The research paper states that the distinction between cults and religion is rooted in moral hysteria. 
 

The difference between large cults and small religions comes from the degree of their deviant behaviors—if a mystical group’s actions challenge a leading ideology, it becomes a “cult.” 

The fear of novelty and perceiving difference directly as inferiority leads to seclusion of many religions. Hence, in the modern world, the definition and category of religion must be reexamined.