Reading through the emotionally charged interdisciplinary academic brawls published in the 70s and 80s about cults vs NRMs, and the talking past each other while hurling accusations at one another e.g., being nonsensical apologists for harmful-slash-toxic institutions, or personifying bigotry and perpetuating intolerance, should be required reading for anyone who pretends to understand that minefield.

Those nomenclature wars never fully resolved a damn thing except to reinforce the fact that some words will offend the senses of so many who lack common sense or the ability to commit to a measured conversation.

It's also some of the most boring analyses; both sides claimed victory, btw. Both sides also deliberately misconstrued the intentions of the nomenclature of the other side—one huge polarizing mess.

Jesus, those were dark times that never really ended. One side was victorious in imposing NRM pedagogies throughout academia while the other side kept slamming their heads against a brick wall, claiming attributions of bad faith and misunderstanding that persists to this day