Defining New Religions, Sects, and Cults Flashcards
What is a sect, according to Max Weber?
Max Weber used the term “sect” to refer to Christian splinter groups that had broken away from mainline denominations.
What do most sects consider themselves to be?
A purer form of the faith.
What do most sects often denounce?
The parent institution and adopt stricter rules.
What do most sects introduce?
They also introduce new modes of worship or distinct clothing to set them apart from the rest.
What happens to most sects with the passage of time?
Most of these sects either fade away or move back to th mainstream denominations.
What is a cult, in reality?
Cult is a neutral term synonymous with “worship” or “religion.”
How is “cult” perceived in today’s popular media?
As a negative new movement.
What is a “cult” assumed to be in mainstream media, including the role of the leader?
- Cult is assumed to be a small group under the control of a charismatic leader
- This leader is suspected of brainwashing followers, and promoting self destructive, illegal, or immoral behaviours.
True or False: the boundaries between a sect (or new religion) and a cult are quite vague.
True
What was Mormonism called in its beginning?
A cult
What is the Hare Krishna an example of?
- The Hare Krishna is a sect of Hinduism in India
- But in the West, it is labelled as a cult, due to its members’ unusual dress and practices, which are very distinct from the mainstream of Hinduism.
What type of definitions are “new religion” and “cult”?
political definitions
What is the political difference between the treatment of a “new religion” and a “cult”? (in terms of how they are defined, given that they are the same thing)
- A movement that is accepted by outsiders as a “new religion” would enjoy all the constitutional protection such as tax exemptions afforded to established religion
- But a movement that is labelled a “cult” is likely to attract scrutiny, if not harassment.
What are the following examples of? :
- In divorce cases where custody of the children is in dispute, it is not unusual to label one parent with a “cult” to argue that he/she is unfit.
- In political race, one candidate received damaging media attention because his wife was thought to be associated with a “cult.”
“Cult” being a political definition
What are 5 identity patterns that many cults share?
1) Each cult has a charismatic individual leader who demands extreme loyalty
2) Adherents of a cult may be required to work long hours for little or no pay, for the cause of the movement.
3) Cults typically have their own (new) interpretation of scriptures, rituals, and modes of worship
4) They focus more on individual spiritual experience than institutional organization
5) Members of a cult cut ties with family, denounce former religious practices.
Why happened with Jim Jones and People’s Temple at Jonestown, Guyana?
- In 1978, Jim Jones lead a mass suicide, killing 909 of its members.
- This mass suicide is considered the greatest single loss of American life before the 9/11 tragedy.
- Before suicide, Jones said: “We did not commit suicide, we committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the condition of an inhuman world.”
What is the case of the Solar Temple Cult?
In the mid 1990s, more than 70 meters, in France, Switzerland, Quebec, died of mass murder and suicide.
What was the Solar Temple Cult trying to combine?
Christianity and Islam
What is the Branch Davidian cult compound in Waco, Texas?
In 1993, 80 members committed suicide after an assault by law enforcement officers.
What is the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments?
In Uganda, 780 members of this break away of Catholic cult were either murdered or committed group suicide.
