Many misconceptions are often made about cults. The word cult often strikes certain aspect in peoples' minds that remind them of violence and frightening rituals. While some cults are related to violent acts or initiations most cults are just congregations of people sharing a common religious belief or way of life. In my speech I will try to gather as much detailed information on cults in The United States as possible.
             What is a cult? Webster's Dictionary defines a cult as a certain religious group outside of the mainstream of Western religion. How to differ between which groups should be considered a cult or a religion is a matter of disagreement among researchers in the cult phenomena. Social scientists divide religious groups into three categories: churches, sects, and cults. Churches are obviously the large denominations characterized by their inclusive approach to life and their identification with the community with the community they are in. Churches that have broken away from the mainstream denominations (Roman Catholic, United Methodist, American Baptist, etc.) are termed sects. Typical sects put an emphasis on their separation from the larger culture, this Is commonly spoken as a rejection of worldliness Quakers for example, have rejected war and demanded conformity to detailed codes of dress.
             Cults differ from Sects and Churches in that instead of breaking off from an existing denomination in that area, Cults often come from an immigration of the belief from elsewhere. For example Hinduism and Buddhism in North America would be, in sociological terms, Cults. Cults also may be started from innovation of religious belief. For instance, The Church of Scientology is a new religious ideal that formed here in The U.S without any foreign existence as shown by its origins explained in the organization's web site www.scientology.org.
             People have always had broad definitions and wide opinions about Cults. In ...