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sushixyz t1_jcy7vta wrote

Excuse my ignorance but isn't it a tad inappropriate to refer to an ancient religion as a cult? I mean, it may have been a cult by today's standards. Obviously we don't sacrifice things anymore, however to these people in their time this was most definitely a normal practice across many different cultures throughout history. To refer to it as a cult is just a bit inaccurate, in my opinion.

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whywoulditellyou t1_jcybo63 wrote

Cult in this context is not meant in the derogatory sense it is used today. Rather, it refers to the ritual worship of a group. For example, the worship in the Temple in ancient Israel would be referred to as the “Temple cult” even if a majority of the tribes at any time also believed the same.

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fighterace00 t1_jczxt5z wrote

The word cult is not even mentioned in the article at all.

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marketrent OP t1_jd0vp9q wrote

>fighterace00

>The word cult is not even mentioned in the article at all.

‘Cult’ is the first word in the title of the peer-reviewed research article:

>Kennedy M, Strolin L, McMahon J, Franklin D, Flavel A, et al. (2023) Cult, herding, and ‘pilgrimage’ in the Late Neolithic of north-west Arabia: Excavations at a mustatil east of AlUla. PLOS ONE 18(3): e0281904. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281904

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Beautiful_Fee1655 t1_jczi7ld wrote

Cult, which shares an origin with culture and cultivate, comes from the Latin cultus, a noun with meanings ranging from "tilling, cultivation" to "training or education" to "adoration."

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RuinLoes t1_jcywv3b wrote

Cult doesn't mean like brainwashed suicide pact cult here.

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thunder_blue t1_jczwsty wrote

'Cult' is the term for 'religion' in an anthropological context.

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[deleted] t1_jcyan3f wrote

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