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Islam a religion or cult?

I've been wondering about atheists opinions on this subject, I've heard opinions similar to the young turks and reza aslan and stronger opinions like richard dawkins and sam harris. So what is it, a religion or a cult for you guys

  • 11 votes
  • 11 votes
#RichardDawkins #SamHarris #religion #cults #Islam #atheism
jchristian88 4 Jan 17
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19 comments

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0

Level 6

Didn’t vote because there was no option for “both.”

kdmom Level 6 June 30, 2020
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2

Level 9

All religions are cults...

1

Level 7

What's the difference? I think they are the same. They only differ by degree.

1

Level 9

All religions are cults, due to there brain washing and want your money for some reason.

0

Level 6

I think a cult is a small religion. And a religion is a cult that has grown big enough to gain or force some measure of state sanctioned power. So I think any religion is both depending on were it operates. For the Arab Nations it is a religion. For others they may consider it a cult. I have this same debate about Jehovas Witnesses versus Christianity.

Quarm Level 6 Jan 18, 2019
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0

Level 3

I think religion is a cult, or at the very least just a social club.

0

Level 6

There’s a lot more diversity within Islam than the western world wants to recognize.

0

Level 7

For me, if the founder is still alive, then it is a cult. Otherwise it is a religion. So Islam is a religion.

I like your criterium, but that would make mormonism a religion, too, when it is clearly a cult within a larger religion.

@Spinliesel Mormonism is a religion in my mind. What makes it a cult for you? What is your criteria?

@indirect76 Every time i drive south on Rt 21 from Palmyra, NY, I can see the huge golden statue of the Angel Moroni, a major player in Joseph Smith's yarn to bilk the gullible public and create his band of followers. The man was a thief and con artist.

@Spinliesel OK, so what part of that makes Mormonism a cult for you?
0

Level 6

A religion. It is just another way that people who practice it choose to acknowledge Abraham's God YAHWEH. No different than the Christian or Jewish religions.

0

Level 8

I think it is a matter of scale. They all start as cults and as they grow they are accepted as religions.

3

Level 7

all religions are cults! They require blind obedience never question!

1

Level 7

Religion - It has been around long enough. Maybe soon it will be a Myth

Are size & age the main factors? I can't think of any others....

@Carin and acceptance yes i think so
1

Level 8

All religions are cults if they interfere with normal living and demand blind devotion to a leader living OR DEAD

1

Level 6

Of course it's a religion. Anything that many people believe in can't be called a cult. Of course we here may not consider it very believable, but if that were the criteria then they'd all be cults, there would be no religions.

ErikK Level 6 Jan 17, 2019
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2

Level 8

All religions are cults.

2

Level 7

One in the same really..

5

Level 9

ALL religions are cults.
Some have just been around longer, and become more mainstream, than others.
Nonetheless, they are ALL cults.

@OwlInASack I don't need all that "nuance". As I see it, doing that only serves to give some of them an "out".
"Oh, we're not as bad as those other ones."
Nope. Lump 'em all together, and label them ALL as poisonous and evil.
1

Level 8

I have read and thought that the only difference between a religion and a cult is the size of it's membership.

Not even. It's just semantics.
2

Level 8

What would be the difference between a cult and a religion?

What's the cut off figure on size? @maturin1919

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