On religions, cults and Guardian crosswords...
A recent Guardian Quick crossword has the clue 'Cult member (5)' for which the answer was RASTA. Neither trampledamage or I got this because we had dismissed Rasta (it being an obvious choice to fit the letters we had) as we felt referring to Rastafarianism as a 'cult' was a bit rude. Well it comes to something when TD and I are more politically correct than The Guardian!!
But all this got me to thinking: what is the difference between a cult and a religion. Turning, as ever, to the OED I get the following:
cult - Worship; reverential homage rendered to a divine being or beings; and, from the draft entries of September 2004: A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.
religion - A particular system of faith and worship.
So, the difference between a cult and a religion is the number of adherents and judgement on the part of the person speaking as to whether something is strange and sinister.
I'm quite sure there are a fair number of Rastafarians in the world, so it sounds like the crossword setter was casting aspersions on the nature of someone else's religion. Not the sort of thing you expect from the Guardian at all. If I was the sort, I'd write a strongly worded letter to the editor about this!
The OED definies Rastafari as "A Jamaican sect which believes that Blacks are the chosen people, that the late Emperor Haile Selassie is God Incarnate, and that he will secure their repatriation to their homeland in Africa."
And a sect as "A religious following; adherence to a particular religious teacher or faith". Interestingly as far as I could see, the OED doesn't include in its definitions the negative connotations of the word sect.
But all this got me to thinking: what is the difference between a cult and a religion. Turning, as ever, to the OED I get the following:
cult - Worship; reverential homage rendered to a divine being or beings; and, from the draft entries of September 2004: A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.
religion - A particular system of faith and worship.
So, the difference between a cult and a religion is the number of adherents and judgement on the part of the person speaking as to whether something is strange and sinister.
I'm quite sure there are a fair number of Rastafarians in the world, so it sounds like the crossword setter was casting aspersions on the nature of someone else's religion. Not the sort of thing you expect from the Guardian at all. If I was the sort, I'd write a strongly worded letter to the editor about this!
The OED definies Rastafari as "A Jamaican sect which believes that Blacks are the chosen people, that the late Emperor Haile Selassie is God Incarnate, and that he will secure their repatriation to their homeland in Africa."
And a sect as "A religious following; adherence to a particular religious teacher or faith". Interestingly as far as I could see, the OED doesn't include in its definitions the negative connotations of the word sect.