cult

As many of you know, one of new favorite authors is a woman named Meg Gardiner. Her sixth novel is her debut in this country. It's called The Dirty Secrets Club. Previously, she has published five in her Evan Delaney series which has just debuted here in paperback form. The first is called China Lake and it is centered around a religious cult called The Remnant.  Amazon.com has an interview with Ms. Gardiner at its website. At one point she is asked to describe a cult.  Here is her response.

Amazon.com: What’s the difference between a cult and religion in your opinion?
Gardiner: A religion is a system of beliefs about the true nature of existence and humanity’s connection to the divine--to a supernatural reality beyond what we can see with our eyes.  And it’s a community that shares convictions about what people must do to bring themselves closer to God. (Or bliss, or enlightenment.) A cult, to vastly simplify, is a group that takes religion to extremes.  It’s fanatical, manipulative, and in the end, destructive. Cults demand total commitment. They often have charismatic leaders who require absolute subservience from followers. And they’re coercive. They tear members away from their previous lives to isolate them from the wicked, tempting world. They may force followers to break contact with family and friends who are “unsaved” or “infidels.”