cult

Etymology

From French culte, from Latin cultus (“care, adoration; cult”), from colō (“cultivate; protect”).

noun

1. (chiefly derogatory) A group, sect or movement following an unorthodox religious or philosophical system of beliefs, especially one in which members remove and exclude themselves from greater society, including family members not part of the cult, and show extreme devotion to a charismatic leader.
   Two former cult members explain the difficulties they had extricating themselves from it.
   Werner Erhard's highly successful est cult is partly derived from Scientology. Erhard had some experience with Scientology in 1969. Then he worked for a while in Mind Dynamics, itself an offshoot of Jose Silva's Mind Control. 1985, Rodney Stark, Religious movements: Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers, Paragon House Publishers, page 167
   There are scores of modern religious cults and sects that have been influenced by Hinduism to varying degrees. Werner Erhard, founder of 'Landmark Education's 'The Forum',' and 'est' seminars, which have about 700,000 graduates, was influenced by Hinduism through Swami Muktananda, one of Erhard's principal gurus. 1996, John Ankerberg, John Weldon, Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs, Harvest House Publishers, page 216
   Outsiders often criticize the extreme commitment of group members. But what is really happening is that leader and followers are conspiring to realize a vision that is falsified daily. For the cult is not paradise, and the leader is not God. Hence the follower is embattled; to squarely confront the many failings of the leader and the group is to call into question one's own great work. Only by daily recommitting himself can the follower continue to work toward his ultimate goal. Each follower works out a secret compromise, acknowledging some things while denying or distorting others. Clearly this is a high-risk strategy that may go awry. 1997, Len Oakes, “Followers and Their Quest”, in Prophetic charisma: The Psychology of Prophetic Charisma, Syracuse University Press, page 137
   The difference between a cult and an established religion is sometimes about one generation. 17 June 1998, Scott McLemee, “Rethinking Jonestown”, in Salon.com
   If Jones' People's Temple wasn't a cult, then the term has no meaning. 17 June 1998, Scott McLemee, “Rethinking Jonestown”, in Salon.com
   Another potent element of the new cult milieu was the therapy sect, which offered believers the chance to achieve their full human potential through personal growth and self-actualization by taking total responsibility for one's actions. The prototypical movement of this kind was est (Erhard Seminar Training), in which intense and often grueling sessions forced followers to confront a new view of reality. 2000, Philip Jenkins, Mystics and Messiahs : Cults and New Religions in American History, London: Oxford University Press, page 180
   He sounds like a cult leader about to demand his followers drink poison. And it frankly doesn’t help that he looks like Jim Jones to a genuinely creepy degree. Nov 6 2016, “Multilevel Marketing”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 3, episode 29, John Oliver (actor), via HBO
2. The veneration, devotion, and religious rites given to a deity (especially in a historical polytheistic context), or (in a Christian context) to a saint.
   the cult of Apollo
   the cult of Mary
3. (informal) A group of people having an obsession with or intense admiration for a particular activity, idea, person or thing.
   the heavy metal cult; the cult of basketball; the guitarist's cult of loyal fans; the cult of celebrity

adj

1. Of or relating to a cult.
2. Enjoyed by a small, loyal group.
   a cult horror movie
   To a certain extent, the cult movie and the classic are opposites, appealing to vastly different audiences. Whereas a film can become an instant cult, and then forgotten, a film cannot become an “instant classic”, which is only critical shorthand for “excellent”. 2008-08-08, Ronald Bergan, “Don't confuse cults with classics”, in The Guardian
   Monte Hellman, whose terse action films, epitomized by the 1971 road movie “Two-Lane Blacktop,” made him a cult hero of the American independent film movement, died on Tuesday in Palm Desert, Calif. 2021-04-21, William Grimes, “Monte Hellman, Cult Director of ‘Two-Lane Blacktop,’ Dies at 91”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
3. (neologism, music) Alternative form of kvlt.