Agnostic.com

13 6

Is there any appreciable difference between a cult and a religion or are all religions cults separated only by degrees? I know how I feel about it but what's your take?

Sgt_Spanky 8 Apr 21
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

13 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

0

They are ALL cults.
Unga bunga bunga!
Ooga booga wooga!
Oogly boogly boogly!
Maga waga mugwump!

1

I’ll simplify it…..MAGAT, Proud Boys, oath keepers, 3 precenters, Patriot prayer, even BLM and ANTIFA, and all religions. It’s all about ‘Belonging’ and being a ‘Part of something’.

1

I think the primary difference is the level of fanaticism and the level to which they separate themselves from the rest of society. Every religion has some cultish aspects.

3

Do its practices and theology conform to the B.I.T.E. model? If yes then it is a cult
Is the founder leader still alive or is there a living "prophet"? If yes then it is a cult (founders of religions tend to be dead and current leader is god's rep on earth)
Does it have under five million members? If yes then it is a cult or perhaps a sect

Behaviour control
Information control
Thought control
Emotional control

1

Cult - a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing.

Religion ... pure and faultless is this: to help widows and orphans in need and avoiding worldly corruption. James 1:27

I guess you could say that if someone has excessive admiration for helping widows and orphans in need while avoiding worldly corruption, it could be something of a cult.

Word Level 8 Apr 21, 2022

Helping widows of of their life savings, maybe.
Creating orphans by stealing them from their parents and villages and beating their culture out of them and ripping their birth languages from their mouths, maybe.

"Excessive admiration of a particular person or thing" seems an apt description of Christianity and pretty much every other religion.

@Charles1971 christianity is a theocracy government with goal of world domination by laws of government, not specifically a religion of helping widows and orphans in need while avoiding worldly corruption.

4

While I'd say there is little difference in many ways, my take is that a cult is the following (and worshiping) of one human who has defined creation and/or the way humans should live, where that person is the interpreter or spokesperson of the doctrine, or just making it up as they go along, where a religion is more of a traditional connection to one's (natural or supernatural) creator and the various interpretations of which may surely have started as a cult, but has grown to social acceptance through years of passing down through generations.

2

No difference in meaning but plenty in size, real estate, followers, government control, power and corruption.

10

A cult is a small unpopular religion, and a religion is a large popular cult. Both are on the same spectrum; it is only a question of size.

I like this definition.

6

A religion, is any cult which has gained enough popularity, age, money, power or respectability, to demand consideration from government, and therefore influence political choices.

While a cult is any religion weak enough for politicians to kick when they need a scape goat.

2

And WHAT may one ask does and WHO the Definition of Religion make it ANY feasible difference as it being a Cult Following or NOT since when this so-called Christianity first started it WAS PROCLAIMED as being a CULT, i.e. The CULT of the Hebrew Messiah, to exact.
Now, OH Great and Sagacious @ skado, emerge from where you always choose to run and hide after posting a comment, etc, etc, and DEBATE with me IF you dare.
Come on are you simply ALL blow and bluster or do you actually have BALLS like a MAN?
I shal start the debate here and now by saying that, technically speaking, ALL religions and Religious Organisations qualify 100% as Cult since they DEPEND and RELY solely upon the cult-like addiction that they instil and foster continuously in their Followers.

5

"The only difference between a cult and a religion is the amount of real estate they own.”

~ Frank Zappa

Frank and George Carlin were two counter culture hippies who saw past all the bullshit and only spoke the truth. Also, "Joe's Garage" was hist best album.

@Sgt_Spanky

@WilliamCharles Ppl unfamiliar with Zappa's style probably hear this and think "What the hell am I listening to" It was all part of what made him special.

9

Nope. No difference at all.
ALL religions are cults. Some have just become more mainstream than others.

4

All religions are cults, only separated by belief in there own god or gods.

Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:661993
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.