Revision summary
Cult: small, novel, often charismatic sacred group beside church and sect. Troeltsch’s lineage plus NRMs in Wilson and Wallis. Growth: urban anomie, disenchantment, media gurus, digital assembly. Lockdown satsang is a recent form. Census still shows large inherited communities.
Model answer
Copper italics in this answer — like this — are the key facts. Each one is unpacked in the Facts & figures rail.
Introduction
A cult, in the sociology of religion, is a small, loosely organised, often novel sacred group centred on a living teacher or a new revelation. It sits beside church and sect in the Troeltsch–Niebuhr lineage. Growth today follows urban anomie, media, and marketised salvation.
Body
Cult as a type
- Ernst Troeltsch contrasted church and sect. Later writers added cult as a new, extra-traditional offer of meaning, sometimes called a new religious movement.
- Bryan Wilson and Roy Wallis stressed voluntarism, therapeutic promises, and a break with the inherited parish.
- Cult is an analytic type. In public talk it is often a slur. The sociologist names organisation and claim, not a moral panic.
Why cults grow now
- Durkheim’s anomie in cities and migration weakens old parishes; new assemblies offer effervescence and a moral community.
- Max Weber’s disenchantment leaves a hunger that charismatic authority can fill for a time.
- Media and platforms scale a guru’s face without a diocese. Indian urban gurus and global wellness cults share this form.
- Lockdown isolation and digital satsang showed how quickly a following can densify on a screen.
Caveat
- Growth is of types and visibility, not proof that “church is dead”. Census religion tables still show large inherited communities.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD CH[Church sect] --> TYP[Religious organisation types] CU[Cult NRM] --> TYP ANO[Anomie media charisma] --> GROW[Growth of cults] CU[CU] --> GROW[GROW]
Conclusion
A cult is a novel, teacher-centred sacred offer outside the inherited church. It grows where anomie, charisma, and media meet. Wilson, Wallis, Durkheim, and Weber explain the demand. Treat the word as a type, and keep Census persistence of older religions in view.
Quick related
Students also ask
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Elucidate the main problems and challenges faced by the migrant labourers in the recent 'Lockdown period'
Next question on this syllabus topic (2021 · Q6(a)). View answer →
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Is every guru movement a cult?
Only if the organisation is novel, centred, and extra-traditional in the typological sense. Many ashrams are closer to sect or denomination.
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Do cults replace Hinduism or Islam in India?
They rarely replace Census communities. They compete for urban middle-class time and money.
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