When Pew asked respondents to share what one word came to their minds when the word Mormon was said, in the second survey, given late last year, the word cult showed up about 40 percent more often than it did four years earlier.
I can only surmise that the news media's frequent use of the term explains this growth.
If cult is no longer appropriate for a Christian like the Rev. Graham, I believe it's no longer appropriate for media to use it either.
Thanks to the good reverend and his son Franklin for making this change.
Lane Williams teaches journalism and communication at BYU-Idaho. He is a former journalist whose scholarly interests include Mormon portrayals in the media, media and religion, and religion and politics.
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I think Lane is being a little too charitable in saying "cult", as used by other Christian faiths, is nothing more than a way for other Christians to differentiate from Mormon belief -- ie. to "protect" the identity of the term More..
You have to ask, "What makes a religion a cult?" Well, look at the definition of cult.
Noun: 1.A system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.
2.A relatively small group of people More..
I think that a reason why people of other faiths call us a cult is they do not understand how we are able to get our people to be so obedience, supportive, etc. There are many people of other faiths who are very committed to Jesus Christ and who pay More..