Is it still possible for a cult to thrive within the current

define "cult"

>>7408881
Lets say: a newly formed religious system with centers for devotion and lead by someone with unwarranted self-importance.

Scientology to be honest family.

>>7408876
Modern Western spirituality.

>>7408876
Yeah its called tumblr

>>7408891
FLDS and Osho still thrive, so you know. Yes.

>>7408876
Daily reminder that pic related only made it a religion for tax reasons.

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I was actually thinking of starting my own cult, i would use the internet and viral marketing much like corporations or isis or governments have used to further their causes, followers would be converted online.
And the religion would have a real specific look, you look at most religions and they always have a funny hat or hair style, i would encourage my followers to paint their face, not only would this advertise the religion but it would make people attack them, marketing them feel persecuted and drive them deeper into the faith.
I would also make them stop doing things, lots of religions do this, Muslims dont drink alcohol, Mormons dont like caffeine etc.

I would also create an enemy, scientologists hate psychiatrists, its true, look it up, shits hilarious.


I would also have a dash of crazy, every great cult needs it, ill have them think that earth isnt our home planet and we are alien hybrids, and that we must find the habitable home planet.
We can only do this by supporting space travel.

Another thing is that we must have a way to worship, Christan, muslims, jews all pray.
Havent thought of what i want for this.


Anyways, all religions are cults, Christianity, islam, and Judaism just have seniority and there weren't cameras back then to show the truth

Take off the space blanket Chuck

>>7408927
Cultus means worship. What makes Judaism, Christianity, and Islam different than modern-day spiritual movements is that they have a grounded, established cognoscenti, scholarly tradition, and theology. All their books have clear literary merit as well.

>>7408876
yep. probably more likely than ever. The post-modern world is a clusterfuck of uncertainty where everything seems equally true and false at the same time. People turn to systems that offer easy-to-digest narratives and ready-made solutions for everything.

>>7408937
If any of those religions were started today people would laugh at them tell them to fuck off, Jesus, and Abraham, and Muhammad would have been exposed for the con men they were like sciontlogy has

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>>7408927
Beat ya to it.

>>7408953
Good for you.

>>7408944
Yes this was the ultimate question I was pondering. On one hand the postmodern condition has created a world where all ideas can seem equally valid, but on the other it has created a widespread attitude cynicism, skepticism and most importantly solipsism, such that it seems people are increasingly unlikely to submit to any authority which has no entrenched or else subliminal influence over them.

ask /x/

While it doesn't have any officially recognized leader, there is certainly a cult of science in the world.

Also, the cult of Donald Trump.

>>7409023
Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens, Bill Nye, NDT

>>7408987
>on the other it has created a widespread attitude cynicism, skepticism and most importantly solipsism

that's precisely why cults and radical ideologies are so appealing. they provide an instant escape from the meaningless, directionless postmodern condition. Certainty can be extremely liberating for someone who has only known uncertainty.

>>7409023
The "cult" of science as you say would be too large to be a true cult. The only thing that seperates a cult from a more respectable faith is the number of participants. I agree lots of science is treated as a faith object, although in my opinion that's for the best. Science wouldn't work very well if there wasn't a certain level of faith in the discoveries of others. No one is independantly intelligent enough, or rather has the time to fully understand every and all scientific theories.

As for Trump that's just a cult of personality, he's just a timely example of a very long history of hero/saviour/celebrity worship.

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>>7409055
Trump is a uniquely american product that pops up every now and then that cant be pinned down as right wing or left wing, is populist, and charismatic

>>7409027
not who you're replying to but those guys are only leaders in the popsci tradition. Along those lines yr forgetting the most current one, Tyson

>>7409064
o my bad I skipped over NDT

>>7409063
yeah I agree in general (p obviously right wing, or at least has thus far catered to it), but there are lots of people who develop cults of personality. He's not alone by any means.

>>7409064
Isn't the rise of this popscifaggotry and Atheism+ stuff the same as scientism?

>>7409088
I don't think I've kept as up to date with it as you have. However I disagree that any of the popular scientists you mentioned would agree with the tenants of scientism. I've never heard of Atheism+ but I generally lump militant athiests with fundamentalists. Zealots of a faith, not a cult.

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The world would have been cooler if lovecraft were the crazy one and turned the cthulu mythos into a real religion.

L ron was a plebe

>>7408876

One of my old friends from high school started a cult a few years ago, he has become either insane or the drugs he took have a spectacular half-life.
He has a small devoted following, mostly of forty year old single ladies, one of them had quite a spectacular home so they are now using that is their vessel of transcendence.

His cult is very much into science but abolishes the modern status quo on semantics and ethics.
I've had the honour to be bestowed on me their title of great lord physician, being myself a physician.

