Re: What is a "cult"?

On 1/06/2024 11:22 p.m., Ross Clark wrote:

On 1/06/2024 10:31 a.m., jerryfriedman wrote:

Ross Clark wrote:
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On 1/06/2024 1:54 a.m., jerryfriedman wrote:

Steve Hayes wrote:
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On Thu, 30 May 2024 01:18:02 +0300, Anton Shepelev
<anton.txt@gmail.moc> wrote:

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Steve Hayes:
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A cult is something that people *do*.
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A cult is not something that people or a group of people
*are*.

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I have no problem with either meaning, and consider the
second one as bearing negative connotations in colluquial
speech.  Britannica online concurs:
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  usually small group devoted to a person, idea, or
  philosophy.  The term /cult/ is often applied to a
  religious movement that exists in some degree of
  tension with the dominant religious or cultural
  inclination of a society.  In recent years the word
  cult has been most commonly used as a pejorative term
  for a religious group that falls outside the
  mainstream and, by implication, engages in
  questionable activities. Many new religions are
  controversially labeled as cults.
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as do many dictionaries.  I also believe this is an old
meaning used by good writers.

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It is because of that usage that the academics want to ban all use of
the term.

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But my Concise Oxford Dictionary has

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cult n. System of religious worship; devotion, homage to person or
thing (the ~ of).

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And I believe that there is no simple synonym to convey that meaning,
and that it should therefore not be banned from academic usage when
used in that sense, because it is not intrinsically pejorative, as it
tends to be when used in the other sense.

..
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Well, I'd think academics should be able to handle that.  But
"the veneration of St. George" seems to be a possibility.
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I'd think academics would also want the usually derogatory
"cult of personality".

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I have opined here before that whoever thus translated Russian культа
личности made two bad choices, since both "cult" and "personality" have
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more prominent senses in English which are inappropriate.
"Worship/veneration of an individual" would have been more accurate,
but, I guess, less snappy.

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The phrase already existed in English, according to the OED.  I wonder
whether the Russian phrase was translated from English.
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cult of personality: a collective obsession with, or intense,
excessive, or uncritical admiration for, a particular public figure,
esp. a political leader; the instigation of such an obsession; cf.
personality cult n.
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Frequently associated with totalitarian leaders (esp. Stalin) and
their idealized portrayal by means of propaganda, manipulation of
the mass media, etc.
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1898
The Oriental voyage of his spectacular Majesty, William II.,
gives the German newspapers plenty of opportunity for speculation,
and incidentally offers many examples of the peculiar cult of
personality indulged in by the German people.
New York Times 6 November 19/7
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1920
In politics, as in the army and boxing, the cult of personality
is in the ascendant.
Observer 26 September 12/2
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1933
Hanfstaengl..coached [Hitler]..in the introduction of
high-pressure American advertising methods. The cult of
personality until then was almost unknown in German political
life.
Billings (Montana) Gazette 5 March 15/3
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1953
Such incorrect methods of work..‘often result in one-sided,
poorly-devised, and..erroneous decisions,’ the editorial [in
the official journal of the Cominform] added. It branded the
cult of personality as ‘harmful and intolerable’ and contrary
to ‘Marx Leninism’.
Times 8 September 6/6
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Well, well. I had always assumed it was a Russian coinage in
retrospective critique of Stalin, perhaps from Khrushchev's famous 1956
speech. I guess that just reflects the period when I first heard it.
 
 
OED doesn't suggest a remoter origin, and the 1898 quote looks as if
it's already a known concept. Could be from some 19th century (German?)
political philosopher.
 
I still think the prevalent senses of the two words create a somewhat
distorted understanding of the phrase among English speakers.

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Ha! How's this?
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"The term "cult of personality" likely appeared in English around
1800–1850, along with the French and German versions of the term. It
initially had no political connotations, but was instead closely related
to the Romanticist "cult of genius".  The first known political use of
the phrase appeared in a letter from Karl Marx to German political
worker Wilhelm Blos dated to November 10, 1877:
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     Neither of us cares a straw of popularity. Let me cite one proof of
this: such was my aversion to the personality cult [orig.
Personenkultus] that at the time of the International, when plagued by
numerous moves ... to accord me public honor, I never allowed one of
these to enter the domain of publicity ...
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_personality
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Their reference is to K.Heller & J.Plamper, Personality Cults in
Stalinism/Personenkulte im Stalinismus (Göttingen, 2004).