Christians Labeling Denominations Cults
Introduction
Recently, there's been a uproar among my friends who are Seventh Day Adventists (SDA) due to a podcast episdoe done by Preston and Jackie Hill Perry in which the couples' guest (Dr. Eric Mason) referred to the SDA church as a cult. Ironically, the only reason I know who the Perrys are is because the young adult group I was part of at an SDA church invited me to Poets in Autumn, a poetry tour in which the Perrys participate. As such, many of my friends who have been supporters of the Perrys for years have strong feelings about the episode. The fact that the Perrys are quite popular in Christian circles has probably also contributed to the attention paid to the podcast by the SDA church. As such many rebuttal videos have appeared in my YouTube feed from various pastors, as well. Yet, the Perrys aren't the first to accuse the SDAs of being a cult and the SDA denomination is not the only denomination within Christianity to be labeled a cult. So I want to talk about the practice of labeling groups as cults.
What is a Cult
I really like documentaries and one sub-genre I gravitate to is that of cults and cult survivors—I actually have an unfinished post where I wanted to talk about the intersection of Christianity and cults and why the tendency exists for "Christian" groups to become cults. As such I've learned alot about cults and common practices that are telltale signs of one. However, there's still a vagueness about the definition of a cult.
Season 5 of my podcast was all about communication and how words mean different things to different people. "Cult" is one of those words. There is a dictionary definition, but there is also a connoatation that often overshadows that definition. Oxford English Dictionary has 3 definitions for the word cult (as a noun) and I think the one intended for this conversation is found in 2b.[1]
A relatively small group of people having (esp. religious) beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister, or as exercising excessive control over members.
Oxford English Dictionary
Let's pull out a couple parts of this definition for further investigation.
- How should we define small? For example, People's Temple (the cult led by Jim Jones in which members committed mass suicide) claimed 20,000 members, though historians say the number was closer to 5,000, and about 900 died in the mass suicide.[2] In contrast, Christian denominations often labeled to be a cult such as SDAs, Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)[3] have memberships of 21.9 million, 8.8 million, and 17 million, respectively.[4][5][6]
- What is meant by strange or sinister? Most of the cults we hear about are mired in scandals, usually of both physical and sexual abuse. The Manson cult led to murders. David Koresh's group, the Branch Davidians (which actually happen to be an offshoot of the SDA church, but was officially renounced by the larger SDA church) in Waco, TX led to a massive standoff between the members and the ATF, which led to the death of many people.[7] On the other hand there are groups of people who believe in non-standard or "strange" ideas like a flat earth cosmology or lizard people, but do not pose any threat to people. I believe when people talk about cults, they usually believe the abnormal ideas are both strange and sinister, that there is a danger in the ideals presented by the group.
- Finally, what is meant by excessive control? One of the telltale signs of a cult is the tactic of isolation. Cult members are encouraged to cut ties with those who don't subscribe to the cult's beliefs and often families are broken up in this process; in addition members are usually forbidden from communicating with people who leave the group. Another example of excessive control might be the loss of autonomy. Most cults live in communal societies where individuals do not keep individual funds or property. I remember one group I read about all worked for the leader of the cult so even though they may have had money, it was still controlled by the group.[8] Extreme examples are easy to define, but more subtle acts of control can be debated: are any of the following excessive control?
- Mandating what people wear, such as forbidding makeup, pants for women, requiring certain garments (like the tassles worn by Orthodox Jews and Black Hebrew Israelites)
- Requiring people to confess their sins
- Requiring a percentage of the person's income be given to the group or organization
Are They A Cult?