All they really do is read scientific publications, discuss them without any knowledge, prepare succulent vegan meals and have intense orgies. I've been to several of them, if you manage to look past the skin that's starting to sag or in some cases is already drooping on the floor it's quite wonderful.

They also believe in absolute sexual freedom which in their case means that if you are in 'heat' you can fuck any person you desire and they can't resist, so usually there is just constant fucking going on.

They don't advertise, they keep secret but occasionally do crusades which involves going to sad bars at sad hours trying to hustle sad women to join their fuckery.

>>7408876
>current cultural climate
I think you should be looking at whether or not human nature is changed.
People are still gullible as fuck so yes, I think cults can thrive in this day and age.

>>7408953
Hello reddit!

>>7409251

Sounds count of hot.

Where do you life? Can I join?

>>7408954
don't know that much about icp and juggalos (they don't exist in my country). would you, unironically, call them a (religious) cult? why?

>>7408876
Shit yes. Especially if we're not considering first world educated metropolitan areas. And even then that shit slips through the cracks. So long as there are desperate people there will be predators waiting to claim them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_Church

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pic related has a cult that worships secular statism.

"I trust that certain of your acolytes would love to see the master in high dudgeon—believing, as you seem to, that you are in the process of mopping the floor with me—but the truth is that your emotions are getting the better of you. I’d rather you not look like the dog who caught the car." -- Sam Harris 2015

>>7410751
Why is he so Jewish?

>>7408927
I'll be the first to join if you appoint me secondary king

Mormonism is doing quite well for itself

>>7408927
P sure something like this already must exist somewhere, probably in Russia.

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>>7410753

>>7409063
>populist
>hugely wealthy pro-buisness

>>7409251
>All they really do is read scientific publications, discuss them without any knowledge, prepare succulent vegan meals and have intense orgies.
So why haven't any of us started this but with literature instead?

>>7409251
Count me in desu

Honestly I often times find myself wanting to embrace the absurd, post-ironically at first but then getting deeper into it

Would add some color to my life anyway

>>7408876
In a way, if you take Stirner's definition of religion, the modern cult of humanism is thriving; more so than ever if you take the whole "SJW" boogeyman.

I wouldn't actually mind seeing a /lit/ satirical re-write of Dostoevsky's inquisitor scene as the metaphysical realization of tumblr burning Simone de Beauvior or something.

>>7408927
I'm a charismatic hunchback travelling to the deep jungles of India with the son of a respected author.

First ten replies will be my new cults rules.

>>7409251
That counts as a cult? Sounds like more a intense book club that has orgies every once in a while

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>>7408953
>>7408927

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>>7410809
Gravity as an evil force that keeps humans anchored to the earth.

>When the soul of a man is born in this Century there are nets flung at it to hold it back from flight. You talk to me of Sphere, Typing, Gravity. I shall try to fly by those nets.

>>7408891
>What is economics?

>>7410668
NL

Be a forty-something divorced woman or widow.

>>7410779
/lit/ prefers to sit in their little caves and read whilst popping pimples thus spewing the contents over the pages.

>>7410810
They worship a science god/book/historical figure, they call him something they made up. Despite being their last bridge to the outside world apart from their accountant they won't let me attend services or fill me in on what they do, not even my friend who is the leader gives off anything. If I ask he just smiles and says I have to fully commit myself to the group and leave my old life behind.

They live in an old giant factory they fixed up. All the alimony and welfare gives them quite a lot of purchasing power.

I'll probably write a book about them, they are nuts and I already have shitloads of anekdotes and stories on paper. Just waiting to see if they quit, persist or commit mass suicide. I hope for the second one, the orgies are fun despite being a sad affair.

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>>7408876
Are we talking about cults in the "obviously bullshit made up by a charismatic leader to extract profit from rubes" sense and not the "hurr hurr every religion is a cult aren't I witty XD" sense?

Social Justice is a currently thriving leaderless cult. It does however have incredibly wealthy businessmen like George Soros propping it up.

Scientology and Mormonism are both cults, but they both have cultures backing them up. They also have large amounts of capital supporting their operations (Mormons have huge swathes of Utah, Scientology has a small fleet, etc).

What Social Justice, Scientology, and Mormonism have in common is lots of money. Money means you can stop thinking small and start thinking big. Heaven's Gate only had 39 people kill themselves at 20 years of operations (Although at least one member did not kill themselves in order to keep the website up and running). The Order of the Solar Temple likewise took 20 years to get 74 people to kill themselves.

