Creeds and Cults

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touch with everyone outside of the group. The followers had to give the church most of the money that they earned. Davis said that as a child he saw the group members use the world of god to exploit the people (Davis 3). This shows the true agenda of cults. The truth is hidden behind a religious practice, when usually, malicious intent lurks behind a seemingly normal group of people.

Religion and cults both share almost all of the same characteristics; leaders who claim to be divine/are more “enlightened” than the others, followers who adopt the leader’s way of thinking and have certain rituals involved in their culture (“What is Religion”). While this is true, there are also characteristics that set them apart. For some people, what sets cults and religion apart is how they treat one who does not follow their ways, and how they treat those who want to leave their group.When a group claims an exalted status for itself and/or has an “us-versus-them” mentality, the group tends to isolate itself from society. Eliyahu Federman, an activist against cults, wrote an article called “When Organized Religion Becomes a Cult”. He hypothesizes that when they will only socialize with other group members and require that followers must do whatever the leaders deem necessary. Religion will become a cult when they shun and ostracize those who don’t accept their beliefs of those who want to leave their group (Federman). Most times if they shun and ostracize people, they will eventually fall apart eventually because they will become self-destructive.

For others, the divider between cults and religion is simply time. Sam Fleischacker, a professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago, hypothesised that once a cult is established for several generations, it’s a religion. When a group partakes in self-destructive, oppressive, antisocial, and violent behavior, they are likely to draw attention from authorities around them and are likely to fall apart (Fleischacker). Groups that teach the message of their beliefs to their youths, are likely to continue. If their teachings are too bizarre for their youths, it is most likely that they will lose the loyalty of the youths and taper off until there are no more followers. Groups must also allow their members to function as citizens. They need to be able to “find jobs in society and also maintain neighborly and economic relationships with other members of society”(Fleischacker). These aspects will allow groups to blossom into a true religion (Fleischacker). For example, the Mormons were once viewed as a “cult”, but they have allowed their members to live as citizens and now, they live with mutual respect and peace with outsiders. They are now considered a religion. Another example is Christianity. When Christianity first began, it followed many aspects that define a cult; its leader claimed to be divine, the beliefs were different from the norm at the time, and the followers adopted the leader’s beliefs. At that time and for many years to come, Christianity was most definitely viewed as a “cult”. After it was established for multiple generations, people stopped viewing it as a dangerous group of people and today it is the world’s most largely practiced religion. As Fleischacker hypothesized, practically all religions start out as cults, but when they are not self-destructive (like Mormonism and Christianity), they can thrive and establish themselves and eventually be recognized as an official religion.

Chart 1. This chart shows amount of times a certain religious grouping is referred to as a cult in books. "Cults vs. Religions." Triangulations. Woldpress.com. Web. 11 May 2014.

In Chart 1, Mormons, Christian Scientists, and Jehovah Witnesses are all shown to be recognized as a cult in the late 1800s. Today, all three are recognized as religions because they survived for multiple generations due to their self-preservation. The groups recognized as a cult in the sixties such as The Manson Family, Jonestown, Heaven’s Gate, and Aum Shinrikyo are still considered cults because they haven’t survived multiple generations because they are all self-destructive. They all committed some kind of crime or act that was seen to the public as taboo or immoral causing them to lose members and respect.

Both religions and cults will continue to evolve with man. Since the beginning of written history, humans have had some form of religion or spirituality. But when does this spirituality become unacceptable in society? Do certain belief systems always start out as unacceptable and with time will evolve or will they always be unwelcomed? For some people, all religions are cults. For others, it’s the complete opposite. Drawing the line between the two can be incredibly difficult.

Work Cited

· Davis, Joyce. “Raised in a Cult”. Jet/23.6 (2014): 22. Mas Ultra-School Edition. Web. 14 Apr. 2014\

· "Cults vs. Religions." Triangulations. Woldpress.com. Web. 11 May 2014.

· Federman, Eliyahu. “When Organized Religion Becomes a Cult”. The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Sept. 2013. Web. 14 Apr. 2014

· Fleischacker, Sam. “Mormonism: Cult vs. Religion: What’s the Difference?”. Baltimore Sun. 13 Oct. 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2014

· Guest, Tim. My Life In Orange. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2005. Print

· Langone, Michael D. “How Cults Rewire the Brain”. The Huffington Post: TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 Sept. 2013. Web. 14 Apr. 2014

· “Life in a Religious Community”. Sisters of Bon Secours RSS. Sisters of Bon Secours USA, nd. Web. 18 Apr. 2014

· Pellegrino, Mary. “Life on the Margins.” America. 209.12 (2013):46. Masterfile Premier. 2013. Print.

· “What is Religion All About?” What is Religion? Credong.org nd. Web. 18 Apr. 2014

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