Is there any difference between a religion (or, if you prefer, all religions but the true one), and a cult? It seems to me that almost every major religion must have started as a cult with a small following and a charismatic leader. Certainly Islam, Christianity, Mormonism, scientology, etc all fit this mold.

But, it they are not the "one true religion", are these not simply cults that, for whatever reason, caught on and lasted longer than most other cults which flame out quickly?

I think, if true, this would call into question the idea that we should "respect other beliefs". Why? Would we respect the Jim Jones followers, or Heavens Gate, or any of the other fringe cults? I don't think we should base our treatment of a cult on how popular it happened to get. Mormonism, for ex... clearly a cult IMO. Christianity also, at least if you don't believe in the divinity of Jesus. Islam obviously.

Your should respect their beliefs just like you would want them to respect your beliefs. And I believe that most people only feel that you should respect others beliefs insofar as they do not harm others.

I don't know about respecting the beliefs themselves, but I think we should respect and acknowledge the fact that everyone has the right to believe and practice whatever they want, provided it doesn't hurt anyone. I think Scientology is downright silly, I don't really have a problem saying that.

Fair enough but is scientology more silly than Islam or Christianity? If you operate on the assumption that they are all cults, you can easily point out silly beliefs in all of them. If Scientology somehow became bigger than Islam in terms of the number of followers, it would then get treated like a "real" religion. But it's still a cult.

I disagree with this. The reason we can be so sure that Scientology is false is because it is not yet in the fog of history. We know exactly what Scientology is. We know it was created by a science fiction writer, we know you have to pay into it to get to different levels of it, and we know that a lot of their "tools" like E-meters, are bogus. EZ game IMO

Religions = Cults

The definition of Cult:
noun
1. a particular system of religious worship, especially with reference to its rites and ceremonies.
2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, especially as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.
3. the object of such devotion.
4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.
5. Sociology . a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.

To me, all of the above can be applied to both Religion and an actual cult. For example, replace the word "Cult" with "Christianity" and you have the same thing, imo.

I used to think this way, libertarian in general. I see it as naive now. (I say this in a spock like way, unemotional, its just short sighted)

As to op, yes religion and cult should be thought of as synonyms. Cult is just what you call the other guy.

sophistry is to rhetoric, as cult is to religion

lol @ 'spock-like way'

This is too vague. In my view even moderate religious people are doing harm to others. Does that mean I shouldn't respect their beliefs?

Btw, I don't require anybody to respect my beliefs.

I think most atheists would agree. It's simply that some, particularly so-called "New" Atheists (a term I dislike, as there is nothing new about them) are not convinced of the bolded in regards to many religions, or at least specific religious beliefs.

As for the labeling (cult v. religion), it's largely a matter of popularity. It's the same reason why being a Battlestar Galactica fan is considered nerdy and geekish, but being a Football fan is considered normal and masculine. Christianity was quite literally a cult for its first one or two hundred years--everyone in the Mediterranean understood it as such, even most Hellenized Christians.

+1 to Turn Prophet.

+2 to Turn Prophet

Yeah Turn Prophet I agree, I guess my point is that it really SHOULDN'T be a matter of popularity.

Mormonism is a good example because a)it's recent b)it has been wildly successful and c)has lots of beliefs that some might call silly or kooky.

Yet we have 2 Mormons running for President. Imagine if they were both members of Heaven's Gate (or even Scientologists) - they'd probably be disregarded as serious contenders. But simply by the fact that their particular cult has grown to a certain size, we now take them seriously.

It also begs the question of why some cults progress to "accepted religion" status and others fizzle out. How in the world did Mormonism catch on the way it did? Clearly a lot of people thought Smith was a nut at the time, just like any other fringe cult. Yet, somehow it has grown to a huge and accepted religion. Is it simply brainwashing combined with having a ton of kids? I can't see anything about the Mormon cult's practices specifically that would account for it's wild success.

^^^I think people just want to rule their own planet when they die. It also may appeal to those who disapprove of Coke and hugging.

Do you respect Astrology?

Is believing in logic and reproducible results equivalent to believing a superstition?