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The cult of a religion, as opposed to its sacred writings ("scriptures"),
its
theology or
myths, or
the personal faith of its believers, has traditionally referred to the
totality of external religious practice and observance, the
neglect of which is
impiety.
"Cult" and "cultist" have recently accrued negative
connotations that are dealt with at the entry
Cult.
Some Christians make refined distinctions between
worship
and
veneration, both of which are outwardly expressed in cultus
or cult.
Catholicism and
Eastern Orthodoxy distinguish between worship (Latin
adoratio, Greek latreia [λατρεια]) which is due
to God alone, and
veneration (Latin veneratio, Greek doulia
[δουλεια]), which may be lawfully offered to the
saints.
These private distinctions between deity and mediators are
exhaustively treated at the entries for
Worship
and
Veneration.
Among the observances in the cult of a deity are
ritual,
which may involve spoken or sung
prayers
or hymns,
and often
sacrifice. Other manifestations of the cult of a deity are the
preservation of
relics
or the creation of images, such as
icons
(usually connoting a flat painted image) or
idols,
and the identification of sacred places, hilltops and mountains,
fissures and caves, springs and pools, or groves, which may be the
seat of an
oracle.
The sacred places may be elaborated by construction of
shrines
and
temples, on which are centered public attention at
religious festivals (called "Feasts" in some Christian
communities) and which may become the center for
pilgrimages.
The comparative study of cult practice is part of the disciplines
of the
anthropology of religion and the
sociology of religion, aspects of
comparative religion. |
