TLDR - what’s the question mark in the following scale
Cult(-1)……………….Religion(0)……………….???(+1)
Long version (a.k.a my stupid mind’s question that is keeping me awake):
My understanding of cult is a group of people with an absurd or even possibly nefarious belief system. Like something negative.
By that definition I would put religion in the middle (though a majority of it leans towards the cult side). A group of people that is very serious about what they believe in, no matter how illogical it is.
So with this understanding what would you call the positive side ? A group of people coming together to have a tradition and belief system just for the fun of it ? Is there such thing ?
12 Step Support groups.
No dues or fees; no full time leaders; you are a member if you say you are and no one can say you aren’t.
I expect many downvotes.
Oh good lord no.
Those are almost universally built on religion, and most are very cult-like. If that’s your take on them, I suspect you haven’t had more than a superficial interaction with them.
I’ve been through a couple of 12step programs. Some are most deff cult like.
So, there were others that weren’t?
A couple. By and large though, I’ve found more that were cultish than weren’t. Some are so cultish that the ones they “support” try to avoid them.