this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2025
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Might be more sensitive to say "small religions" instead of "cults", since that word has been co-opted by Christians for their moral panic
Disagree. Let's just call religions "big cults" instead.
Why do you think big religions are not included?
Propaganda from big religions trying to convince everyone they're not as harmful as cults, that's why. Back in the 70s the Christians villified the word "cult" and the concept of a small religion, trying to use slander to take out the competition. They roped plenty of non-christians and even scientists into their moral panic. And that moral panic has become the basis of our very language. Rimu probably didn't even think about leaving large religions out of that list, because hatred of small religions specifically is so normalised. That's why large religions weren't included.
I meant it opposite of your interpretation. "Why do you think it excludes big religions from the cult definition?" I completely agree with you, just wanted to make a small joke about big religions also just being some cults that survived a bit longer.
Because cult means "small religion", or at least it meant that before the 1970s, and I refuse to let monotheists decide the definitions of words.
Understandable. I checked the Wikipedia definition, because I didn't know a proper definition for cult.
So it isn't exactly wrong to call all religions cults, according to the old meaning, even before it meant small religions. But out was more aligned to certain places, like the cult of Apollo in Delphi with its oracle.
I've got a better definition for you, from line 1:
What is common is not unusual.
The preferred term in the study of cults is "high demand religion".