Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The application of the labels "cults" or "sects" to (for example) religious movements in government documents usually signifies the popular and negative use of the term "cult" in English and a functionally similar use of words translated as "sect" in several European languages.
A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, [1] is the result of an effort which is made to create an idealized and heroic image of a glorious leader, often through unquestioning flattery and praise.
Religious scholar Catherine Wessinger argued the term was dehumanizing of the people within the group, as well as their children; following the Waco siege, it was argued by some scholars that the defining of the Branch Davidians as a cult by the media, government and former members is a significant factor as to what lead to the deaths. [16]
The anti-cult movement, abbreviated ACM and also known as the countercult movement, [1] consists of various governmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals that seek to raise awareness of religious groups that they consider to be "cults", uncover coercive practices used to attract and retain members, and help those who have become involved with harmful cult practices.
For these and other reasons, the US government said that by the time he died, "Niyazov's personality cult … had reached the dimensions of a state-imposed religion." [ 217 ] Human Rights Watch , in its World Report 2012 , said there was a cult of personality of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow and that it was strengthening. [ 218 ]
DON'T MISS: 14 US presidents who were members of one of the most powerful secret societies in history. DON'T FORGET: The 13 most powerful members of 'Skull and Bones' Show comments.
The exact qualifications for labeling a group a secret society are disputed, but definitions generally rely on the degree to which the organization insists on secrecy, and might involve the retention and transmission of secret knowledge, the denial of membership or knowledge of the group, the creation of personal bonds between members of the organization, and the use of secret rites or rituals ...
While the historical usage of the term "sect" in Christendom has had pejorative connotations, referring to a group or movement with heretical beliefs or practices that deviate from those of groups considered orthodox, [12] [13] its primary meaning is to indicate a community which has separated itself from the larger body from which its members ...