Any other Cult survivors on DU?

[FreeState]

I had my first post on DU locked the other day, and upon reflection I believe it was in part the verbiage I used to describe some religious movements that most see as mainstream Americana but are in my mind and experience cults or soft cults.

Growing up Mormon we were taught we were not a cult, that we had the truth. We were programmed to recoil at the use of the term cult to describe our faith. As I grew older and pried myself away from the faith, I realized that beliefs do not make something a cult. The framing that it was the gospel/truth that made us not a cult was a straw man. It's the actions of the organization, not the beliefs that feed into them, that create a cult. For example, Mormons believe families can be sealed together in temples for all time and eternity. Great belief, until you don't believe, and your "eternal family" and church then use those beliefs to justify all sorts of terrible cult like behavior.

I think the B.I.T.E. model by Steve Hassan is an excellent tool for identifying these behaviors:

https://freedomofmind.com/bite-model/

Behavior Control
Information Control
Thought Control
Emotional Control

Youtube video description:

&t=219s


Anyone else come to similar conclusions? How do you deal with terminology and walking that thin line with family and or strangers that have been socialized to respect your former faith (for no other reason than its a religion)?