Quote:
|
Originally Posted by politicophile
So, it looks like one of two things is true: either cult and religion mean the same thing, or cults are just religions we don't like.
|
I've always taken cult to mean an extreme kind of religion, marked by stuff like massive insulation from the nonbelieving world and a reverence for church leader(s) as though they were infallible or close to it. Perhaps 'cult' could be the name for the extreme end of a continuum; a religion's closer to being a cult as it acquires more authoritarian, xenophobic, and brainwashing characteristics.
So by that distinction, I'd say that your average Catholic church has a few cultish tendencies but not many, Scientology a few more, certain fundy groups a few more still, and then ranking highest up in kool-aid units per follower would be groups like Heaven's Gate. Definitely a lot of room for debate here, and I could be a bit off on those estimates, but I think there's some significant differences between your local unitarian religious group and the Children of God cult.