h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

yes, and then again no. Cult in its modern sociological usage does not include every religion, it does however include such groups as Heaven's Gate, Branch Davidians, and Scientologists.

And I used the word freaky because it has Tom Cruise and John Travolta as members

And what precluding factors would one use to determine what is a "religion" and what is merely a "cult"?

a wide range of factors, including, but not limited to, things such as censorship/control of members, separation from society (socially or geographically), increasing the dependance of members upon the group, loaded thinking and polarised thinking, offering a solution to everything, divine authority of leader, indoctrination, and slave labour - ie the use of member(s) to perform tasks, for little or no pay, purely for the benefit of the leader or those higher up in the group.

Not all of these need to apply for a group to be considered a cult and some 'christian' groups are cults. Further not all cults are harmful, either to the members or society at large.

Suppose it's a fine line really. And many groups can come across as perfectly legitimate etc initially. Think the openness of the group can be a big defining point. If they're secretive about their inner workings, then it can't be a good sign.