How Would You Define a Cult?

[Dill]

(05-13-2024, 12:47 PM)FormerlyBengalRugby Wrote: I believe the book was called "The Hero" but maybe I am mistaken I was a long time ago when I referenced it.
The basic concept is it lists questions and based on how many "yes" answers, you could predict a person likely being fictional versus real.
The questions were something like,
Product of a virgin birth.
Assigned a list of tasks/trial to complete.
Sent away at a young age.
etc...

With the idea being a fictional hero has a relatively defined path. I did a search this morning and Found it to be The Hero with a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell. Not remotely the author name I was trying to come up with.
No worries, the idea just drew up some comparisons in my mind at the time.

Ok so that's comparative religion/mythology. Haven't read it, but it reminds me of Frazer's The Golden Bough, which examines ritual sacrifice, or Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale, which identifies various "functions" common in folk tales, like the protagonist must leave on a "quest" in which he encounters a succession of "obstacles," "interdictions," "villains," and "magical agents"  in various combinations.

Off topic a bit but an interesting subject (to me at least).  Come think of it, though, those narrative studies might shed some light on current political/media narratives deploying hero saviors, villians, and political "obstacles." lol