Probably not, the Latin "cultus" means worship of a god and is value-neutral; the vernacular English meaning of "cult" as "new religious movement that I don't like" is quite recent. A catholic church having a budget line for "cult expenses" (that's a case of wine and a box of communion wafers) wouldn't raise eyebrows within the congregation.

That said, is there a temple without cult? After all a temple is a building to worship a deity. That sounds like a poor translation.

Buddhist temples don't necessarily worship deities as far as I know.

Depends on the tradition or school or however the divisions are named I think. I don't possess a deep understanding of Buddhism but I've visited shrines that are dedicated to different gods/bodhisattvas like Tara or another one I don't remember. Maybe that's different than a temple though, these were shrines up in the Himalya. And the line between deities and bodhisattvas or humans doesn't seem so clearly delineated as it is in Abrahamic religions. Buddhism and "Hinduism" are intensely complex and interesting religions or sets of beliefs to me.

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult "In modern English, a cult is a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs, or by its common interest in a particular personality, object or goal. This sense of the term is controversial, having divergent definitions both in popular culture and academia, and has also been an ongoing source of contention among scholars across several fields of study.[1][2]:348–56 It is usually considered pejorative."

I am sure the Catholic church would object to being called a cult in the English speaking world, do realise that a different set of laws might apply to a cult as against a religion.

The Catholic Church uses the term cult to refer to the movement around the veneration of particular saints, ex: The Cult of Saint Joseph.

I looked it up just to be sure:

> A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.

Based on the article, this seems to have been the dominant religion in the area. Norse and Rus ship burials are fairly well-documented so I must agree with the grandparent: using the word cult seems quite derogative.

I don’t think the modern usage of the word cult is the only one though. In literature about polytheistic or shamanistic cultures you’ll often encounter the word “cult” without it being derogatory. Like “Cult of Dionysius” or Mazu cult. It’s just a word that has to be understood in context.

A good test would be to use "Cult of Jesus" or "Cult of Mohammed" - either of which are actually historically/theologically accurate terms.

I bet that would set few heads rolling, figuratively and perhaps literally.

They make sense to me. Especially early or pre-establishment Christianity. They were a “cult of Jesus” within the context of both Judaism and Roman religious life.

Very much so. They had to operate literally underground and use codified signals and emblems to avoid prosecution (social or otherwise).

There's nothing suggesting that this burial site was used by people who weren't Norse pagans like most other people in areas settled by the Norse at that time.

Your point would have been accurate if this find had indicated a cult of Odin or something, and that those worshippers didn't have the same practices their surroundings had.

Pagan is another word that should be dropped even more certainly than cult.

Pagan is the word Christians used for non Christian religions starting after the Roman state converted, not the word anyone used for themselves.

Fair enough. English isn't my first language, so I basically go with what the dictionary says, in this case "An adherent of a polytheistic religion in antiquity". :)

Pagan is merely derived from the Latin word for “rural” or “rustic” because Christianity took hold in Roman cities first and non-Christian Roman gentry held out in the countryside.

Mostly, but I don’t think a Christian would call a Muslim or a Jew ‘Pagan’. It’s more of a synonym for polytheism.

Sect would probably be the same noun without the derogatory connotation.

I'm not sure... I've heard "sect" used in a derogatory sense in English, as in "sectarian".

I think sect implies a factionalism or mutual exclusivity that doesn’t generally fit for ancient polytheistic religions.

>authoritarian, charismatic leader.

you mean like the pope?

Welcome to Protestantism. :-)

French as well.

'Lieux de culte' is just a generic place of worship and is applied to mainstream ones (e.g., Catholic churches) as well as less common religions.