Cult is an type of religion, often small in size of members, which believes in outlandish ideas often about an person or an object. While they may hold beliefs of mainstream religions, they may add their personal beliefs onto it while believing in popular religions.
Religion[]
Since the 1930s, cults became the object of sociological study in the context of the study of religious behavior.[1]
From the 1940s the Christian countercult movement opposed sects and new religious movements, labeling them as cults for alleged "un-Christian" unorthodox beliefs.
The secular anti-cult movement began in the 1970s opposing certain groups that were considered deviants. The Movement charged deviant religions for allegedly using mind control. It motivated and in some cases promoted acts of violence by some of mainstream members. Some of the claims and actions of the anti-cult movements have been disputed by scholars and by the news media, leading to further public controversy.
References[]
- ↑ Erwin Fahlbusch, Geoffrey William Bromiley – The Encyclopedia of Christianity: P-Sh, Volume 4 p. 897. Retrieved 21 March 2013.