Talk:Cult homicide

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I don't like this page, because it uses the word "cult" in a sense that many people (such as many researchers in the field of new religions, and also myself) disapprove of. However, I think this topic needs to be covered -- but I think we need to find a way to do it without using the controversial word "cult". I moved this here from Homicidal cult, which is a slight improvement, since the former title implied that some cults are inherently homicidal, rather just happening to commit homicide. Same comments apply, mutatis mutandis, to cult suicides.

To be fair we should also note that most mainstream religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and others) have been guilty of religiously motivated killing at some time in their history. Its not just something that "cults" do. But the article should just note this, and restrict the main discussion to cult killings today, since socially sanctioned religious violence by the established religion of a society is different from the violence of small religious groups in tension with society. -- SJK

[edit] Human Sacrafice

I do not think there is any point in mentioning particular religions. Almost all cultures have practised human sacrifice at some point in time.