Myles, That is not true. Anyone can have faith, many dont follow organized religions as far as literally being a member.
Well you should have told them about it. I am not defending religious organizations, just trying to explain the difference. For me personally, i dont belong to any :shrug:.
The French appear not to make a distinction. e., g., Le culte Catholique Catholicism Assister au culte To attend church
I'll give you this, there are differences - but the main one is simply "cults" have fewer members. The brainwashing occurs in ALL of the religions.
Typically it is, here at least. Having said that England is quite devoid of most of the fundie nut types you'll find in the US so it's likely they see it differently. The word 'cult' even with regards to TV shows, typically refers to a small but loyal group of followers. This is the same as religion but merely less of them. I wont be the first to call Doctor Who fans "insane", although I don't tend to like the programme. To quote the dictionary: of, for, or attracting a small group of devotees: a cult movie.
How is that true? I am only speaking about U.S and most likely all of Europe because my family is from Europe. Other places i dont know about. There is no requirement to join a religion so i dont know where that impression comes from.
Snakelord, Look at this: Jim Jones = Cult Heavens Gate = Cult Catholic = Not a Cult Morman = Not a Cult. See the difference?
false gods? There is a true one?? I wanna know if its numbers of people or numbers of countries that recognize it that decides if it is a religion. I think time passing has a lot to do with it. The founder has to be dead a while.
It certainly helps if the leader is dead; it gives his disciples the licence to put their own rubbish across by interpreting what the leader meant. Example. He said X but scholars who have studied his utterances know he meant Y, and that's the official teaching. See any holy book and its interpretation for further evidence. That is at the root of all those sects claiming they alone have the truth.
Hey look, LA asked what is the difference. I can see clear differences, but really have no interest in becoming a member of any of them but i dont have a problem with people who do. Like i said Cults are different.
i'm a bit leary of the term brainwash. i looked it up just to make sure, but it seems that you have to allow yourself to be brainwashed really. these people are indoctrinated, not strapped to some machine and assaulted with some sort of mind control. unless you are born into a cult, or a religion, you enter into it voluntarily. and even if you are born into it, there comes a day when you're responsible for making a decision to stay on your own.
Indeed I do see the difference: Jim Jones = 900 followers (cult) Heavens Gate = 40 followers (cult) Catholic = Hundreds of millions of followers (religion) Mormon = 13 million reported followers (religion). Thank you for making my point.
I dont know. I'm not Jewish but i dont think they are a cult either. Would you, for example, view members of 'The Manson Family' the same as a normal family going to church on Sunday?
oh man, your leaving out one minor detail: the first two all killed themselves. There are many other differences but that should suffice for now.
