Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. A cult is a group that centers around a shared devotion to a person, belief, or ideology These groups often require intense devotion and loyalty and use manipulation and control to enforce and maintain power. The meaning of cult is a group (as an organization or religious sect) with tenets and practices regarded as coercive, insular, or dangerous —often used before another noun. The term “cult” refers most often to a group of people with usually atypical beliefs living in relative isolation from the world They tend to centralize around one charismatic person—the cult leader—who orders the beliefs, behaviors, and customs of all the other members.
When exactly does a group go from organized religion to cult In anthropology, an organization for the conduct of ritual, magical, or other religious observances
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