Cult pejoratively refers to a group whose beliefs or practices could be considered strange or sinister.[1] The term was originally used to denote a system of ritual A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers, or dictated purely by logic, chance, necessity, etc practices. The narrower, derogatory sense of the word is a product of the 20th century The 20th century of the Christian Era or Common Era began on January 1, 1901 and ended on December 31, 2000. According to the Gregorian calendar,, especially since the 1980s, and is a result of the anti-cult movement The "anti-cult movement" is a term used by academics and others to refer to groups and individuals who oppose cults and new religious movements. Sociologists David G. Bromley and Anson Shupe initially defined the ACM in 1981 as a collection of groups embracing brainwashing-theory, but later observed a significant shift in ideology, which uses the term in reference to groups seen as authoritarian, exploitative and possibly dangerous.
The popular, derogatory sense of the term has no currency in academic studies of religions Religious studies, or Religious education, is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically-based, and cross-cultural perspectives, where "cults" are subsumed under the neutral label of "new religious movement A new religious movement is a faith-based community, or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical group of recent origin. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, such as Christianity, in which case they will be distinct from pre-existing denominations. Scholars studying the sociology of religion have almost unanimously", while academic sociology Sociology is the study of human societies. It is a social science that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop and refine a body of knowledge and theory about human social activity, often with the goal of applying such knowledge to the pursuit of social welfare. Subject matter ranges from the micro level of has partly adopted the popular meaning of the term.[2][3][4]
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Cult couture designer Yves Saint Laurent on Friday unveiled its autumn/winter collection with a film from cult photographer Bruce Weber featuring ...
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