The quick answer — which is a small info box generated by Google — showed up as the top (non-ad) result when searching the phrase "is Mormonism a cult?" It announced that "Yes, Mormonism is a cult, a non-Christian cult because Mormonism denies essential biblical teachings and adds new, false doctrines."

The website is critical of Mormonism — or, officially, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints — but also discusses other religions such as Islam, Jehovah's Witnesses, Roman Catholicism, and others.

The information used to generate the quick answer evidently came from a website called CARM , or Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry.

Mormonism was unique among religions for both having a quick answer, and for being described as a cult. Similar searches of other religions simply produced traditional results. For example, Catholicism:

Similar results turned up after searches for Judaism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, and several different branches of Christianity. Google didn't even produce cult-themed quick answers for some actual, legit cults:

By about 11:45 p.m. PT Monday night the results were changed and Google was no longer describing Mormonism as a cult:

Google did not offer additional details about how the quick answer was created or how long it was included in search results.

In a statement issued to BuzzFeed Tuesday, Google apologized for the quick answer and explained that such results are generated automatically:

Being called a cult is a touchy subject in Mormonism.

Mormons strongly object to being called a cult, and the church itself has said the "label is usually applied by Church opponents attempting to criticize or discredit the Church." Others have called Mormonism a cult due to "lack of understanding."

Still, critics of the church argue that Mormonism's unusual take on traditional Christian doctrines — things like the Trinity, the Bible, prophets, etc. — make it sufficiently divergent to qualify as a cult. The church counters that it accepts Jesus and is therefore a Christian religion.

Sometimes this debate boils onto the national state. Most notably, in 2011 Rev. Robert Jeffress called Mormonism a cult during the Republican presidential primary. Jeffress, a Rick Perry supporter, also said that Romney was "not a Christian." The comments caused a stir at the time and were widely seen as a jab at Romney. They also led Perry to distance himself from Jeffress.