Cult definitions coined from 1920 onward refer to a cohesive social group and their devotional beliefs or practices, which the surrounding population considers to be outside of mainstream cultures. The surrounding population may be as small as a neighborhood, or as large as the community of nations. They gratify curiosity about, take action against, or ignore a group, depending on its reputed similarity to cults previously reported by mass media.

The spelling c-u-l-t has at least nine defined meanings divided among positive, negative, and neutral connotations: Between 3,000 and 5,000 neutrally-defined sociological cults existed in the United States in 1995. Since less than 200 groups have been reported by governments as cults entangled with the law, and less than 20 have been described as destructive cults, the vast majority of non-fan groups referred to as cults are well-behaved and known only to their neighbours.[citation needed]

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