ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the theoretical and historical development of the term "cult," from its inception in the work of Troeltsch to more modern delineations of the term in the work of researchers studying new religious groups. It discusses the usurpation of the term by popular usage associated with strong negative connotations, along with efforts by a few contemporary scholars to salvage the term by redefining it in ways which attempt to combine traditional and popular meanings. The chapter deals with suggestions that scholars should avoid the term and that it should not be allowed to be used in legal proceedings because of its confused and negatively connoted meaning in contemporary society. Aside from the obvious negative stereotype offered by the use of such language, there are other problems with the delineation. There is little in the definition except for the "new and unfamiliar in the United States" which resembles the traditional sociological definition of the term.
