My last attempt

Merriam Webster defines it as “a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious”. Although I think that it’s peculiar that a smaller group with beliefs no one has heard of may be regarded as a cult whenever a large more historically established religion with some claims just as outlandish are accepted and respected. It’s human nature, but it is glaringly obvious to me that we’ve just become culturally sensitized to so much that we hardly question it.

Although I think that it’s peculiar that a smaller group with beliefs no one has heard of may be regarded as a cult whenever a large more historically established religion with some claims just as outlandish are accepted and respected. It’s human nature, but it is glaringly obvious to me that we’ve just become culturally sensitized to so much that we hardly question it.
Lots of people consider Hare Krishnas to be a cult - while their religion (Hinduism) is 2500+ years older than Christianity. Just because they're a smaller sect of Hinduism, which is widely accepted as a "legit religion" - they're not because they only focus on certain aspects of the Vedas and other Hindu scripture. People consider them a cult because they hand out free vegetarian food (Hindus eat no meat) and wear robes (anyone seen a Catholic priest lately?).

I'm pretty much with you on any and all organized religion being considered a cult - at least in some sense of the word. Even the small Buddhist sangha I belong to, I'd consider to be a cult of sorts, just don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. I guess that's what Dave was talking about with having to come to a consensus on what the definition of a cult is. Webster's definition is the widely accepted view, but what makes one's religion more valid than any others'? The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster - if it has believers shouldn't be considered a cult just because people of established religions don't think it's legit. (I'm not getting into tax exempt status or any of that because I don't think religions should be tax exempt in the first place. They're money printing machines - or at least the most widely accepted ones are.)