If I were to categorize religions into one little box, you could argue that any church (even the Catholic church) is a cult by definition. As such, in my opinion, it ought to be held in the same regard as satanic cults that do very strange and bizarre things, usually involving the slaughter of an animal or virgin sacrifice and lots of fire.
The bottom line to me is that much like satanic cults, even religions are perverted into something that I'm sure they were not intended to be. Even the Salem Witch Trials have their roots based in the name of religion. It only goes to further enforce that religions are no better than cults. While they may worship a different being (if that's what you want to call them), they both involve the same kind of mentality in the end. For me anyway, I just don't think that's the way to go, but then again… different strokes for different folks.