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The word "cult" is derived from the Latin term cultus, which means worship. [2] In English the term cult usually carries derogatory connotations. [3] The term is variously applied to abusive or coercive groups of many categories, including gangs, organized crime, and terrorist organizations. [4]
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.
The following is a list of religious slurs or religious insults in the English language that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about adherents or non-believers of a given religion or irreligion, or to refer to them in a derogatory (critical or disrespectful), pejorative (disapproving or contemptuous), or insulting manner.
Critics and former cult members, too, could help give you a reality check. For religious cults, "seek out a seminary-trained theologian who you can discuss what the teachings are."
The term "cult" first appeared in English in 1617, derived from the French culte, meaning "worship" which in turn originated from the Latin word cultus meaning "care, cultivation, worship". The meaning "devotion to a person or thing" is from 1829. Starting about 1920, "cult" acquired an additional six or more positive and negative definitions.
Cult following, a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific work of culture; Cargo cult, a religious practice ritually mimicking another culture, popular in Melanesia in the late 1900s; Cult of personality, when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized, heroic, and at times, worshipful image
Most NRMs will tend to only have a few members while some of them have thousands of members, and a few of them have more than a million members. The word cult in current usage is a term often used to describe a new religious movement (NRM) or any group whose beliefs, practices, or organizational structures are viewed as abnormal, eccentric, or ...
The sources of the rituals, titles and even the name of KKK may be found in antebellum college fraternities and secret societies such as the Kuklos Adelphon. [1] Earlier source material, however, states, The ceremony of initiation was borrowed from some of the features of the introduction of candidates of the long defunct Sons of Malta and other like societies, and was calculated to, and did ...