Mormon Church: Cult-Lite

[_why me]

He has an interesting answer, which I think is probably fairly accurate. He says it’s “cult-lite”. That always causes some laughter, and sometimes questions why.

The LDS church is not a cult in the way that most Americans use the term today. It’s not Heaven’s Gate, for example. But it does have characteristics of a cult, but not quite full-blown. The one exception is the LDS mission, which is, in my opinion, full-blown cult.

It is unfortunate that your long term boyfriend is misleading his workmates and his friends. The LDS church is just a church like any other church. One can claim that the catholic church is a cult also since devout catholics follow the words of the pope. Or Joel Osteen is cult-lite too. Or joyce meyers is cult-lite. They both have huge followings who listen to every word and write down the words spoken by both individuals as if the truth has just been told.

Your post was very sad and unfortunate since your boyfriend is responsible for spreading misinformation about the LDS church.

[_why me]

If not, would you be OK with rephrasing to something like

"Frankly I am a bit uncomfortable with the idea of monastic life, and I suspect it could under some circumstances lead to abuses similar to those found in religious groups commonly called 'cults'. But I can't say I know of any actual examples of monastic institutions where that is the case."

(To remind: I am an atheist. I am not now, nor ever have been, a member of or associated with a religious order.)

Why should she treat the catholic church any different than the LDS church.

[_beastie]

Um, for a person as reasonable as you to say that you are sure that some monasteries could qualify as cults, it would be normally be thought to be necessary for you to be sure that at least one monastery of which you had knowledge did qualify as a cult.

Do you have an evidential basis for that?

If not, would you be OK with rephrasing to something like

"Frankly I am a bit uncomfortable with the idea of monastic life, and I suspect it could under some circumstances lead to abuses similar to those found in religious groups commonly called 'cults'. But I can't say I know of any actual examples of monastic institutions where that is the case."

(To remind: I am an atheist. I am not now, nor ever have been, a member of or associated with a religious order.)

I'm relying on my memory of Karen Armstrong's memoir of being a nun. While it's been a few years, and my memory may be misleading me, I recall that my reaction to her description of her experience was that it was cult-like. She described her experience in Through the Narrow Gate.

Remember, I'm using the term "cult-lite" to describe this phenomenon. But any organization that completely controls an individual's life and restricts contact with family and the outside world sounds cult-lite to me.

While I admittedly have not studied this issue in depth, I do know that orders differ dramatically in many essential ways. Some encourage free thinking and contact with the outside world, while others are much more restrictive and controlling. And I think a lot often depends on the particular personality of the nun/monk in charge.

[_beastie]

It is unfortunate that your long term boyfriend is misleading his workmates and his friends. The LDS church is just a church like any other church. One can claim that the catholic church is a cult also since devout catholics follow the words of the pope. Or Joel Osteen is cult-lite too. Or joyce meyers is cult-lite. They both have huge followings who listen to every word and write down the words spoken by both individuals as if the truth has just been told.

Your post was very sad and unfortunate since your boyfriend is responsible for spreading misinformation about the LDS church.

lol

Are you opposed to the missionaries who mislead investigators?

[_Buffalo]

The LDS church is indeed a pseudo-cult. The harder an organization makes it on people trying to leave, the more cult-like it is. The more control they try to exert on all aspects of your life, the more cult-like they are. I'd say that while the LDS church is a pseudo cult, the Jehovah's Witnesses are a full-on cult.