Description

The cult “is just the other,” famously wrote Swiss historian Jean-François Mayer. From many decades, if not centuries, those who want to discriminate against certain religious minorities claim that they are not “genuine” religions but “cults,” a lesser category with no right to religious liberty. In the 19th century, the label was used to deny their rights to Latter-day Saints, popularly known as Mormons, in Ohio and Illinois. Hundreds were killed, including their founder. As often happens in history, however, they had the last laugh. Compelled to move to faraway Utah, they built from there what is today a large global religion with more than 16 million members.