Heh, that south park episode, I've heard about it, but never seen it. I should watch it sometime

Keep in mind, Parker and Stone seem to love Mormons. In one particular episode, where bunch of people are going to Hell and Heaven, an angel is speaking to the crowds and saying 'and if you're you're wondering who gets into heaven, the correct answer is...the mormons, yes the mormons".

The line between cult and religion is pretty blurry, and if you think that a mainstream religion (perhaps yours, perhaps not) is significantly different from what people widely agree are cults (in the Heaven's Gate sense), I would like to hear your reasoning as to why. I want to be clear that I'm not trying to be hostile, but that I usually don't hear much argumentation about this, and am interested in the views of people who follow a religion regarding the distinction.

As for Mormonism, in my view it's not on any shakier ground than any other religion as far as beliefs go, but there are curious events that pique the doubts in people who want to do so. I remember a scammer (I forget his name) who forged artifacts that contradicted the Joseph Smith story, because he believed that the church leaders would buy them from him to keep them away from people who might use them to discredit claims about the church's origin. It worked, and he made a lot of money until he was eventually caught by police.

On the other hand, I came across an interesting essay a while back by Orson Scott Card (back when he could still write well, no less) that looked at the scale and complexity of fraud that would be needed to fake the Joseph Smith story. You can read it here.

That and they have a broadway show about mormons.... they said mormons have an interesting story, but they rip on religions all the time.

[quote name='Hodgman' timestamp='1297994192' post='4775662']
There's scientologists and mormons in Australia too -- those cults seem pretty global these days.

There's plenty of ethnic minorities in Australia with 1 in 5 people having been born overseas (or 1 in 3 people in my city). The indigenous population (Australian aborigines) are actually a pretty small minority, making up about 1 in 50 people.
Some of the ethnic groupings here probably wouldn't be recognised by Americans/Europeans (i.e. non-pacific people) - e.g. Micronesians, Polynesians, Melanesians.

Mormons is a cult? How so?
[/quote]

Well I knew a guy who said Jesus was coming back to establish his kingdom in Utah or some crap..he was from a sect of mormons.

Yeah, we have teh morons here two

[quote name='Zeraan' timestamp='1298006687' post='4775713']
[quote name='Hodgman' timestamp='1297994192' post='4775662']
There's scientologists and mormons in Australia too -- those cults seem pretty global these days.

There's plenty of ethnic minorities in Australia with 1 in 5 people having been born overseas (or 1 in 3 people in my city). The indigenous population (Australian aborigines) are actually a pretty small minority, making up about 1 in 50 people.
Some of the ethnic groupings here probably wouldn't be recognised by Americans/Europeans (i.e. non-pacific people) - e.g. Micronesians, Polynesians, Melanesians.

Mormons is a cult? How so?
[/quote]

Well I knew a guy who said Jesus was coming back to establish his kingdom in Utah or some crap..he was from a sect of mormons.
[/quote]
Is there supposed to be a sarcasm tag on that or not?

To answer the OP: Yes, Europe as groups of minorities as well. Thinking about it, probably more so - you have lots of small countries, a decent number of dialects, and a fair bit of shuffling around. They may not be as visible as other minority groups, but they are there.

To the other posters: I'm a Mormon, and I find your discussion quite entertaining. When I think of a cult in the traditional sense, I don't generally think of a group of 12+ million. I do appreciate your discussions of both sides, but how about next time we try to keep it on topic, OK?

Is there anything like amish people in europe? Its beyond me why people would drive a horse and not believe in the cars that drive by them all the time.

Is there anything like amish people in europe? Its beyond me why people would drive a horse and not believe in the cars that drive by them all the time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish

Looks like they originated in Switzerland, so I guess it's possible that some of them live in Europe still. It seems that most of them migrated to USA or Canada.

Is there anything like amish people in europe? Its beyond me why people would drive a horse and not believe in the cars that drive by them all the time.

I think it's not so much that they don't believe in cars (I'm assuming that you're using "believe in" in the sense of people thinking that they exist, as in ghosts), but rather that they reject them as being unacceptable in some fundamental way. Why exactly they feel the need to cling to that old lifestyle is beyond me as well.

[quote name='Hodgman' timestamp='1298007859' post='4775721']...

I am amused by this. You know nothing of the religion.
[/quote]Luckily, this is only a minor problem that can be solved easily: Documentary.