Legal definition and social one uniquely different with respect to religion

Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah

Carol Forsloff -Several years ago a young woman described herself as a Mormon at a library in Natchitoches,Louisiana, and when she left the desk, the clerk said, "That's not a religion; it's a cult."  But what does the law say is the definition of religion?  And how is that definition different than the social one?

I told the clerk I was writing about religions. “That’s not one,” she said, “It’s a cult. They don’t believe like us."

Well, defining "us" might be difficult since there are diverse beliefs in any town, including one in the Bible Belt. 

“What makes you think so?” was the question asked of the clerk with the pretty, young face and the adamant opinion.

“I just know, don’t you.”

“Actually,” I said, “I don’t.  But it might be interesting to find out what the experts say about faith and how it is defined”

So what defines the difference between a cult and a religion?

Christianity was considered different enough to cause consternation to Romans and Jews alike when it first began. The divisions of Christianity have
called one another cults ever since, but what makes a religion legal?
The Church of Scientology is recognized over most of the world as a religion,
although some may define it as cult. Believers use this fact to recruit.
Others consider it a cult with a nefarious character. That’s true of
other groups as well. For example, the Branch Davidians were
controversial both before and after David Koresh.

The Internal Revenue Service gives this as definition :

a distinct legal existence, a recognized creed and form of worship, a definite and distinct ecclesiastical government, a formal code of doctrine and discipline a distinct religious history, a membership not associated with any other church or denomination, an organization of ordained ministers, ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed studies, a literature of its own, established places of worship, regular congregations, regular religious services, Sunday schools for religious instruction of the young, school for the preparation of its ministers.

But some wonder if this set of criteria of the IRS is accurate and if
it might just be biased and flawed.

One writer observes that it distinctly favors high or formal churches with
large congregations. Unitarians and Quakers often meet informally in
homes or small places. Some groups use a selection from different
religious literature. Some have history that is aligned with other
groups, but have such different characters that they couldn’t be
associated with the same group, such as the Quakers and Baptists who
left the Church of England at the same time and have a shared history in
some respects and unshared in others.

Lots of groups don’t have Sunday school for the young. So if it isn’t the IRS standard that is reasonable, what should be used?

It turns out the debate over the definition of religion is as old as history itself and the debate has gone on for ages. Even lawyers and nations have
had trouble sorting it out.

The problems involve the imposition of societal standards and judgments that can make a difference. So when it comes to protecting religion the application of the law requires a definition, but that definition brings debate.

Then there is identity religion where folks subscribe to a community but not
necessarily to a specific set of religious beliefs. That would include
many Jews, for example. In most places the laws that regulate religion
are usually oriented towards majority practices and the promotion of
specific groups to the community to be recognized.

The actual practice of faith means that in countries with large Christian
populations Christmas is a holiday and in Islamic countries laws that
permit the ritual slaughter of animals. So what is a religion?

The answer is really who applies to be one and over time is accepted after
enough fuss is made and enough adherents join in making a fuss that is
heard by those in control and power, according to those who
have reviewed this question.

With the debates raging in the world about religion in general, what about those religions outside of Christianity?  It appears, given the definitions that the traditional faith groups of Islam, Judaism and Buddhist, as well as others, are legally religions and not cults, despite how society might judge them.

Mormon is likely a religion, according to most of these rules.  The group is well-known and has  a little over 12 million members worldwide.  It also has specific creeds that set it apart from other faith groups.   That’s certainly enough to make it a religion according to the law.