Cults and 'Secular Religion'

In 'Prelude to Atheism', there was a lot of exploration of cults and the concept of a hypothetical secular religion.

Cults

When does a cult become a cult?

Why are cults so ominous?

What is the difference between a cult and a religion?

Do religions not generally begin as cults?

Are cults bad in any comparable way to Unions being bad? Is the problem with cults wholly legitimate? - And the same with a secular religion?

The secular religion

Secular religion is a worthy thought experiment. However, could it also be a worthy endeavor?

Would it be possible to take the criticisms of religion and create a secular religion that optimally takes the value of religion, but leaves the problems of it behind.

Would a secular religion be appealing to many who stay in religious institutions despite not believing them?

Is a secular religion an unworthy enterprise, because it would end up as like non-alcoholic beer to beer? Does it come out as a pointless endeavor?

Is a secular religion merely impractical, because the heart of devotion to religious institutions is manipulative by nature?

Is a secular religion an unworthy endeavor, because the institutional aspect of religion is the very problem to avoid?

Would the truth of a secular religion inevitably have an 'uncanny valley' element that would keep it from being a solution for intelligent people?

Is there more acceptance and tolerance of religious institutions than there would be for a secular religion? ie: by virtue of age?

Societal and Political Bias

Is there a Noam Chomsky factor in starting new types of organizations? What are the incentives of existing institutions in society to allow for new types of communities and ideas?

If there is such an institutional conflict of interest, what intellectual corrections would be made to see the ideas of cults and a secular religion clearly?

• Christianity is dominated by the conservative party
• Higher education institutions are dominated by government
• Work institutions are dominated by depressing corporate hype/stigmas
• The 'military industrial complex'
• A secular religion might not fall strictly under a definition of a religious institution. 
• (and thus, does that not add to societal bias against such an institution by virtue of it being more unique than, rather than less ethical than, current options?)
• may be seen as an ideological loose cannon

Desirable Attributes of Religious Institutions

• community
• more pointedly: 'automatic' community
• participation
• belonging
• sharing
• solidarity 
• mutual understanding
• group therapy
• local service
• show-and-tell (represent and share personal perspectives)
• opportunities to connect to larger meaning
• democracy
• environment
• poverty
• education
• identifying with broader/larger purpose
• reveling in life, meaning, and goodness 
• sharing in the identity with goodness
• reminding one's self of purpose
• personal gains of inner peace
• personal gains of perspective
• personal gains of motivation and coping