Mitt Romney Is Going To Miss The "Cult" Lifestyle

[Damien the Leper]

Don't get your hopes up Mormons!! You're still a filthy cult...that I happen to hold in my heart. I like your "cult" status...you're more fun than other cults.

[Saints Alive]

Don't get your hopes up Mormons!! You're still a filthy cult...that I happen to hold in my heart. I like your "cult" status...you're more fun than other cults.

I thought you studied comparative religion? Don't most sociologist consider mormonism a sect now?

[Damien the Leper]

I thought you studied comparative religion? Don't most sociologist consider mormonism a sect now?

I am. I don't necessarily view Mormonism as a "sect". I prefer the growing opinion that it is a major world religion and not just a subset of the Judeo-Christian traditions.

ETA: I used cult as an endearment in regards to the LDS.

[thesometimesaint]

Saints Alive:

Sociologically speaking All religions are by definition cults. A sect is just a subdivision of a cult. So Islam is a by definition a cult, and Sufi/Sunni//Wahhabi are just 3 of the sects within Islam. There are some 40,000 sects within the cult of Christianity.

[Saints Alive]

Doesn't it depend upon what paradigm you use? I seem to remember there being a progression, cult, sect, religion or something along those lines.

[thesometimesaint]

My paradigm is one of a sociologist. Here in the US it's like there are different gifts under the Christmas tree. But it is still a celebration of Christ's birthday.

[TAO]

As far as I remember, it isn't considered a cult sociologically, since it has a strong hierarchial structure. However, it isn't considered on the other end either because of a strong emphasis on personal experience. So it's somewhere in the middle.