The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

Over my many years of being a vampire people saw me as many things including a member of a religious group and a cult worshipper so I was wondering what all of you think about ourselves. Are we a "religious group" or are we a cult?

I think 'vampire' is more a way of life, than an idea/thing to worship

So I don't think its a religion.

It has to be a cult

A CULT FOLLOWING

Artemka:

By your definition, any type of lifestyle would be cult.

I believe it is a way of life.

One that some see, as a conscious choice they make.
Others that live this life, because for them there is no other.

I do not believe it is a religion or a cult.
I think it a way of life, for those who live it.
Whether they chose it or not.

I believe it is a lifestyle choice based upon the needs or perceived needs of the individual. But not a cult or religion, since both of those groups try to herd their followers toward one way of living whereas vampires do not.

I'd have to agree it is a way of life rather than anything else.

i think its both,cuz vampires been around forever and it deserves 2 b called a religion and a cult

ummm . . . neither. i don't know if this is actually correct, but i always thought that for something to be a religion or a cult, the followers have to follow some sort of higher power or set of beliefs. and all the vampires i've met don't have any particular belief system. sooo . . . yeah. i don't know if that makes sense.

Yeah.. neither.. really.

Do vampires all worship one deity or a common set of deities?

Do vampires have a central figure that they believe is their leader or deity?

I haven't seen this from anyone here.. a pretty wide variety of people who participate in a common lifestyle with a wide range of their own beliefs and values...

...no yeah.. neither.

I have to say neither.

Vampyres definitely do not have a specific set of deities that they worship, so that rules out religion. (I know vampyres that are Christian, Pagan, ect.)

I also do not believe that vampyres are a cult following. Generally, cults also have some sort of higher power (which again, vampyres do not) to follow.

CULT: a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.

RELIGION: a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

I find that being a vampire does not fall into either of these catagories.

Each individual is allowed there own belief system. Also to live their lives by whatever moral code they adhered to, good or bad.

As stated above in both a Religion and a Cult you are being lead to certain beliefs either through a leader or through a set of governing rules of conduct.

I have not seen this among vampiric society. So I would again say, it is neither.

It is a cultural way of life for some. A lifestyle choice for others.

A cult i believe, there are covens and houses and such. But also a way of life

A lifestyle. Nowhere is it written that vampires MUST believe a certain way.

i think we are a very addicting cult.

I wouln't call it a cult or a lifestyle. It isn't something you join or lifestyle you choose.
It is something within you that needs to be learned and unfortunately for some who arent liking it lived and excepted.
BLESSED BE

I don't really think either - But probably closest to a cult.

Neither, nor is it a lifestyle, unless the person who claims to live one is clearly stating that they aren't a Kin Vamp, but dig the supposed 'style' of it all. To me, saying it is a religion or a cult are both bad- a cult would be some sick brainwashed group led by someone...since usually those in cults are lackeys, and a religion is just a system of beliefs, not proven, not omnipotent, and could as easily become a group of raving madpeople who would kill in the name of *blah blah blah (aka the witch hunts or nameless criminal acts of history all for the name of religion)

Being vampire is in the blood, no pun intended, its who you ARE, not what you wanna be. Suffice it to say that Hollywood, damn its dramatic heart, twists peoples minds into thinking that all the glory of movie vampirism can make you a strange and lovely superbeing, god i hate that misconception.

*pardon me I'll step off that soapbox now*

we now return to your regularly shceduled entertainment

Madlyn:

This is true in most cases, I believe. But there are those who do choose this as a lifestyle whether because of what they read or saw or heard.

I truly think it is a way of life for most.

i dont think either is correct. i mean, spot welders have unions, do the same sort of thing, wear similar clothes to each other, drink in the same bars, and have meetings etc. they have trainers to teach them how to spot weld.

would you describe spot welding as either a cult, or a religion? that would be ludicrous.

Not being a vampire, I would have to say neither.

Of course, it wouldn't matter what I would think as I am not one. but I know cults and I know religion.

I have to go the MistressSiobhan on this one it is more a lifestyle or something like that.

I believe it is neither a religion or a cult just by way of definitions that have already been stated. I do believe it is a lifestyle that some choose to live.

As far as the houses and covens that LilithDarkBlade mentioned, they do not make it a cult. In any society people form groups to be able to socialize with other people with similar interests. That is what the covens and houses are, they are just groups with in a society of vampires. Now each individual coven or house might be considered a cult in itself if the group has a leader that demands that the people in his group follow a strict set of rules that do not let the individual decide for themselves how to live.

I agree on the fact that vampires are nether a religion or a cult, and so far all have stated the obvious, as vampires do not follow a charismatic leader and all.
Plus all vampires do not do the same way their life and beleif, I will agree they are similarities but still most have their own way of life and beleif.
So therefore it cannot be a cult or a religion.

I think its a religious group it has a bible after all.

I also think it's a way of life and a path that one chooses.

Also, there are individuals who recieved the gifts of Vampirism through various ways.

For some, it's a religion and for others, it's a cult. It all depends on how you see it.

i belive that it is a life style not a cult or a religion but thats my oppion

I don't believe it to be either....

For me it is just a characteristic of one's being. I rule out religion as we are not worshiping anything...and a cult would still have some sort of leader....

as for covens their leaders are for guidance and wisdom.....loyalty and trust are a must, but I don't see them as leaders of a cult. Do we call the city councils with a mayor a cult?

IndigoBizarre:

I have been trying to make that point. I don't think I phrased it as well as you did.

I still think that for some, it is a choice of lifestyles. While for others it is who they are, what they are.

I beleive for some its a lifestyle and for some they were chosen by a being stronger then I to walk this road.

It is something One feels deep within...It has nothing to do with religion or cults....

It is a way of life and in some case's a question of species. By far it it not a religion or cult.

Religion? No, as that brings a higher being into it.
Cult? Yes, for those who want to be a vampire.

i dont think either i think we are jsut creatures of the dark

VampireWitch39:

I would have to disagree. The lifestyle itself is not a cult.Those that are drawn to it might have cultist idealisms.

But overall I still believe that is a way of life.
As mentioned earlier before this thread, true vampires are a in fact, a species themselves, though humanoid, yet not human at all.

Vampires do not represent a cult, nor a religion, they make their own religion. Vampires are free, unique beings... I can't see them chained by any type of religion, any type of rules.

Maharetthe:

That is what I keeping stating. There does seem to be a sense of what is right and wrong.

I believe that comes with any Society.

If this thread was asking if a Vampire church is a cult or not that would be one thing. Which by the way, will not be allowed here. But this thread has no meaning to any religion or cult. ~ Billy

I can see how the state of vampyrism can be equated with a religious experience, with the chosen adherence to moral statutes and with any number of books- coming about regarding the nature of 'real' vampyres, there is a suggestion of such works transmuting into a Dogmatic 'scripture'.

But by the very basis of awakening, it leaves the mind in a state where we can readily choose our own beliefs, essentially unrestricted by an institutionalised system of belief. We can then reach a place of self-constructed and personal religion, as was said.

Next to that, one could say that various cultish groups form around the idea of vampyrism, but they do not define the concept in themselves, they merely mimic the popular archetypes.

Such peple often become lost in Bizarre fantasies of who and what they are, subjecting their free will to a set of false perceptions. Often, this leads to deep seated psychosis and may even lead to an 'acting out' of schizophrenic reality.

So, I would then say that vampyres can choose to form cults or experience religious events, but they are not defined by them and certainly not constricted by them either.

Vampyres just are...