1. You generally require a charismatic, authoritarian leader who has strong central command over the group and whose word is law; tenets that actively lead the congregation to act against their best interests; and a dogmatic belief system with strict limits on interpretation of religious teachings (really just the first point again).
2. The classical definition of "cult" has almost no overlap with today's perjorative evolution of the word and just means a system of worship.
2. The classical definition of "cult" has almost no overlap with today's perjorative evolution of the word and just means a system of worship.