so something i found interesting while scouring the internet to see what other people have said about the difference between religion and cults...

"I think Michael Foucault may have something to say about this, in a sideways way: Foucault said that the difference between a real science and a pseudoscience is that a real science is not afraid of its history; he points out that chemists are willing to discuss the emergence of chemistry from alchemy, but that he caused a perfect storm of controversy in analyzing the historical origins of psychiatry. It seems to me that this applies accurately to churches and cults, and perhaps individual members as well."

Secondly, I would just like to say that distinct parallels could be drawn between the power struggle of the early churches and the Roman empire with the power struggle between Falun Gong and the Chinese government. All I have to say about this is we are assuming that Falun Gong is a cult when we don't even know what it is.

Thirdly, I believe that we are getting the idea that cults somehow are insidious in their nature. Is it fair to assume this when we haven't even defined what cults are (unless we are defining cults as insidious)? Just because something is painted as insidious (and I would agree if you were to say that the early churches were believed to be insidious and described as such) doesn't make it a cult. If that's the case, it turns out that anything that is not part of the governing structure (by this, I mean anything that can constitute a power relationship over an individual whether it be government or culture) is inherently a cult, because if it's not part of the system, it's endangering the system. Does that mean that Christianity is not a cult in America because Christian beliefs and doctrines are the prevailing underlying foundation for societal structure? If we went elsewhere in the world where Christianity is the minority, would it be a cult?

I have to say that while it might be tempting to simply say that it all depends on cultural constructs, it's too easy an answer and doesn't actually explore the finer details of why... say Christianity is not persecuted (although controlled) in China while Falun Gong is? (Not that Falun Gong is a cult. But if we are accepting the cultural construct argument, then Falun Gong is a cult - but so should Christianity). Arguing that Christianity is somehow controllable while Falun Gong isn't is a ridiculous argument. Arguing so would be saying that thought can be controlled in certain forms but not others (even if that's the case, who's going to judge that? the Chinese government?)

Fourthly, you can't argue that the difference between religion and cults is simply time. What about witchcraft? There have been cults of witchcraft that have existed for centuries. No one claims that they are religions. (And don't make some half-assed remark that witchcraft doesn't happen today.)

sigh. i'm still thinking about this one. i think it's hard but incredibly important. argh, im gonna go to bed. i hope you all are faring well.

posted by Bryan Lee   [3:15 PM]

[ website ] :: [ contact ] :: [ home ]

XML