"… one person's cult is another's religion; All religions begin life as cults. An alternative definition is that a cult is a religion which you happen to dislike." Anthony Campbell 1

"Cult is a word without much use outside the realm of religious mudslinging."Philip Kennicott 2

"When someone uses the word 'cult,' it usually says more about them than the group," J. Gordon Melton, founder and director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion 3

"It's easy to tell the difference – a cult is someone else's religion. Corollary: "A fanatic is someone who believes something more strongly than you do." Jim Heldberg 4

Bullet "I have often thought that the difference between a cult and a religion is an IRS ruling." Ron Barrier 4

1. Anthony Campbell, " David V. Barrett: THE NEW BELIEVERS, A survey of sects, cults and alternative religions, " Book review, 2001, at: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/
2. Philip Kennicott, in a Washington Post article that is no longer available online.
3. Rhonda Parks Manville, "UCSB research of 'new religions' returns surprises," Santa Barbara News-Press, 2004-JUL-30, at: http://news.newspress.com/
4. Quotes extracted from "Heaven's Sake!," at: http://nowscape.com/
5. Massimo Introvigne, "So many evil things:' Anti-cult terrorism via the Internet,"Center for Studies on New Religions, 1999-AUG-5, at: http://www.cesnur.org/