Culto evangelistico

[rstinejr]

I passed a church that had the notice of several services, including a time for "culto evangelistico".

A check with Google verified my hunch that "culto" is at least sometimes a false cognate of "cult". :D

[chileno]

Culto is OK, the problem is the other word, not common. :)

[JPablo]

The "negative" or pejorative sense of "cult" is communicated in Spanish with the word "secta".

"Culto" in Spanish doesn't have the senses 6 and 7 given in Random House, ie,
6. 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.
7. the members of such a religion or sect.

[carlosvilas]

rstinejr you're right, "culto" could also mean "cultured", "educated" and so on...

BTW, the second word needs an accent: "evangelístico"

[pjt33]

It's a true cognate, but complicated by polysemy and by diverging meaning. Both come from the Latin cultus, which somehow extended its original meaning of cultivated into worship. In modern Spanish it includes individual acts of worship and systems of worship; in modern English it includes systems of worship (e.g. the first theology book I picked up to check has an entry for Cult, sacrificial in the index) and minority or heterodox religious groups.