The word comes into our language from the latin Cultus meaning to Care, cultivate and worship. It has agricultural connotations as evident in its etymological relationship to the word colere meaning “to till the soil”.

Thus we have the basis of the idea that religious beliefs, myths, theologies etc. are cultivated with care.

Techinically then in my opinion the term “cult” is thoroughly accurate and fair. And in Catholicism the term denotes particular devotion to a saint or school of religious thought.

Even were one to then try to employ the word with negative connotations – as is claimed to be the case here – that is only one interpretation that can be given to the word – and it is an interpretation that relies nonetheless on its family resemblance to the original value-neutral term.

If the unfortunate teenager was to be persecuted for anything it perhaps should suffice only to correct his placard so that it should read “Scientology is not ONLY a religion, it is a dangerous cult”.
(Remove the evaluative term “dangerous” and then the poor lad can be shown to have been waving a tautological placard about).

How sad though that the police have nothing better to do than to pursue this… maybe its just the above lesson in Latin etymology but am I the only one to recall a scene in Monty Python’s “Life of Brian” where the Centurian with nothing better to do persecutes Brian not for the act of graffiti but for his poor Latin!

“Romanus eunt domus?”