The most common denominations I've seen accused of being a cult are SDAs, JWs, and LDS. I have interacted with people from all three denominations and have attended SDA churches before. There is also a plethora of information online. So, I looked up the most common signs a group or organization is a cult,[9][10] and we're going to talk about how SDAs, JWs, and LDS stack up against these signs. For the table I will use the following symbols:
- 🟩 Dose NOT meet the criteria
- 🟥 Meets the criteria (Red Flag)
- 🟧 Depends on who you talk to within the denomination
If I'm unsure, I have left the cell blank and will update when and if I get more information. Also please note that when talking about the LDS I am not talking about the Fundamental sect (known as FLDS) run by Warren Jeffs, who is currently in jail for the harm he has caused to people and is without out a doubt a cult leader. The FLDS is a separate denomination from the LDS which was condemned by the LDS church (the same way the Branch Davidians were condemned by the SDA church).[11][12]
| Signs | SDA | JW | LDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the truth, as law. | 🟧 Those arguing SDAs are a cult would say Ellen G. White, a woman the SDA church regards as a prophet, is the leader SDAs have unquestioning commitment to. The official position of the SDA church is that Ellen G. White's writings are not above the Bible. Some of their pastors quote her the way one might quote other well known theologans like Martin Luther or John Calvin. There are, however, many pastors who quote her the same way they quote the Bible and may use her writings to answer questions instead of the Bible. I have only witnessed one pastor quote Ellen G. White to supercede the Bible (and he was unaware he was doing so). This issue is an ongoing conversation within the denomination as they are aware that those who focus heavily on her writing instead of scripture are a problem. When I asked an elder at the church I attended about this issue, he said, "any point Ellen G. White made should be backed by scriptural evidence and therefore articulated without mentioning her writings." I have also seen pastors quote passages written by Ellen G. White that say the church should listen to the Lord and the Bible, not her. | 🟩 Charles Taze Russell is the founder of the JW organization. I could easily think of Ellen G. White and Joseph Smith but I've never heard of Charles Russell, nor does a name readily pop in to my head for the JWs. I don't think JWs subsribe to a specific person so much as rely on the current leaders of the church, presumably the way many denominations have a governing body or president. | 🟥 The leader people would say the LDS church follows is Joseph Smith. The LDS website says this about Joseph Smith: "Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it." This is tricky in that they are bringing Joseph Smith below Jesus, however, it seems like they are raising him above Moses, Paul, etc. That is dangerous because it leaves room to claim his writings are more authoritative than the Bible. LDS also claim the Book of Mormon to be equal with the Bible.[13][14] |
| Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished. | 🟩 I asked many questions while I attended SDA churches and openly spoke against doctrines they hold that I disagree with. There was no push back and they still proceeded with my Baptism after I agrued that Baptism is confirmation of belief in the Father, Son, and Spirit not a confirmation of any particular denomination or doctrine they hold. | ||
| The leadership dictates, sometimes to a great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth). | 🟩 None of these things occurred and while the SDA church, like most denominations, would argue that marriage should be equally yoked (re: both parties should believe the same thing), many of the members at the church I attended had spouses who were not SDA. Despite SDA doctrine teaching that women should not wear jewelry, there was no policing of members wearing jewelry (or drinking alcohol, either for that matter); there was simply a rule that it could not be worn on stage (this was also a rule in my high school band). | 🟩 In high school I had a close friend who was LDS and while her father was pretty strict, she was not forbidden from hanging out with our friend group which was wholly non-LDS and included a girl who was goth. LDS members do not believe it is appropriate to see rated R movies (regardless of age), and she was not supposed to see PG-13 movies without her parents' consent, but she was allowed to come to the movies unsupervised (re: no one was actually overseeing her decisions the same way most churches forbid sex before marriage but no one is following every member around to enforce said belief). | |
| The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity). | 🟩 People feel this way about SDAs because they claim to be the remnant church or the true church. However, every SDA pastor I have heard preach on this topic has conceded that there will be people in the kingdom from other denominations and there will be SDAs who are not in the kingdom. | ||
| The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society. | 🟧 SDAs do have a tendancy to lump all of protestanism together, referring to other denominations as "Sunday keepers." Due to the large number of youth attending schools owned by the SDA church as well as SDA colleges, I have met a lot of SDAs whose ideas about other Christians are skewed. Also, the tendency for them to self identify as Adventists over the identity of Christian (though if asked directly they would accept the label Christian) causes them to seem polarized and may be off putting to those external to the church. However this is specific to particular members of the church and not the church as a whole. In addition, I don't think their behavior is any more polarized that the average church person concerning non-believers. | 🟧 JWs will try to convert you even though you are already a believer. While I have had people from various denominations invite me to their church, I have never had a person try to convert me from one denomination to another the way JWs will continue to proselytize even after you say you are a believer. | |
