Cult
punct.
| ← Previous revision | Revision as of 10:23, 21 April 2026 | ||
| Line 5: | Line 5: | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date= March 2019}} |
{{Use dmy dates|date= March 2019}} |
||
'''Cults''' are [[social group]]s which have unusual, and often extreme, [[Religion|religious]], [[spirituality|spiritual]], or [[Philosophy|philosophical]] beliefs and [[ritual]]s. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or [[goal]] is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term has different, divergent and often [[pejorative]] |
'''Cults''' are [[social group]]s which have unusual, and often extreme, [[Religion|religious]], [[spirituality|spiritual]], or [[Philosophy|philosophical]] beliefs and [[ritual]]s. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or [[goal]] is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term has different, divergent and often [[pejorative]] definitions both in [[popular culture]] and academia and has been an ongoing source of contention among scholars across several fields of study. |
||
Beginning in the 1930s, [[new religious movement]]s became an object of [[sociological]] study within the context of the [[Study of religion|study of religious behavior]]. Since the 1940s, the [[Christian countercult movement]] has opposed some [[sect]]s and new religious movements, labeling them cults because of their [[Heterodoxy|unorthodox beliefs]]. Since the 1970s, the secular [[anti-cult movement]] has opposed certain groups, which they call cults, accusing them of practicing [[brainwashing]]. |
Beginning in the 1930s, [[new religious movement]]s became an object of [[sociological]] study within the context of the [[Study of religion|study of religious behavior]]. Since the 1940s, the [[Christian countercult movement]] has opposed some [[sect]]s and new religious movements, labeling them cults because of their [[Heterodoxy|unorthodox beliefs]]. Since the 1970s, the secular [[anti-cult movement]] has opposed certain groups, which they call cults, accusing them of practicing [[brainwashing]]. |
||
