My arbitrary but fun judgment

Cross posted from the comments at Majikthise:

By the way, I have officially declared that the difference between a cult and a religion is not number of followers or wackiness of views, but longevity. To be a religion, you must survive 100 years past the death of your founder, thus ensuring that you are not just coasting on his charisma.

By this rule, the Mormons ceased to be a cult in 1944. The scientologists will have to last until 2086.

My wife’s people, the Quakers, have never been very numerous, and always had out of the mainstream views, but they have been a religion since 1791.