Christian cults

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.

There are a number of ways the term "Christian cult" is used; some of them are briefly described below.

[edit] Christian "mind control cult"

Christian cults is one designation used to distinguish between two types of so-called "mind control cults": those having an apparent Christian basis, and those with no such basis. This definition is based on the secular cult opposition definition of "cult".

According to this schema, a Christian cult would be defined as any religious tradition that has the following characteristics:

1. A body of doctrine that is at least nominally based on the Christian Bible.
2. A societal organization that includes the totalitarian thought-reform and life-control tactics normally considered characteristic of a cult.

Some Christian authorities extend the definition to include any organization based on nominally Christian doctrine that is aberrant from some benchmark definition of Christianity, but this definition is not accepted outside certain conservative and evangelical circles as being overly slanted and inflammatory.

The "Christian" qualifier distinguishes these groups from groups such as Scientology, which critics say fit the classic cultic pattern but are not based on Christian doctrine. Alleged examples include groups such as the Unification Church, The Way International, the Twelve Tribes, and the International Churches of Christ. These organizations have been accused of totalitarian behavior, some of which also have the added factor of a personality cult surrounding the group leader.

[edit] Unorthodoxy

Another definition of Christian cults might be those Churches and Religious organisation not accepted by the mainline Christian Churches. The reason for non acceptance might be doctrinal. All the mainline Christian Churches for example accept the doctine of the Holy Trinity. Some classifications of Christian Cults would include those groups which reject that doctrine. For this category of organisation, a softer term Christian Sect might be more appropriate.

[edit] See also

• List of groups referred to as cults