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cargo cult
(redirected from Cargo cults)

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.02 sec.
cargo cult
n
(Social Science / Anthropology & Ethnology) a religious movement of the SW Pacific, characterized by expectation of the return of spirits in ships or aircraft carrying goods that will provide for the needs of the followers
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.cargo cult - (Melanesia) the followers of one of several millenarian cults that believe salvation will come in the form of wealth (`cargo') brought by westerners; some ascribe divine attributes to westerners on first contact (especially to missionaries)
cult - followers of an unorthodox, extremist, or false religion or sect who often live outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader
Melanesia - the islands in the southwestern part of Oceania
2.cargo cult - a religious cult that anticipates a time of joy, serenity, and justice when salvation comes
cultus, religious cult, cult - a system of religious beliefs and rituals; "devoted to the cultus of the Blessed Virgin"


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Dawkins (vividly) rehearses lots of familiar stuff, like The Worst Moments of The Old Testament (the Flood, the nuking of Sodom, the genocide in Canaan, and so on), the sins of fundamentalism, ongoing faith-based homophobia and related sexual abuses, the absurdities of cargo cults, Pascal's utterly unconvincing Wager, even the kidnaping of Edgardo Mortara at the behest of Pope Pius IX.
Given the cargo cults built around their names, these expressions of sentimentality and radical hope are also acts of considerable personal modesty.
The stories she relates involve, among much else, a lonely cottage on Tanna haunted by the mysterious deaths of two of its former residents; a romantically secluded island residence off of Santo; and a colorful cast of native, European and "half-caste" locals engaging in cargo cults, wildly speculative commercial ventures and, towards the end on Santo, open rebellion.
 
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