Religious Cults

7 Pages 1684 Words

Beliefs of Variation
Religious cults have become a major issue in American society. Because of so much controversy about cults, many supporters and critics have emerged. Religious cults have evolved over different views of religion. The diversity of cults provides a fascinating study into the practices that effect religious morals in today’s society.
The word “cult” has been separated into many different definitions. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines a cult as “a system of religious worship: devotion, homage to a person or thing.” Several conservative and vocal Christian leaders insist that any group that is non-religious is a cult. Millions of people would be considered cultist by this definition (Zeinert 12). Many social scientists refuse to use the word “cult” because of its negative effect. Instead, they use terms such as “new religion” or “alternative religion” when referring to groups with unusual faiths (14). A final definition defines cults by their practices or lifestyles, instead of by their religious beliefs. They define cults as having an all-powerful leader or leaders who claim to have special abilities or powers. This idea of what a cult is has become the most commonly used and accepted by today’s society (13).
For many years people have turned to religion in difficult times. Social, political and economic changes have made people want to turn to new religions or other gods simply because the old ones failed to protect them (15). Native Americans brought religious beliefs to the United States more than 30,000 years ago. During the 1600’s, the first colonies came from England bringing different religious beliefs. They included Puritans, Catholics, Quakers, Mormons, Huguenots, Christians, and Lutherans. The development of new religions began when all these different groups of people began to interact. Other factors have also been found to play key roles in the development of cults.
The U.S...