Is the Raelian Movement a cult?
First of all we must define the meaning of the word “cult”. The word cult does not imply any good or bad connotation. The Webster dictionary, defines a cult as a “system of religious beliefs and rituals, as well as its members.” Based on this simple definition, each church can be classified as a cult. Nevertheless, there is another definition which is given in Websters and which is closer to the use of the word as it is employed by theologians and sociologists: “a religion which is considered spurious or not quite orthodox, and also to its members.” Another definition of the word cult is: “a great devotion to a person, idea or thing.” In this sense, the answer is yes. It is thanks to the word “cult” that we have the word “culture”. The Catholic church is another successful cult.
