Mormonism is a cult! (so what)

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Especially if you came from Mormon Archipelago as it only includes my major article posts.
Thanks for visiting!

On Faith asks the sticky question of what constitutes a “real” religion as opposed to a cult, especially when considering Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Unlike Article VI Blog, I believe it’s a useful discussion because most posts come to similar conclusions that the word “cult” doesn’t have a very useful meaning and is more of a perjorative to forward an agenda.

Unsurprisingly,  On Faith’s LDS posters, Kathleen Flake and Michael Otterson have both posted.  I think Flake sums up the use of “cult” rather well:

Rather, the word has become a means of asserting separation, even if it doesn’t exist. Cult asserts religious difference in value-laden terms at the expense of one religion and for the benefit of another. Cult is a way of saying you are not like us, the good guys, and don’t you forget it.

And as other posters note, the definition of cult is so amorphous, most if not all religions can be categorized as such (I would also add political ideologies as well).

This an age old question that is unlikely to go away.  But, I hope it’s beneficial to the perception that while Mormons are different and have unique beliefs, so does everyone else.  We may not be “creedal” Christians but we are not so different that using the label of “cult” is unproductive.

But then again, maybe Mormonism is a cult after all.