1) I outright don't accept that a "secret" is the difference between religion & cult. It does seem like something a religious person would say to explain away why their cult isn't actually a cult though.

2) The type of "secret" doesn't matter if in the end everything boils down to "you must have faith" and some other mofo gets your tithe money. The power dynamic of a pastor/priest and their congregation isn't all that different to that of a cult leader.

One only needs to see the countless times "Christian" religious leaders have abused their power to see how they're no different than your average charlatean cult leader.

The religious practices themselves have transcended mere ritual into a cultural norm, but at the core, all it means is that it is a very successfuk cult that has had staying power for 2000 years.