Confused Athesit

[Dingo]

FYI new to the site... I am a atheist of, wow ten years now.... I also know alot about politcs, and neither of my parents are American citizens so I have been tought to look beyond what goverment says...(as I can see alot of you do...YAY!!!) anyway my question is what is the difference between a religion and a cult? How is it that a belief system like Wicka (BTW i can't spell) which is older then christianity... and most other religions is considered a cult? it has more fallowers then there are in the Methodist branch of christianity.... and a religion like suffie, is just that a religion? what about satianism... its been around as long as christianity... it only exists cause of christianity is it a religion?

[Moose]

as far as i can tell the only difference is when the christian church says its a cult. the society you live in is based on right and wrongs that are based i think on the christian church, thus that society is pretty much dominated by it, and that society is from where you hear whether things are a cult or not.

[Moose]

oh and welcome, asshat.

oh, btw, i know this guy.

[Monty Cantsin]

There is no difference between the church and a cult, a cult is just a group that practices religious rituals, so all this means is the church is a widely accepted cult.

[Purple]

religions has usually gods, cults has more usually either some natural phenomenom, or something similar...

the difference you might say depends on the size of the "worshippers"... satanism, for example, is actually an offspring from christianity, but has desided to be exactly opposite of christianity, so there is no god, or any specific "rules", and most real satanists are usually located not very spread..


but then again it really is the size that matters...

[RedAnarchist]

In my opinion, it doesnt matter what you are - whether it be Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Pagan, Atheist etc - just have a belief, or else the world will be a very confusing place indeed.

[Purple]

i have no reason to say this, but i have an sudden obsession with the word:


fuck you!

[Pete]

what is the difference between a religion and a cult?

nothing


How is it that a belief system like Wicka (BTW i can't spell) which is older then christianity... and most other religions is considered a cult?

Christianity is oppressive of other traditions. Have you seen how islam has been demonized recently? It is the popular view. The thing is religion = cult.


it has more fallowers then there are in the Methodist branch of christianity.... and a religion like suffie, is just that a religion?

Christianity has more sects than anyother religoin I can think of other than Hinduism. ... and religions are just cults.


what about satianism... its been around as long as christianity... it only exists cause of christianity is it a religion?

Not really. Their are a few branches of satanism... some of it makes it just an allegory for materialism...which is wierd.

-Pete

[Rasta Sapian]

religions have churches ( like franchises ) where you can go to get your weekly spiritual cleansing
you can usually find a holyman, speaking the word of god

cults have places to gather ( like independant businesses ) where you can live and devote your life to worshipping ?
you can usually find a madman, speaking the word of ?


Religion is overrated, and cults are for misguided neive souls :P

[S.B.]

Religion is merely an organized neurosis,a person can worship a turnip if they wish ... the important thing is that the turnip doesnt command them to hate and butcher the devotees of cabbages and carrots.

In matters of religious speculation,were mankind to realize the truth surely the world would be cluttered with corpses,as Napoleon once said,"Religion is what keeps the poor from killing the rich".

Religion is a process in which one idolizes an exaggerated ego by means of a netherreal entity,when ones god hates everything and everyone the person himself hates then its relatively easy to discern who created who.

[iloveatomickitten]

I believe that the way that religion and cult is split up into two sections is simply a method of social controll which enables the current system to be maintained. People in general will hold a "religion" in higher regard than they would a "cult" even though there is no gap in ther idiocy. In building up the publics opions of the "religion" the public are far more likely to illogiacally follow its teachings without question, where as anything not already well established to protect is status as a religion is simply branded a cult and hence is incapable of attracting enough members to mount a serious threat.