| The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations). | 🟩 SDA churches are tied together under state and regional conferences that report to a national and global conference. In the case of wrong doing a local leader can absolutely be reported to the conference leadership or the police (whichever is appropriate). As someone who was raised in a Baptist church, I would argue the SDA church has more accountability than your average Baptist church. | 🟩 Churches are governed by a group of elders who are observed by a larger body, thus local authority is accountable to global authority. I am not sure about JWs teachings on stepping outside of this chain (e.g. Scientology discourages people from seeking out police, or even medical professionals, for help in favor of keeping things "in house"). If JWs discourage filing police reports for issues the larger leadership ignores, I would say this is a red flag, but based on my knowledge I do not think this is the case. | |
| The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members’ participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus purposes). | 🟩 This does not happen | ||
| The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion. | 🟩 Leaders do not try to control or manipulate member; they preach their sermons like other churches and are not necessarily involved with the lives of their members. Generally only opining on situations when directly consulted. | ||
| Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group. | 🟩 As mentioned before, members regularly have friends and family who are not part of the church. | 🟩 As mentioned before, members regularly have friends and family who are not part of the church. | |
| The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members. | 🟥 We've all had JWs knock on the door to try to convert us. | ||
| Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities. | 🟩 You can be as involved as you like; some people are part of ministries and committees, some only show up to weekly service, some only show up when they want. | ||
| Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members. | 🟩 Not an issue | 🟩 Not an issue | |
| The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group. | 🟧 I don't attend church and have not lost any of my SDA friends. There is a disfellowshipping process, however. I know at least one person who was disfellowshipped when she had a child out of wedlock at 16. I also know a woman who was a youth leader while pregnant and unmarried and clearly not disfellowshipped. On top of this inconsistency, I am unsure of how people who are disfellowshipped are treated. Are they actually shunned? I will have to ask friend who was disfellowshipped for her experience. | 🟥 JWs shun people who have been disfellowshipped; they admit to this on their website. | |
| Lack of meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget | 🟩 The SDA budget can be accessed online or acquired by asking for it (I know, beacuse our young adult group did just that and I saw the documents) | 🟥 According to a Canadian news article the JW organization is one of the worst charities for disclosing how they spend thier money. | 🟧 I could not find a numerical breakdown of how money is spent but I did find general guidelines on how it is spent online. I'm not sure if you can request this information if you belong to the church. |
Messiah and His Followers Were A Cult
By definition, Messiah and everyone who followed Him, were in a cult. The larger religious authority did not accept Him as the Messiah and disapproved of Him and His teachinggs to the point that they had Him killed. The disciples and the others who followed Yeshua were a minority among the Jews. Even as numbers grew with the addition of Gentile converts, Christianity was not accepted in the larger society and was considered illegal. His teachings were strange and the fact that He claimed to be the only way to the Father (John 14:6) and the Promised King they were waiting for, was seen as sinister. The early church pooled their resources and seem to have lived a communal lifestyle (Acts 4:32-37). The rich man asked Messiah how he could be in the Kingdom and Messiah replied sell everything and follow me (Matthew 19:21). He told a follower not to go back and bury his father but to "let the dead bury the dead" (Luke 9:60). We believe it was ok for Messiah to say these things because we believe He is Messiah and perfect. Anyone who does not agree would argue this is cult leader behavior...
Should We Label Each Other as a Cult?
Cults are no joke. There are countless documentaries, YouTube videos, podcasts, etc. of people speaking on the horrors they experienced while in a cult. There are people who have had to go through extensive therapy to repair years (and sometimes a lifetime) of damage that has happened to them because of a cult. Personally, I think it is disrespectful to these people to use the term lightly and to apply it to groups we simply disagree with. I think it's fine to disagree with doctrine and to point out where we think another denomination is in error and why, but the cult label should be reserved for organizations that are actually dangerous.
References and Footnotes
- "Cult. Oxford English Dictionary; visited August 18, 2024
- "Peoples Temple". Wikipedia; visited August 18, 2024
- Most people know the LDS as Mormons, but the church itself prefers the term LDS, so I will use that term when referencing them.
- "How Many of Jehovah’s Witnesses Are There Worldwide?". JW.org; visited August 17, 2024
- "Seventh-day Adventist World Church Statistics 2021". Adventist.org; visited August 17, 2024
- "2022 Statistical Report for the April 2023 Conference". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; visited August 17, 2024
- "Branch Davidians". Wikipedia; visited August 18, 2024
- If I remember the group I will update this article with that information.
- Amy Morin. "What Is a Cult? 10 Warning Signs". Very Well Mind. November 13, 2023; August 17, 2024
- Vincent Obadha. "How Do I Know I'm In A Cult? 14 Telltale Signs To Look Out For". Citizen Digital. April 25, 2023; vistied August 17, 2024
- Ronald Lawson. "Seventh-day Adventist Responses to Branch Davidian Notoriety". Adventist Today. January 21, 2018; visited August 18, 2024
- "The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; visited August 18, 2024
- "Joseph Smith". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; visited August 18, 2024
- Ezra Taft Benson. "The Book of Mormon Is the Word of God". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. April 1975; visited August 18, 2024
- "How Are Congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses Organized?". JW.org; visited August 18, 2024
Current Events, Denominations, Doctrine & Theology, Jehovah's Witness, Latter Day Saints, Seventh Day Adventist
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