What is your definition of a cult?  

I think of a cult as a relatively new religion given the name by the mainstream religions, and regarded as false (of course).

It is a system of religious rites, observances and zealous devotion to a person.

well whoever marked it as "anything against the teachings of Christ" is wrong.

certain;ly, in the Early days, Christianity would have been a cult. a religion or centered around one person, with other people showing devotion to that person.


I am fed up of hearing people describe my own religion as a cult, when that is, factually, not the case at all.

Even though this is not the definition of a cult I see a cult as any group who practices whether it be by belief or actions or usually both that is not for the wellbeing of those in the group or others. In this I mean groups that actually harm those in there group or others. People or groups who simply believe something a little uncustom or different are not as long as they aren't a danger. Someone who brainwashes a group of people into all killing themselves or allowing the leader to molest there children and things like that are what I call a cult.

I define a cult as this:
A religion that takes on an all-consuming motive to control its followers lives in a way that negatively affects their physical well-being (that is, it threatens their life and the followers become something like slaves).

Of course, many of religions could be skewed this way, and most cult-followers choose to be apart of the cult.

Remember: many people have died in the name of many, many religions. Some religions include blood-letting, questionable health practices...but cults usually seek to control and possess people.
And while many people USE religion to control or possess people, the religion itself usually does not advocate such things. Cults, on the other hand, do advocate these things.

Normally, cults are new religions which are percieved as wrong, but I think caution on handling people's religious freedom should always be exercised when dealing with cults or suspected cults, because you don't want to step on people's rights for a MAYBE.

To me, a cult is a religious of philisophical group that is controlled by the dictates of a single person or a very small group of people, rather than apeals to a power above this individual.

It has been pointed out that Israel under Moses and the Church under the Apostles both fit these descriptions. A cult isn't a bad thing, by itself. But it can't be any better than the ones leading it. A cult led by a true prophet is good. But the term tends to accumulate a negative connotation due to the fact that there are so many bad cults out there and so few good ones. Like the word germ. There are germs we can't live without, but we tend to use the word negatively because there are only a few good ones, and so many bad ones.

This post contains content of a mature nature. You must be Signed in or Registered to have the option to view this content.

This is hard because one man's cult is another man's religious group.a definition of a cult is when there is one leader who tells the group what to think and what to do.He/she has a set of rules they Must follow or you are out. See What I mean? All religions have rules you must follow. Some have a lone teacher or leader.