[Misodoctakleidist]

A cult is a form of religion like a denomination or a sect although classification of cults, sects, denominations and churchs is widely debated. You all seem to think that religions and cults are different things, they aren't cults are religions (although religions can be sects, cults, denominations or churches), what i think you mean is that christianity is a 'church' and some other religions are cults. Christianity is not a 'church' because there are so many different types of christianity, Roman Catholocism is concidered a church although many people now classify it as a denomination. The system most widely used to classify different form of religion is that churches and cults both claim a monopoly on the truth whereas denominations and sects only offer their interpretation of the truth, cults and sect are concidered deviant (because they are small and usually newly formed) and churches and denominations aren't. Christianity it's self can be cultic.

[DeadMan]

The difference between a cult and a religion?

Billions of supporters.

DeadMan.

[Misodoctakleidist]

Originally posted by [email protected] 12 2003, 08:39 PM
The difference between a cult and a religion?

Billions of supporters.

DeadMan.
no, a cult is a religion.

[ComradeRobertRiley]

Cults - praise the sun, stars, moon, acid rain

Religion - praises the invisible man

[SonofRage]

Originally posted by [email protected] 10 2003, 04:18 AM
FYI new to the site... I am a atheist of, wow ten years now.... I also know alot about politcs, and neither of my parents are American citizens so I have been tought to look beyond what goverment says...(as I can see alot of you do...YAY!!!) anyway my question is what is the difference between a religion and a cult? How is it that a belief system like Wicka (BTW i can't spell) which is older then christianity... and most other religions is considered a cult? it has more fallowers then there are in the Methodist branch of christianity.... and a religion like suffie, is just that a religion? what about satianism... its been around as long as christianity... it only exists cause of christianity is it a religion?
You mean Wicca and you are mistaken when you say it is older than Christianity. Wicca is a modern reconstruction of more ancient beliefs but there is no direct line to "the old ways." I also don't believe Wicca is considered a cult other than by conservative Christians and Wicca is in fact a legally recognized religion in the United States.

[Misodoctakleidist]

A CULT IS A RELIGION

[jermicide]

It is all relative. I was in a Christian church when I was a kid and they were telling me that Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses were both cults. Now if you were to ask a Mormon about that he would inform you he was not in a cult, but a church (and get very pissed at you). I think in church he defined a cult as someone who edited the words of the bible, but that was just that church's definition. The difference between a cult and a religion is a matter of opinion, not anything to do with size, who they worship, or whatever.

And like Misodoctakleidist said, a cult is a religion, more/less labeled deviant.

[Jaha]

i hate to just insult all of the people who posted, but you are all wrong on some level.

in my sociology class, it was made quite clear.

there is religion
then, it is divided into=cult, sect, denomination and ecclesia

--a cult is a religion usually small and members are conned into giving away their possesions to the leaders. basically a cult is a well organized system of theft playing on peoples need for worship.

--a sect is a small religion that usually tries to keep to itself usually with strict ideals. sects dont take money from people and dont trick them

--denomination is a traditional religion, many many members and has a tendancy to be more open minded so that it doesnt need to have constant war with other denominations

--an ecclesia is an all encompassing religion. all the members of a society are automatically members of the ecclesia. it is like an official religon. like when the catholic church and the kings of europe were allied

that should help anyone with questions on religion

ahama

[Comrade Beria]

Anyone who believes in the Big Bang or a First Cause to motion in the universe must be purged by the State. Such superstitious and mythological ideas mustn't be tolerated in a diverse and multicultural society because it is a slippery slope from Theism to Capitalism.

[Misodoctakleidist]

Originally posted by [email protected] 14 2003, 01:58 AM
i hate to just insult all of the people who posted, but you are all wrong on some level.

in my sociology class, it was made quite clear.

there is religion
then, it is divided into=cult, sect, denomination and ecclesia

--a cult is a religion usually small and members are conned into giving away their possesions to the leaders. basically a cult is a well organized system of theft playing on peoples need for worship.

