointed out, cults tend to be more harmful psychologically or even physically than NRM's or mainstream religions.

 

[apophenia]

Originally, the word cult had no special meaning, and was basically synonmyous with terms like denomination or sect. In traditional usage it also could apply specifically to rituals and observances.

The modern word cult was introduced only in the 20th century as a new religious movement or other group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. However not all new religious movements are necessarily cults. As others have pointed out, cults tend to be more harmful psychologically or even physically than NRM's or mainstream religions.

One of the first usages I ever heard of the word cult was the Cargo Cult of Papua New Guinea. A mountain tribe there observed an airplane land and deliver supplies, and subsequently made idols of airplanes, and did rituals to encourage them to return with more goodies.

 

[Konjim]

i think that that cult was a branch off a religion , but it not easy to describe Exact meaning , Different people see this in different ways .

 

[somethingNiftyhere]

"What's the difference between a cult and a religion?"

...Can anyone help me understand this?

By definition, nothing.
Cult is a term usually afforded by those who are religious and seeking to impugn the reputation, doctrine, image, of their competition.

 

[Bhairava]

All religions are death cults. How I define the difference in general is a cult is a religion where the founder is still alive which means its new and not yet really established but if the cult goes on after the leaders death then it becomes a religion.

 

[Heathen Hammer]

One wants to be called the other;

One doesn't want to be called the other.




Ha ha!

 

[HeatherAnn]

All "groups" to be groups, have some degree of cultishness, not just religious groups.
They require certain things to belong & if you state anything contrary to the group's common belief, you are somehow put down.