"Destructive cult" is a term used to refer to religious groups which have caused harm to their own members or to others. Some researchers define "harm" in this case with a narrow focus, specifically groups which have deliberately physically injured or killed other individuals, while others define the term more broadly and include emotional abuse among the types of harm inflicted. Use of the term has been criticized by some researchers, who assert that it is used to discredit the groups it is applied to, and unfairly compare them with historically more harmful groups and movements. Authors have also compared destructive cults with terrorism, and have used the term to characterize Osama bin Laden as a destructive cult leader. Physical harm "Destructive cult" as applied to physical abuse has generally referred to groups which have, through deliberate action, physically injured or killed members of their own group or other individuals. Example

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