--a sect is a small religion that usually tries to keep to itself usually with strict ideals. sects dont take money from people and dont trick them

--denomination is a traditional religion, many many members and has a tendancy to be more open minded so that it doesnt need to have constant war with other denominations

--an ecclesia is an all encompassing religion. all the members of a society are automatically members of the ecclesia. it is like an official religon. like when the catholic church and the kings of europe were allied

that should help anyone with questions on religion

ahama
so we're not all wrong because thats pretty much what i said except you use the word ecclesia instead of church and i use Ernst Troeltsch's classification system (the one used by most sociologists) whereas you use a generalised description but to pretty much the same effect

[Dingo]

Originally posted by Comrade [email protected] 14 2003, 03:20 AM
Anyone who believes in the Big Bang or a First Cause to motion in the universe must be purged by the State. Such superstitious and mythological ideas mustn't be tolerated in a diverse and multicultural society because it is a slippery slope from Theism to Capitalism.
K I hope you are jokeing, I really do cause I would hate to think that even the communist cause which I assume you support.... (please tell me if I am wrong on that) is in essance a Atheist goverment... As far as my right to be in thsi country you have to look no further then the pesky pice of paper called the constituion... I also wanna say that believeing in the Big Bang is just as stupid in my mind as believeing in creationism.... Most atheists (points to self) are willing to tell you that the big bang theroy is not a good one.... come up with something else and let me know...

[hawarameen]

Originally posted by Comrade [email protected] 14 2003, 03:20 AM
Anyone who believes in the Big Bang or a First Cause to motion in the universe must be purged by the State. Such superstitious and mythological ideas mustn't be tolerated in a diverse and multicultural society because it is a slippery slope from Theism to Capitalism.
that made NO sense to me

[Rasta Sapian]

yo dude! If a cult is a religion than why is it called it cult?

If a bean is bean what is a pea?

answer: a great relief :D

Analogy: either you cannot differenciate between the two, or you don't get the joke


peace yall

[Misodoctakleidist]

rasta sapian, a cult is a form of religion (no one is trying to claim that it is the same thing as a religion), when people say a cult is a religion they mean that a cult is a religion as is a sect or a denomination.

The correct analogy would be "if a bean is a vegetable then why is it called a bean"

Whe most of you mean when you say "the difference between a cult and a religion" is actaly "the difference between a church/denomination and a religion"

[Dingo]

*blinks* ok

[Pedro Alonso Lopez]

I flicked through this thread, I seemed to gather one view and thus unaware of any counter arguments decided to post my own.

I am an observer, a philosophe if you may so agnostic, atheist etc. I do not attach to myself, same goes politically. I have no time for it.

I would like to point out that religion as such does not brainwash people, now hold on for a moment, religions such as Islam, Judaism and Christainity, the big tree began much in the same way as a politically movement would have.

Somebody had a set of ideas relating to their own subjective psychological God and spread ideas then proceeded with their followers to put down their ideas into a book form just as Marx put down his ideas with the Manifesto.

Of course these religions like Marxism were corrupted as priests realised they could preach and thus not work in the fields etc and also that money could be made as the Romans had done with their churches etc.

Cults on the other hand are sects with one mission to enslave psychologically without choice its members for its own gain, money, sexual misdeeds etc. whereas Religion does not force its members to believe, in fact it merely offers arguments for instead of cultlike brainwashing. You could argue that being raised into religion guarantees that somebody is brainwashed but the same could be said for general educationa and your governments policies, nationalism etc but does that make your government a cult, would a Marxist country not teach its pupils about Marxism as being raised into it would qualifty Marxism as a cult.

Just some thoughts,
Geist.

[Maynard]

Comrade Beria doesn't joke ! He'll send you to the gulag for that preposterous thought !

A cult believes in rituals of worship started by a human being who usually claims to be in touch with god or is a superhuman, with them only knowing the truth. So, I think the difference is the actual rituals and is started by a human rather than claimed to be started by "god".


In matters of religious speculation,were mankind to realize the truth surely the world would be cluttered with corpses,as Napoleon once said,"Religion is what keeps the poor from killing the rich".

It would be unfortunate about the corpses no doubt but it just goes to confirm my belief , that the majority of people must reject religion before any substantial revolution can take place in advanced capitalist countries.