Lets try define the terms first:

Cult: An exclusive group with its own specialty where leaving is frowned upon.

Religion: A spiritual pursuit where your allowed to come and go as you please.

Fanatic: A person obessed with something beyond what is considered reasonable.

Cults come in many stripes, the first thing you think of is Scientology. But the special forces of each country are cults, Hells Angels are a cult, in the 80s they used to be social terroists but now they tend to be more charity driven, astunauts and test pilots are their own cult, you don’t ever leave these groups and they have their unique rituals they don’t talk about. The Freemanons is another obvious example.

Religions speak for themselves, and that’s a key difference, they try be an open book, cults don’t they defend their secrecy with a fierceness. Religion tries to be an open book come and go as you please institution. With a few exceptions in most countries of the world your free to pick your own religion and come and go as you please. There’s another exception and that is fanatical famalies, where the whole family is obessed with religion, normally doused in tradition.

Fantantics again come in every stripe. It’s not a good or bad thing, it depends what you aim yourself at. Every astonuat is a fanatic, lets give credit to Einstein for being a fanatic, personally I’d call every marathon runner a fanatic cause I can’t run 100m without losing my breath. Being a fanatic doesn’t mean bad but being Charles Manson is. So being obbessed with something isn’t itself bad, the key question is what you aim you fanaticism at.

And with humanity true to its diversity you get a mix. You get fanantics in cults, special forces troops who wear their assault rifles over their chests, in supermarkets at home. You get cultish religions, I already mentioned Scientology. You get religious fanatics, 9/11. They all overlap.

I think the answer is simple, have a religion but not a cultish one. Have a cult but make it one that specializes in helping orphans. Be a fanatic and become a marathon runner.

It doesn’t matter so much if your a religionist, a cultist or a fanatic, it matters more the fruits of your endeavor.