culte

Culte is a French noun that denotes devotion or reverence paid to a deity, a saint, or another religious figure, and it also refers to the organized practices surrounding such devotion. It can describe the public rites of worship performed in temples or churches (culte public) as well as private acts of piety in the home (culte domestique). The term derives from the Latin cultus, meaning cultivation, tending, or worship.

In English-language scholarship, the term cult is used to describe a religious movement with distinctive beliefs, charismatic leadership, and often high levels of commitment or control; it is typically loaded with negative connotations and is not a neutral label. The French culte is usually neutral when describing worship or devotional practice, though it can refer to groups in context, and French discourse may also use secte for groups viewed as deviant or dangerous.

Historically, the concept of cultus appears in Roman religion to describe the rituals and rites directed toward gods, and in Christian and other traditions to describe the cult of the saints or the cultus of a holy figure. In modern usage, culte can appear in expressions such as culte de la personnalité (cult of personality), where devotion to a leader is framed as worship.

Culte intersects with related ideas such as worship, religion, sect, and new religious movements, and it is often distinguished by the degree of devotion, ritual form, and social dynamics involved in a given religious context.