At what point does a cult become a religion?

[shemp]

I have often described Christianity as "a cult that got lucky." It seems to me that every religion started out as a cult of some sort, but at what point does a cult turn into a religion? Is there a certain number of adherents required? Does a cult just suddenly become generally accepted by the public as a religion? Does a cult have to be recognized as a religion by someone generally regarded as an expert theologian? How does this transition take place? Or are all religions really just overgrown cults?

[c4ts]

Originally posted by shemp
I have often described Christianity as "a cult that got lucky." It seems to me that every religion started out as a cult of some sort, but at what point does a cult turn into a religion? Is there a certain number of adherents required? Does a cult just suddenly become generally accepted by the public as a religion? Does a cult have to be recognized as a religion by someone generally regarded as an expert theologian? How does this transition take place? Or are all religions really just overgrown cults?

It becomes a religion when rulers like Constantine are open members.

[Ducky]

Originally posted by shemp
I have often described Christianity as "a cult that got lucky." It seems to me that every religion started out as a cult of some sort, but at what point does a cult turn into a religion? Is there a certain number of adherents required? Does a cult just suddenly become generally accepted by the public as a religion? Does a cult have to be recognized as a religion by someone generally regarded as an expert theologian? How does this transition take place? Or are all religions really just overgrown cults?

If the compound doesn't go up in flames with a confrontation with a government, and it opens other churches, It may be considered a religion...


So seriously, I don't know. I consider all religions to be a cult of some sort. You're paying an organization for metaphysical belief. That's a cult to me.

[Kopji]

The word 'cult' is not much use, except as a kind of attack on groups you don't like.

There is a fairly moderate perspective here:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/cultintro.htm

A religion becomes a cult when it's members commit suicide en masse. :rolleyes:

[Phideaux]

I think it was Frank Zappa who pointed out the difference between a cult and a religion is the amount of real estate they own.

[Dogdoctor]

There used to be several characteristics of a cult like
a)they have beliefs that are markedly different from mainstream religion
b)they use emotional techniques to recruit their members
c)they have secret ceremonies or hidden activities not seen by even lower level members
d)some other stuff which I can't remember since it was so long ago
I don't know if that stuff still applies to the definition today.

I was briefly involved with a cult back in the early seventies.... OK so I was attracted to a member and became involved just to be close to her. I never learned what their secret activities were but my guess was they all had sex with the head honcho (males and females). There was some sort of ceremony involving only the head honcho and the member which was supposed to be very special and secret but from what little I could get out of them it sounded pretty weird (hints of sexual activities). That cult required that you give 90% of your money to the head honcho.

[Riddick]

at what point does asking "At what point does a cult become a religion?" become obsessive-compulsive? probly when 12 questions are asked in a short paragraph.

[Brahe]

It's an irregular noun:

I/We have a personal relationship with God.
You belong to a religion.
He/She belongs to a different sect.
They belong to a cult.

[Donn]

Religion = USA.ApplyFor(cult(scientology),"Tax_exemption");

[Beth]

A definition I heard a long time ago and liked:

It's a religion if you were raised to believe in it as a child.
It's a cult if you were converted to it as an adult.

[Z]

If they demand anything of you that seems excessive or unusual - sex, money, separation from family and friends, isolation - it's probably a cult.

If there are secret teachings I wouldn't call it a cult. Almost all religions had higher-level mystic teachings not generally available to the public; the early Christians lost this aspect, though, when they destroyed the Gnostic Christian faith, so we're not as used to it now.

[IIRichard]

Like so many English words, "cult" has several meanings. I think the one you're looking for is a group with similar religious beliefs, the founder of which is still alive or recently dead, and in which the orthodoxy, leadership (priesthood) and written "gospel" is still in flux.

By this definition, a cult becomes a religion when, and if, it gets organized. Christianity was a cult peculiar to the Jews before it became a religion itself.

IIRichard