cargo cult
Any of several religious movements among the people of Melanesia that anticipate the…Any of several religious movements among the people of Melanesia that anticipate the arrival of material cargo or cultural restoration, typically through the ritual imitation of the activities of colonial or technological cultures.
Meaning
2 sensesAny of several religious movements among the people of Melanesia that anticipate the arrival of material cargo or cultural restoration, typically through the ritual imitation of the activities of colonial or technological cultures.
(also, attributive, figuratively)Any of several philosophies, practices or pseudosciences that are not rooted in experiment, often characterized by an unreflected and ritualistic approach.
cargo cult science
cargo cult software engineering
- a religious cult that anticipates a time of joy, serenity, and justice when salvation comes
- (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)
Examples
1 sentencesCapitalism is a cargo cult.
Translations
2 languagesOrigin
From cargo (“Western material goods”) + cult. First used in print by N. M. Bird in an artiFrom cargo (“Western material goods”) + cult. First used in print by N. M. Bird in an article in 1945.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: cargo cults| Singular | cargo cult |
|---|---|
| Plural | cargo cults |
regular