FFWPU(米国)から：
"神の教育と世界の道を。" の著者であるSam Fleischacker、シカゴ-イリノイ大学の哲学教授、のご好意転載。
Cult vs. religion: what's the difference?
Crucial distinction is whether a faith stands the test of time, as Mormonism clearly has|By Sam FleischackerA pastor supporting Rick Perry calls Mormonism a "cult." Is that untrue?
Well, what's the difference between a "cult" and a "religion"? Not easy to say. Many people think they know the difference when they see it. Scientology and the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church are cults — aren't they? And Judaism and Christianity are surely religions.But in fact, early Christianity was considered just a cult by both Jews and Romans; Islam was long considered just a cult by medieval Christians; and, of course, many Protestant groups, from the Baptists to the Quakers, were considered cults by other Christians.Moreover, if your definition of "cult" is a group with a charismatic and very odd leader who thinks he or she has direct access to the divine and spreads a theology that seems both heretical and confused to the established religions around it, then Christianity and Islam and Buddhism were certainly cults when they began — and no doubt the Jews were as well.Here, I suggest, is the real difference between a cult and a religion: about 100 years. Once a cult is able to establish itself for several generations, we call it a "religion." Before that, we dismiss it as a dangerous threat to real religion.
特定宗教を指して｢カルト｣と言う人がいる。
では、「カルトと宗教の違いは？」 と聞かれたときに、そのラインが如何にも曖昧だ。カルト - Wikipediaの「3.4 日本」からは、
今では、「カルト」という単語は学術用語としてではなく、通俗用語として用いられる。
と書かれており、なんら学術的根拠のない日常会話に使われる俗語ということだ。
また、上記の文中からも、初代キリスト教はユダヤ教やローマ人からカルトと考えられていたし、イスラム教や仏教もそうであったとしている。
そして、Sam Fleischacker氏は一つの提案をしている。
それが約100年の期間ということだ。時の試練に生き残ったものが｢宗教」であると。
統一教会を考えれば、まだまだですか？
