Religion
In reply to the discussion: Does anyone here think there is too much religious entitlement here on DU? [View all]cbayer
(146,218 posts)I think there is more potential for danger in a cult.
I have seen a few tables comparing cults to religion that I though made some valid points, but I really haven't seen anything I would consider definitive. Even the site you link to seems to struggle with this.
Agree that there is the risk of the word being misused and that it could lead to bigotry. The differences to me have been in the area of brainwashing, though I am sure that many would argue that there is a lot of grey area there.
My objection comes up when the weak statement "religion is just a cult with more members" is made. That means nothing and completely ignores that there really are valid differences.
Using the term "harmful cult" might help defang that position.
Thanks for your thoughts on this. I don't think it is likely to be resolved, but i do think we can be clearer when we speak to each other.