The current English Standard Version: Study Bible (Crossway Bibles: Wheaton, Ill., 2008) has an article entitled "The Bible and religious cults," and the first "cult" it summarizes (p. 2631) is "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism)." The article defines cult as follows:
[A] “cult” is any religious movement that claims to be derived from the Bible and/or the Christian faith, and that advocates beliefs that differ so significantly with major Christian doctrines that two consequences follow: (1) The movement cannot legitimately be considered a valid “Christian” denomination because of its serious deviation from historic Christian orthodoxy. (2) Believing the doctrines of the movement is incompatible with trusting in the Jesus Christ of the Bible for the salvation that comes by God's grace alone (Eph. 2:8–9).
In other words, if "you" are NOT following "us," then you are a cult. The ESV definition (above) fits my favorite definition of cult, which is "the other guy's religion." Usage of the term "cult" evokes prejudicial reactions in readers, and arguably should be stricken from scholarly vocabulary. Yet, the term is used quite commonly.
I regret that the ESV: Study Bible has the chapter on cults, as it otherwise sets a high standard in scholarship. I own the book and use it considerably.
John A. Saliba takes a critical view of various definitions of "cult" in his book Understanding New Religious Movements (Eerdmans Pub Co., 1995; and a 2nd Ed., AltaMira Press, 2003). Saliba specifically criticizes (see his chapter 1) a set of criteria proposed by A. James and Marcia R. Rudin in their book Prison or Paradise: The New Religious Cults (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980). I have listed the Rudin criteria below, but it is worth noting that Saliba concludes that, "It would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a single new religious movement to which even a few of the mentioned characteristics are applicable."
James and Marcia Rudin in the links provided are listed as leaders in the International Cultic Studies Assocation. I have taken their 14 criteria for defining a cult (numbered and shown in italics) and tried to honestly discuss which of these criteria apply to Mormonism.
The point of this exercise is to demonstrate the difficulties in finding objective and fair definitions of "cult" that have any scholarly or useful meaning.
Do the Rudin criteria apply to Mormonism? My answers are below, but obviously each reader can and will make their own determination. (I have no interest in brainwashing readers).
1. Members swear total allegiance to an all-powerful leader who they believe to be the Messiah.
ANSWER: Guilty as charged: Yes, we believe in Jesus, and so does every Christian church. Contrary to popular misconception, Mormons do NOT believe the prophet is either all-powerful or the Messiah. While Mormons "sustain by common consent" the prophet, they do NOT swear total allegiance. Mormons are far too cranky to take orders like soldiers. For evidence, ask any LDS Bishop. The domain of Church leaders is religion, NOT politics, science, or most other human endeavors. (See my essay, "Mormons are thinkers").
2. Rational thought is discouraged or forbidden.
ANSWER: To the contrary, the LDS Church emphasizes formalized education. Many top scientists and leaders have come out of the Church. Although there are some core beliefs that define Mormonism, a Mormon has considerable latitude in believing whatever he or she wants. A brief review of the Mormon Blog-World would verify that claim. (I am a university educator at a Midwest non-LDS university, if that counts as rational -- an arguable point, I know).
3. The cult's recruitment techniques are often deceptive.
ANSWER: The LDS Church does have an active missionary program, predominantly involving 19-year old men (boys) who are called for a two-year duty. The program is organized and highly structured. Are there occasional young missionaries who go out of bounds and are deceptive? Yes, but I think such behavior would be extremely rare and would flirt with grounds for dismissal, depending upon severity. Missionary techniques (as set forth in Preach My Gospel) are NOT deceptive. Missionaries are trained what to say and how to say it. No, this third criterion does not apply.
4. The cult weakens the follower psychologically by making him or her depend upon the group to solve his or her problems.
ANSWER: Our Church emphasizes self-reliance and agency. True, there are rare individuals who rely upon Church welfare. However, this practice of the Church would be better labeled as humanitarian charity than cult control.
5. The cults manipulate guilt to their advantage.
ANSWER: There is plenty of guilt in this Church, but it is mostly self-induced. The purpose of Christ's atonement is to allow repentance and the removal of guilt. Individuals (in any organization) who try to induce guilt to persuade others may be doing so unethically and inappropriately.
6. The cult leader makes all the career and life decision of the members.
ANSWER: This criterion is NOT even close to being applicable.
7. Cults exist only for their own material survival and make false promises to work to improve society.
ANSWER: This would be true if the LDS Church recruited members merely in order to increase the tithing revenues. By contrast, our Church does extensive missionary work in poor countries like South America in which the new members often become a financial burden to the Church. There are many Wards (congregations) in the Church that must accept fast offering money from Salt Lake headquarters. In such cases, the Church assists individuals to find employment, to obtain education, and to be a contributing citizen in both Church and country. The Church attempts to improve society-at-large by creating active and responsible citizens.
