Oh yes, Orthodox Judaism. Well, “orthodox Jewry” as a whole is indeed a “cult” in the sense of being devoted to a set of ritual beliefs and practices that differ in an identifiable degree from those of other Jews. read more
Let’s inject a bit of scholarly reason into this discussion for a moment. Anthropologically, the term “cult” has NO pejorative innuendo attached. read more
Sometimes they find their needs met in an orthodox Jewish setting. Sometimes they find orthodox enablers, and sometimes they zone out despite the best efforts of their mentors. Doesn't mean it that orthodox Judaism is supposed to be a cult, not does it mean that it functions as one to the vast majority of its adherence. read more
If you are Jewish, then the overwhelming likelihood is that your great-grandparents were fully observant Jews, and their parents were, and their parents were, and so on back for many generations. Surely you cannot believe that your own grandparents were members of a cult. read more