Global InformationCult information
A cult is a group which is typically led by a charismatic and self-appointed leader, who tightly controls its members, requiring unwavering devotion to a set of beliefs and practices which are considered deviant (outside the norms of society).[1] It is in most contexts a pejorative term, also used for a new religious movement or other social group which is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals,[2] or its common interest in a particular person, object, or goal. This sense of the term is weakly defined – having divergent definitions both in popular culture and academia – and has also been an ongoing source of contention among scholars across several fields of study.[3][4]: 348–356
An older sense of the word, which is not pejorative, involves a set of religious devotional practices that is conventional within its culture, is related to a particular figure, and is frequently associated with a particular place.[5] References to the imperial cult of ancient Rome, for example, use the word in this sense. A derived sense of "excessive devotion" arose in the 19th century.[i]
Beginning in the 1930s, cults became an object of sociological study within the context of the study of religious behavior.[6] Since the 1940s, the Christian countercult movement has opposed some sects and new religious movements, labeling them "cults" because of their unorthodox beliefs. Since the 1970s, the secular anti-cult movement has opposed certain groups and, as a reaction to acts of violence, frequently charged those cults with practicing mind control. There are thousands of cults around the world.[7] Groups labelled "cults" range in size from local groups with a few members to international organizations with millions.[8]
Sociological classifications of religious movements may identify a cult as a social group with socially deviant or novel beliefs and practices,[9] although this is often unclear.[10][11][12] Other researchers present a less-organized picture of cults, saying that they arise spontaneously around novel beliefs and practices.[13] Cults, especially nonreligious ones, have also been called high-control groups[14] and compared to miniature totalitarian political systems.[15]
- ^ Bell, Kenton (2013). "cult". Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
- ^ "cult". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
ZablockiRobbinswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Richardson, James T. 1993. "Definitions of Cult: From Sociological-Technical to Popular-Negative." Review of Religious Research 34(4):348–356. doi:10.2307/3511972. JSTOR 3511972.
- ^ "cult". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) – "2.a. A particular form or system of religious worship or veneration, esp. as expressed in ceremonies or rituals which are directed towards a specified figure or object."
- ^ Fahlbusch, Erwin, and Geoffrey William Bromiley. The Encyclopedia of Christianity 4. p. 897. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ "Why do people join cults and why is it often hard to leave?". Al Jazeera. 23 June 2023.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
barker1999was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Stark & Bainbridge 1996, p. 124
- ^ OED, citing American Journal of Sociology 85 (1980). p. 1377: "Cults…like other deviant social movements, tend to recruit people with a grievance, people who suffer from a some variety of deprivation."
- ^ Shaw, Chuck. 2005. "Sects and Cults." Greenville Technical College. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ Olson, Paul J. 2006. "The Public Perception of 'Cults' and 'New Religious Movements'." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 45 (1): 97–106
- ^ Stark & Bainbridge 1987
- ^ Grant, Shaelen (2022). The Cultic Lifecycle: A Thematic Analysis of Fulfillment and Fear in Cult Membership (Thesis). City University of New York John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
- ^ Stein, Alexandra (2016). Terror, Love and Brainwashing: Attachment in Cults and Totalitarian Systems. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 9781138677951.
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