What Makes a Cult a Cult? Essay Example

The reference of the word cult is used to refer to a given social group described by its religious, philosophical beliefs and spiritual beliefs. The sense of the term is very controversial, and people view it differently in light of culture and academia. The term has also been an ongoing source of argument among authors in different fields of studies. In the sociological classification of distinct religious movements, a cult can be referred to as a social group that has social deviant distinctive beliefs and practices, even though it is not usually apparent. Some different author gives a less-organized portrayal of the cults, regarding them to have risen spontaneously from novel beliefs and practices. The groups that are denoted as cults range from their size from their local groups containing just a few members, to international organizations that carry millions of people. A better definition of the word from the past can be referred to religious devotional practices which are conventional within their culture.

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A reference to a cult, for instance, a specified Catholic saint, or rather an imperial cult of an ancient Rome use the word cult. Beginning from the 1930s, cults turned out to be an object of the sociological study in the sense of the study of religious behavior (Brown 33). From the years of the 1940s, the Christian counter-cult movement has been continually rejecting some sects and some of the new religious movements, and even went ahead to naming those cults as a way to show their "un-Christian" unconventional belief. Observing the secular anti-cult movements they arose in the 1970s and brought about a new line of opposing specified groups, and they were often they are particularly charged with the mind control and primarily they are motivated with the reactions of their actions of violence that are executed with some of their members.

The claims and acts performed with the anti-cult movements have been mainly rejected with certain authors and also by the news media that lead to further public controversies. The words "new religious movements" point out to religions that have been there since the mid-1800s. A lot but not all of them have been defined as cults. Certain sub-categories are under cults such as Doomsday cults, political cults, personality cults, Racists cults, destructive cult's terrorist's cults and lastly polygamists cults (Cheong). Different national governments have taken actions to the cult-related activities in distinctive ways, and it has sometimes led to controversies. Native speakers of English have used the word cult as a reference to religious groups, and reference the actions of worship or somewhat religious ceremonies. The native English term originated from an early 17th century and was borrowed from French culte, which has been derived from a Latin noun cultus that refers to worship. A term that has come from a Latin adjective cultus that relates to the meaning of inhabited, worshipped and cultivated from a verb known as colere that holds the definition of 'to care' and 'to cultivate.'

The literal origin sense of the term in English is also used; the derivation of the sense refers to "excessive devotion" that came up in the 19th century. The words cult and cultists originated from the medical literature that is there in the United States in the 1930s from which it would now be referred to as the "Faith healing," precisely what is mainly practiced in the US Holiness movement (Ginsberg and McClatchy). The use of the word was met with a surge of popularity at the time and was also prolonged to certain other practices of substitute medicine as well.

In the Native English speakers world the term "cult" it has been observed to carry some derogatory connotations. It has largely been seen as a controversial since it is observed as a subjective word, usually being used as an ad hominem that holds the meaning of attacking a religious group that has different doctrines or practices. Through the rise of secular anti-cult movements of the 1970s, authors although not from the general public started by abandoning the use of the word 'cult.' By the end of the period, the word cult was being replaced with the "new religions." Formation of the new religious movement (NRM) is considered as a religious community or a certain spiritual group of the modern origins it began in the mid-1800s; it has been given a peripheral place in the society's dominant culture. NRM is seen or observed as a wider religion, and are unique in their pre-existing denominations.

Max Weber, a sociologist, discovered that there are cults based on charismatic leadership which regularly follow a root of charisma. The theory of a 'cult' was initially keyed in as a sociological classification in the years of 1932 by American sociologists well recognized as Howard it was a development of German theologian which was a formation of Ernst Troeltsch's church-sect typology. The main idea that Troeltsch's had was to distinguish between the three main forms of religious behavior: the mystical, churchly and sectarian. There was the formation of some four categories of from the ones that were there from Troeltsch's through the splitting the church to another category of ecclesia and denomination and another subcategory of sect into sect and cult. Cults that were created by Becker unlike that of Troeltsch's which was a bit organized being referred to as a mystical religion were not organized and ranged from small religious groups and emphasized on the private nature of the individual beliefs.

Then later on social designs did build on the specified characteristics, which now placed additional insisting on cults and observed as the deviant religious groups. They were mainly motivated by inspiration from outside of a substantial predominant religious culture. It has always been noted to give a higher degree of tension that will exist amidst the specified group and the one which is predominant religious cultures. In the specific sociology term, the sects are seen as products of a religious schism thus continue with a traditional belief and practice, on the other hand, a cult comes from spontaneously within a novel belief and practice.

Anti-cult movements, Under the category there is the Christian counter movement. In the 1940s there was some long-held opposition in part by some of the established denominations and some other non-Christian religions also, they could be said to be heretical or counterfeit sects but were more organized into what was referred to as the Christian counter-cult movement that was within the United States of America. However, the ones that claim to belong to a specified group but are insisting on being Christians, although were deemed to be out of the Christian orthodoxy, were well referred to as cults (Woolf 45). Looking at the Christian cults, they can be referred to as the new religious movements but do contain a Christianity background although they are largely seen to be theologically divergent with the people of the specific Christian churches.

During the 1970s, there was a secular opposition movement which assumed that there is an existing group that was observed as cults. The organizations that formulated some of the secular groups known as "anti-cult movement" were doing so by their relatives who were soul members of "cult" converts and did not have the notion that their relative had a motive to alter their lives in such a freeway (PRESS and William). Some psychologists and sociologists were vented in the area and had suggestions that some brainwashing techniques took turns especially in the maintaining of loyalty for the cult members. The fact that the cults freely brainwashed their members turned out to be a unifying theme people who especially endorsed it was the cult member's critics. There are some of the more extreme corners whereby the so-called anti-cult movement techniques especially ones of "deprogramming" which were mainly endorsed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cults are used to refer social group described by its religious, philosophical beliefs and spiritual beliefs. Some of the oppositions that are mainly contained in the forms of a legitimate cult are the same values that the degrading forms of cults were being destroyed. The rise of opposition forces that were used mainly to deprogram the legitimate cults and give rise to more lethal ones which brainwashed some of the people and even saw bloodsheds and formation of illegal activities which was not the first agenda.

References

Brown, Peter. The cult of the saints: its rise and function in Latin Christianity. University of Chicago Press, 2014.

Cheong, Ian Miles. "Google Code Jam Finalists Are All Men For 14th Year In A Row." Retrieved http://www.cronycorruption.com/public/ARCHIVES/GOOGLE%20IS%20CORRUPT/THE%20MEN%20OF%20GOOGLE.pdf

Ginsberg, Allen, and J. D. McClatchy. Allen Ginsberg. Random House Audio, 2004. Retrieved http://www.popflock.com/learn?s=Allen_Ginsberg

PRESS, ALTAMIRA, and William H. Swatos. Encyclopedia of religion and society. Rowman Altamira, 1998. Retrieved http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/ResearchM.htm

Woolf, Greg. "Only Connect? Network analysis and religious change in the Roman World." Revista Helade 2.2 (2018): 43-58. Retrieved https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Woolf%2C+G.+%282018%29.+Only+Connect%3F+Network+analysis+and+religious+change+in+the+Roman+World.+Revista+H%C3%A9lade%2C+2%282%29%2C+43-58.&btnG=