There are different religions across the world with different beliefs, but the existence of a supernatural being is common. Each religion differs in their perception of the supernatural being. The Jehovah Witness, for example, believes in the destruction of the earth as the only cure for the sinful human nature. The Christian Science holds that sickness is an illusion that cannot survive prayers. The seventh day Adventist church distinguishes itself from other Christian churches in the sense that it observes the holy Sabbath according to the Judeo-Christian week that is on Saturday. Mormonism is another denomination similar to other Christian denominations in the sense that it uses the holy doctrines like the bible (Dawson, 272). However it still holds the concept of plural marriage, which is not common in other Christian religions. The different religious beliefs do not necessarily make the denominations cultic.
More recent religions include the heaven’s gate that believes that the earth is about to be rejuvenated and the only way out is to vacate it, a fact that led to a mass suicide of 39 members in 1997. Although its religious beliefs are based mainly on biblical teachings, the Jonestown denomination believes in apostolic socialism. The Waco Davidians is another denomination that detached itself from the seventh day Adventist church in 1955. Another denomination in the modern world is the Moonies that holds that God is the heavenly parent with both masculinity and feminism qualities.
In conclusion, the decision on whether a religion is a cult or not is a very subjective issue since all religions holds different views on the supernatural being. Some religious practices may be deemed unnatural, but they all justify it with visions that God show to them thus it is not possible to discern whether the visions are real or fake.
Work Cited
Dawson, Lorne L. "Comprehending Cults: The Sociology of New Religious Movements Author: Lorne L. Dawson, Publisher: Oxford University Press." (2006): 272.
