Stem Word Cult Essay

The word ‘cult’ comes from the Latin root word cultus that means to till, or plant. What is planted? Basic human desires, such as receiving love from a community of people, loving others, and finding a loving and higher power to worship (Barden, 10).

There are three different definitions of a cult that have been used in recent years. The first is from early twentieth century conservative Christians. This definition refers to any other religion that is not teaching traditional Christian learnings (Kellaher,13). The second definition is the one most commonly associated with cults, as it is most present in media and amongst the general public. It became popular along with the anti cult movement of the late 60s and 70s, mostly comprised of parents and families alarmed by what they claimed to be ‘brainwashing’ of their youths. In other words, these people believe that cults “deceive victims to lure new members into the group. However, these two definitions are not what most historians and scholars use. Instead, they say that a cult is a religious group that is

First of all, cults are either Messianic or Millenarian. The former uses the stem word ‘messiah’ and is a group that places great reliance on power and the spirituality of a leader (Barden 39). Said leader claims to be the sole salvation of his or her followers. Meanwhile, Millenarian cults claim to be able to predict a dramatic event that usually includes the end of the world as we know it (Barden 40). There is also an existing division between the orientation of the teachings that cults preach. Asian-oriented cults focus on meditation. Christian-oriented groups are the most common ones in America, with a strong emphasis on early ties to evangelical Christian religions (Barden 42). Meanwhile, scientific oriented groups are pretty self explanatory, one example would be the Church of