whether we mean them to or not, words do things

"cult" gets used to justify racist, sexist, christian imperialist violence sanctioned by the state

and every time you use it, you feed into this idea that some kinds of religion are bad and other kinds of religion are dangerous

yes, even the Peleton jokes

bc whether the group you're criticizing (or, let's be honest, mocking) is religious or not

you're still pulling on assumptions about how belief works

and Americans can't think about belief outside a religious framework

yes, even the atheists

not because they're secretly religious

but because the terms on which we think about belief come out of christian thinking

that's become so normalized as "American" we don't even recognize it as religious anymore http://keepingit101.buzzsprout.com/810974/3115813-you-might-be-done-with-religion-but-religion-is-not-done-with-you

we get into this more in the cults episode bc obvs http://keepingit101.buzzsprout.com/810974/4113314-smart-grrl-summer-cults

but for now, let's keep it simple

is your critique that some groups sexually or financially exploit members?

those things are illegal

focus on the exploitation

is your critique that religion is dumb and people who are religious are also dumb?

you are wrong (and intentionally or otherwise you're being racist, sexist, and classist AF)

you should maybe read some books

or hey http://keepingit101.buzzsprout.com/810974/2466752-what-the-heck-is-religion-and-what-the-heck-is-this-podcast

are you worried about preventing abuse?

cool, me too

religion doesn't cause abuse, but a lack of public and political accountability can make it easier for large/powerful/wealthy organizations (religious or otherwise) to facilitate and cover up abuse

get mad and do something

you get the idea

name the actual problem

then target the actual problem

"cults" ain't it