Perhaps less than one might think.
Opinions differ about the degree of correspondence among groups referred to as cults.
According to Lindt, the word cult originally denoted any religious group that emphasized worship and ritual over doctrine but has been reappropriated as a pejorative term for a wide variety of unpopular groups. Terminology aside, society has a continuing interest in identifying destructive trends in religious movements, within either well-established institutions or groups that the mainstream considers suspect. However, widely held social mores clash with the teachings of many religious systems. Distinctions between religions and cults are still made, often on the basis of how the latter groups purportedly manipulate the thinking of individual members. The CAN has put forth certain definitions and descriptions of destructive cults, including what it calls techniques of mind control, drawing heavily on the work of Drs.