But keep in mind that there are 16 million Jews out there, some 25,000 Scientologists, and 15+ million Mormons (only 6.1 million of which are American). 74 deaths is fucking peanuts. Jonestown managed to get 918 by virtue of having capital (the titular Jonestown). Peoples Temple (The Jonestown group) had a maximum membership of 5,000 people.

So yes, a cult is entirely possible in this day and age. You either need to be wealthy and cast your nets wide, or very devoted and focus on bringing in individuals.

>>7410976
>or very devoted and focus on bringing in individuals.
Couldn't we create a secret society or something? Post-modern masons seem like they would be fun.

>>7409251
Bro story cool

>>7410760
How a religion with one of its central tenets of Jesus being born in North America actually has a serious following is baffling.

http://onetaste.us/

went to one of these by mistake just last night

>>7411036
4chan essentially is a secret society. And behaviors here, although mostly innocuous, are definitely cultlike.

>>7410774
Trump's public persona is that of the exagerrated alpha-male as envisioned by stressed-out people who just want someone to follow. He's giving the shitty, cruel people exactly what they want, and so is a populist.

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>>7411108
So when do we start planning revolutions and shit?

>>7411132
>implying the beta uprising isn't underway
Stupid normo

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>>7411149
I asked "when", not "if".

>>7408909
Not unified, so it is not a cult.

>>7410809
Don't waste holes.

>>7410751
>secular statism
>a cult
>a meme

Noice. You do realize that the majority of the civilized countries on the planet are secular states though right? Granted, American presidents and other heads of state seem to often be religious, but the separation of church and state is a pretty standard constitutional precedent.

So. Yeah. You're retarded.

>>7408891
>Scientology
>Westboro Baptist church
>That cult in Russia with the Jesus guy that's all peaceful and lovely looking
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Cv5hZfOmk (don't mind the incredibly annoying journalism and shitty questions)
>several little magical groups all over countries (we had an ''angels'' thing going on in The Netherlands for a while)
Also
>hyper-capitalism
>consumer culture
>apple
All cults, my friend. We live for it, we die for it, we follow what they tell us. To keep us is no benefit, to destroy us is no loss.

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>>7411200
I am afraid that your dazzling intellect has confused me. You are saying because western governments exist and they profess a degree of secularism that secularism is not capable of being carried to cult like extremes?

please educate me Harris-san

>>7411249
Are there more of these comics? I've only seen this one and the David Hume one.

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Yes. It's called political correctness.

>>7411250
sorry I've only seen those two as well. If you want something really funny check out Harris' "debate" with Chomsky over email.

>>7411271
xD

keep em coming you're cracking me up lol :D

>>7411132
One day anon. But only if you carry the burden.

>>7408953
>If any of those religions were started today people would laugh at them tell them to fuck off, Jesus, and Abraham, and Muhammad would have been exposed for the con men they were like sciontlogy has
But lots of people did laugh at them. They were still able to attract a few freaks and outcasts to follow them

>>7408876
Look at Bernie Sanders voterbase

>>7411717
>who are you quoting?
xD lmao rofl

you're both fucking children fyi

I just don't want to click on all of your posts

My life is a cult of one.

>>7411798
topkek but the truth is that im righthanded lol xD

>>7411532
I'm already carrying that feel, any burden pales in comparison.

>>7409251
I was actually planning something alarmingly similar but it would be girls under 17 and we would talk about literature we have no grasp on. We'd do our recruiting at house parties without me in attendance in order to add a mysterious lure to the whole thing and so i don't instantly come off as the creepy older dude

>>7411831
lol my butthurt is enormous :) xD :p

>>7408891
Apparently you missed internet social justice warriors

>post-christian wishy-washy feelgoodery
>not the biggest cult in the west

Not in the First World, anyway.

Technology has divided us too much.

>>7408912
This. Third/Fourth-wave feminism and social justice.

>ignores facts
>moves goalposts
>attempts to silence anyone who disagrees by labeling them a hategroup
>has a deity (equality)
>has no endgame or goals, everything is completely subjective
>has prophets (university professors)
>people stake their entire fucking lives on this shit
>is a total cancer in the sense that anyone who gets involved with it is basically "gone" in the same way that someone who gets in with Scientology gets brainwashed or someone who becomes hyper-Christian usually disappears into the church and every single fucking conversation somehow leads back to God (or, in this case, the rampant sexism of 21st century western developed nations)

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>>7408876
It is.

>>7411149
Only the deluded and sad really believe this.

>>7415022

Underrated post

>>7411149
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDiOmviCq3U

>>7415298
>the joke has lost its charm
This is what the deluded normalfags say to assuage their fears.

Empiricism/new atheism and nu-liberalism
>>7408927
Go back to Reddit.

>>7408876
I see hipster movements all the time.