Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!bcm!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: conan@ragu.berkeley.edu (David Cruz-Uribe) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: cults Message-ID: Date: 18 Feb 91 03:44:48 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: U.C. Berkeley Math. Department. Lines: 25 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article mmoore@ub.d.umn.edu (Michelle Moore) writes: > > i am co-writing a skit on "what makes a cult a cult" for InterVarsity > this week. any information at all would be appreciated on cults, > other religions, newage, etc. > On the lighter side: a cult is any religious organization you belong to that your parents, neighbors, or coworkers disapprove of. :-) Yours in Christ, David Cruz-Uribe, SFO [There's a lot to be said for your definition. It's hard to be sure whether the term "cult" as currently used is simply a geneal term of disapproval, or whether it has a specific definition. I think to the extent it is used for something specific, it normally implies groups that are authoritarian and tend towards "brainwashing". Even here, I think the practices have to be extreme. E.g. the Catholic Church is in some sense authoritarian. Bishops in general and the Pope in particular, have authority to settle issues. However I would not regard that alone as making it a cult. It does not involve the sort of servile obedience and suppression of thought that a true cult does. --clh]