New religious movementA new religious movement or NRM appears as a religious, ethical or spiritual grouping that has not (yet) become recognised as a standard denomination, church, or body. Some scholars prefer this neutral term to the pejorative term of "cult", but anti-cult activists still continue to use it, as anti-cult scholars provide the scientific base. Debates among academics on acceptablity of the word "cult" in scholarly research papers continue. Eileen Barker, who is influential in this field, uses the adjective new in this context when the movement started after World War II and new for a certain culture. For example, ISKCON/ the Hare Krishnas is generally considered an NRM in the west because it is new to western culture and because it is a separate organization. In India it is unlikely that it will be considered an NRM because the Gaudiya (Bengali) Vaishnava sect of Hinduism that formed the basis for ISKCON's organization has existed since the 17th century. NRMs are very diverse. Examples of new religious movements might include:
Definitions of The Term CultThe literal and traditional meanings of the word cult, which are more fully explored at the entry Cult (religion), derive from the Latin cultus, meaning "care" or "adoration", as "a system of religious belief or ritual; or: the body of adherents to same." In French or Spanish, culte or culto simply means "worship"; thus an association cultuelle is an association whose goal is to organize worship and quite distinct from an association culturale or "cultural association". The word for "cult" is secte (French) or secta (Spanish). (See false cognate.) In German or Russian the word sekta (sect) has a slightly different meaning than the English word cult in addition to the German word Sekte. In formal English use, and in non-English European terms, the cognates of the English word "cult" are neutral, and refer mainly to divisions within a single faith, a case where English speakers might use the word "sect". Hence Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism are cults within Christianity. In English, it remains perfectly neutral to refer to the "cult of Artemis at Ephesus" and the "cult figures" that accompanied it, or to "the importance of the Ave Maria in the cult of the Virgin." Although anti-cult activists and scholars did not agree on precise criteria that new religiouns should meet to be considered "cults". Two of the several existing definitions formulated by anti-cult activists are:
The problem with defining the word cult is that (1) purported cult members generally resist being called a cult, and (2) the word cult is often used to marginalize religious groups with which one does not agree or sympathize. Some serious researchers of religion and sociology prefer to use terms such as new religious movement in their research on cults. Such usage may lead to confusion because some religious movements are "new" but not necessarily cults, and some purported cults are not religious or overtly religious. Where a cult practises physical or mental abuse, psychologists and other mental health professionals use the terms cult, abusive cult, or destructive cult. The popular press also commonly uses these terms. However, not all cults function abusively or destructively, and among those that psychologists believe are abusive, few members would agree that they suffer abuse. Other researchers like David V. Barrett hold the view that classifying a religious movement as a cult has no added value, instead, he argues, that one should investigate the beliefs and practices of the religious movement. [9] Some groups, particularly those labeled by others as cults, view the designation as insensitive, and feel persecuted by what they call the "anti-cult movement", the existence of which is disputed. Such groups often defend their position by comparing themselves to more established, mainstream religious groups such as Catholicism and Judaism. The argument offered in this case can usually be simplified as, "Christianity and Judaism can also be defined as cults under some definitions of the term, and therefore the term cult is superfluous and useless." Members of groups referred to as cults have been known to engage in long discussions over the definition of the word "cult." Critics of alleged cult groups state that by doing so, these persons have been known to waste large amounts of time and effort that would be better spent examining the actions of the groups in question, so as to reveal why these groups are referred to as cults. Another problem with writing about cults comes about because they generally hold belief systems that give answers to questions about the meaning of life and morality. This makes it difficult not to write in biased terms about a certain cult, because writers are not neutral about these questions. Some writers who deal with the subject choose to explicitly state their ethical values and belief systems to deal with this difficulty. For many scholars and professional commentators, the usage of the word "cult" applies to maleficent or abusive behavior, and not to a belief system. For members of competing religions, use of the word remains pejorative and applies primarily to rival beliefs (see memes), and only incidentally to behavior. History of The Term CultIn religion and sociology, a cult is a group with a religious or philosophical identity, often existing on the margins of society. Its marginal status may come about either due to its novel belief system or due to idiosyncratic practices that cause the surrounding culture to regard it as far outside the mainstream. In English-speaking countries since about the 1960s, especially in North America, the term cult has taken on a pejorative and sometimes offensive connotation. This is largely originated with highly-publicized cults which were widely believed to exploit their members psychologically and financially, or which were accused of group-based persuasion techniques (sometimes called the discredited theory of "brainwashing", "love bombing" or the controversial concept of "mind control"). As typified by many of the widely-publicized North American cults from the 1960s and later, the quintessential modern cult is thought to be religion taken to the extreme, usually characterized by high levels of dependency and obedience to the cult's leadership, by separation from family and non-believers, and by the infiltration of religion into nearly every aspect of daily life. Beginning in the 1980s, a movement among conservative and fundamentalist Christians has sought to expand the meaning of cult to include groups practising unique forms of Christianity, whose marginality within society remains highly controversial. Because of the increasingly pejorative connotation of the word cult, most members of these groups find the word offensive when applied to them. See anti-cult movement. On the other hand, some skeptics have questioned the distinction between a cult and a mainstream religion. They say that the only difference between a cult and a religion is that the latter is older and has more followers and as a consequence seems less controversial because society has become used to it.
Common Concerns About People Involved in CultsThe above-mentioned historical examples are extreme and rare. Informed relatives of cult members and ex-members of cults (in the meaning of abusive new religious movements) generally know this and are often concerned about other things than mass suicides or homicides. According to Barker (1989), the biggest worry about possible harm concerns the relatively few decidated followers of a NRM. It generally does not concern the many superficial, or short-lived, or peripheral supporters of a NRM. Lost time and opportunityCult members pay a lot of time and energy to their involvement, naturally at the expense of career opportunities and friends and family. Betrayal of trustMembers usually sincerely believe in the propaganda of cults. When they find out that it was all a sham, then this can be a devastating experience. Leaving a cultMembership in a cult usually does not last forever: 90% or more of cult members ultimately leave their group [2,4] For various reasons, it can be very difficult to leave a cult. One of the reasons is that a cult belief system and cult involvement can give meaning to life, both philosophically and in daily life. Members may love or feel devotion for the leader. Even if the member knows that something is wrong, leaving the cult and the transition to a life after the cult may be painful and long. The ex-member may either cling to some extent to the old belief system or be completely without any beliefs and value system at all. Besides the member usually loses a lot of friends. In some cases the ex member may lose all his friends and family. Some members live in a commune or ashram, have no money and job outside the cult. For them it may be nearly impossible to leave Prevalence of Purported CultsBy one measure, between 3,000 and 5,000 purported cults existed in the United States in 1995. [6] While some of the more well-known and influential of these groups are frequently labelled as cults, the majority of these groups vigorously protest the label and refuse to be classified as such, and often expend great efforts in public relations campaigns to rid themselves of the stigma of the term cult. For a list of groups frequently labelled as cults, see Purported cults. Cults and GovernmentsIn many countries there exist separation of church and state and freedom of religion. Some governments are however worried about cults and take restrictive measures against them.
Some countries give cults almost total freedom and undertake action only when the laws are broken, for example: Japan, the Netherlands and the USA. In the Netherlands cults can even found their own schools with money from the government. The Sathya Sai Baba Organisation in India appears as a notable exception: it has broken laws without suffering government persecution. See Also
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Categories: Cults | New religious movements |
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