The Fear of Cults and the Courage to Think

Author: Gilad Sommer

July 15, 2025

The word cult comes from the Latin colere, meaning to cultivate—a root it shares with words like culture and agriculture. It originally referred to tending, especially in the sense of worship, as in taking care of the gods. Up until the 19th century, cult carried no negative associations. It was commonly used to describe religious [...]

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