8. Cult members often work fulltime for the group for little or no pay.
ANSWER: We do not have a paid clergy. No one is getting rich by doing Church work. However, clergy in the Church do have paid jobs outside of the Church. Church work is part-time. No one is trapped by virtue of working for the Church.
9. Cult members are isolated from the outside world and any reality testing it could provide.
ANSWER: As an Iowan, I am not opposed to the argument that Utah might be out of touch with reality, but that statement is not objective reality. As for me, I have lived literally coast-to-coast. Having done so, I probably wish I had just stayed in touch with Utah mountains.
10. Cults are antiwoman, antichild, and antifamily.
ANSWER: This statement is mostly inapplicable. However, some critics accuse Mormons of being anti-women because of the past history with polygamy and because of the exclusion of women from the priesthood. Personally, I do not think we do badly, but I also know we could do better! I would love to see, for example, a LDS priesthood manual devoted to the study of prominent LDS women (of whom we have a lot). I love the manuals we currently use, but it is time to expand. (Just stating my opinion).
The LDS devotion to family is well summarized in: The Family: A Proclamation to the World.
11. Cults are apocalyptic and believe themselves to be the remnant who will survive the soon-approaching end of the world.
ANSWER: Well, after all, we are the Latter-day Saints. However, the statement above does not apply: 1) We only claim to be in the last dispensation, because we do not know when Christ will return. 2) During Christ’s Millennial reign the LDS believe that all major religions will be present. The LDS believe that all kinds of people will survive the last days.
12. Many cults follow an "ends justify the means" philosophy.
ANSWER: Such a philosophy has no place in this Church. Any such practice would be a violation of all that is godly.
For me, the single best summarizing statement of Church leadership is: D&C 121: 36-43.
13. Cults, particularly in regard to their finances, are shrouded in secrecy.
ANSWER: The Church has an independent Accounting Department that gives a report at each Conference. However, detailed accounting reports are not available to the general membership. Even so, how Church funds are spent is no secret: Church buildings and operations, missionary work, Church colleges and universities, the Church Educational System, humanitarian efforts, etc. There are Church-owned businesses, like Deseret Book, that report earnings for tax purposes.
14. There is frequently an aura of or potential for violence around cults.
ANSWER: Not applicable.
I am generally opposed to attaching the label "cult" to any religious group, even at the extremes. Why? The term is pejorative and promotes a pre-judgment. It is a prejudicial term that does not mean much more than “the other guy’s religion.”
Concerning the 14 criteria above, I do not believe that they effectively describe the LDS religion. Critics may disagree. Even so, tossing around the term "cult" in the context of the Latter-day Saints does not amount to more than name-calling.
For more discussion on "cults" from a non-LDS perspective, see: "Too Good to Be True: Resisting Cults and Psychological Manipulation" by Marcia Rudin.
I am a Latter-day Saint. Probably no one wants to think they belong to a cult. Regardless, I think my answers have captured the essence of the truth, even if not perfectly.
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5 comments:
Thank you so much for this article! This is the one I wanted to write, but didn't do as well as you. :) At the end you kind sounded like, "At least I don't think our church is a cult." But in the article you clearly showed that in no way is our church a cult, at least not by expert standards. There are those who have made up their own definition of cult, but according to the true definition, as defined by experts, we do not fit that term. I think some religions might use that term against us so that they can keep their own members in the dark, so that they won't want to learn about our teachings. That kind of tactic comes closer to cult behavior than anything we do in our religion.
Regarding #14...Been to a Young Men's Basketball Game recently???
Anonymous:
Point taken.
Jan Shipps in "Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition" defines the terms church, denomination, sect, and cult as they are used in scholarly works on religion. The essence of a cult, in her view (and I'm paraphrasing), is a group that coalesces around a leader who espouses a view that is a clear break or demarcation from the traditionally accepted view, not a simple reinterpretation or re-emphasis. Using this framework, she applies the term to both Christianity (vis a vis Judaism) and Mormonism (vis a vis Christianity).
Christianity was a reinterpretation of and clear break from Judaism. I'm sure the authorities of the time spoke of the Christian "cult" in pejorative terms.
Of course LDS are considered a cult by those who accept and believe the creeds that are foundational to "traditional" Christianity. Core beliefs about God, Christ, apostacy, priesthood authority, saving ordinances, proxy works for the dead, and more are radically different.
And naturally LDS do not consider themselves a cult because they in fact DO believe in God, Christ, salvation, grace, and so on.
Not only is there no agreement on whether LDS are or are not a cult, there is also no agreement on the rules to determine what would constitute a so-called cult (such as belief in and acceptance of the Nicene creed).
From what I've seen, such discussions generate far too much heat and far too little light.
Excellent comment, Dee.
Yes, my point is that many scholars, even respected ones, still use the term "cult." But, I would argue that the term has little or no use. "Cult" is a derogatory term that serves little purpose other than to demean.
Thanks for your analysis.
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