“…one person’s cult is another’s religion; all religions begin life as cults. An alternative definition is that a cult is a religion which you happen to dislike.” Anthony Campbell 1
“Cult is a word without much use outside the realm of religious mudslinging.” Philip Kennicott 2
“When someone uses the word ‘cult,’ it usually says more about them than the group,” J. Gordon Melton, founder and director of The Institute for the Study of American Religion. 3
“It’s easy to tell the difference – a cult is someone else’s religion. Corollary: “A fanatic is someone who believes something more strongly than you do.” Jim Heldberg 4
bullet “I have often thought that the difference between a cult and a religion is an IRS ruling.” Ron Barrier 4
- Anthony Campbell, “David V. Barrett: THE NEW BELIEVERS, A survey of sects, cults and alternative religions,” Book review, 2001, at: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/
- Philip Kennicott, in a Washington Post article that is no longer available online.
- Rhonda Parks Manville, “UCSB research of ‘new religions’ returns surprises,” Santa Barbara News-Press, 2004-JUL-30, at: http://news.newspress.com/
- Quotes extracted from “Heaven’s Sake!,” at: http://nowscape.com/
- Massimo Introvigne, ” ‘So many evil things:’ Anti-cult terrorism via the Internet,” Center for Studies on New Religions, 1999-AUG-5, at: http://www.cesnur.org/