The difference between a cult and a religion?

[trotsky]

[WillParkinson]

1. I disagree...

The person at the top of a religion also knows it's a scam.

A cult is any religion that takes away money or sheeple from yours, or does what you do but just a little bit better.

All religions are cults. Not all cults are religious.

[DetlefK]

4. Your argument makes absolutely no sense.

1. By your logic all religions are about money, which is demonstrably false.

2. "A cult is any religion that ..." is contradicted by "Not all cults are religious."

[MrModerate]

9. Yep. That argument done swallowed its own tail. n/t

[Warpy]

5. I look at it a bit differently

Religions are cults that have survived at least 100 years after the death of their founders.

[trotsky]

6. That's a good distinction.

Branch Davidians only have 81 more years to go!

[dmallind]

2. About 50,000 genuine adherents seems to be the switching point, give or take. nt

[Joseph8th]

3. Yup. It's the number of adherents, period. nt

[ZombieHorde]

7. You have been very misled, which is understandable considering the anti-cult propaganda

that is spread around all of the time.

Most cult leaders are extremely devout. Some of them have died for their religious convictions.

For example, the Source Family's cult leader died when he thought he could contact our winged ancestors and receive spontaneous lessons from them on hang gliding.

After one of co-founder's of Heaven's Gate passed away from cancer, the remaining members decided they could not get on Jesus' space ship in their physical form, and they all committed suicide after a few years. They were very open to new members that they were planning to kill themselves, yet people stilled joined.

[edcantor]

8. I see cults and religions about the same, but

it's about the survival of the fittest and how those that produce more and intimidate more and amass more wealth from the environment that they exist in, those among the very lucky, "fittest" go on to become established as a "religion".

It's all about evolution. Religions are cults that "evolved" into perpetual money-making powerhouses, and into the vast intellectual wastelands they are today. If you want your cult to become an established religion, collect a lot of $ and keep the bullshit flowing, preferably with some good music and costumes.

[backscatter712]

10. I'd say the only difference between a religion and a cult...

is that a religion has more real-estate.