I agree with you that it's uncharitable to call Christianity a cult when there are more obviously perverse religious/New Age groups that better align with the definition (at least for the sake of debate).

However, I'm sure if you asked an LGBTQ person of their experiences with Christianity, especially with the uniquely conservative U.S. evangelical variety, they would say that some of those qualities clearly fit the bill.

Edit: One could also argue that the Catholic Church and its system of cardinals electing the pope (and whose very presence is regarded as sacrosanct) would qualify as both absolute authority and leader-worship. Albeit, I know the pope's own cop out is that God is the absolute authority, but I digress before my interest in theology leads us all down a dull rabbit hole.

I didn't intend to imply that Christianity is a cult now, but that it was as far as Jews and the Romans of the time were concerned. It wasn't even the only group at the time following a self-proclaimed messiah.

In the same way it's said that a language is "a dialect with an army", I'm claiming the difference between a cult and religion is the same.

Sadly, lots of Christians forget that no sin is greater than any other sin because all sin separates them from the Father.

Also:

> Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Love the person. The sin is still a sin, but love the person. It doesn't get any more simple than that.

I'm not aware of shunning people being common in US Christian groups for leaving. I stopped going to a church long ago and still keep in touch with friends who still attend.

There was the practice of excommunication, literally, to put outside the community and communication. Today retained in the form of denying communion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excommunication

https://www.etymonline.com/word/excommunication

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/politics/politi...

https://www.catholicvote.org/bishop-deny-communion-to-border...

The shunning thing is more Islam and Judaism nowadays. In the olden days of the Spanish Inquisition apostasy and heresy were rather roubustly dealt with.

The Catholic Inquisition still exists but it has been renamed to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith[0].

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregation_for_the_Doctrine_...

I'm not going to argue here over what religions or groups specifically are or aren't cults.

But GP's definition lacked significant nuance.