That was an interesting read and it inspired me to debate a bit.

I would regard religion and philosophy as interlinked.

I think a religion encompasses everything you do (or omit to do) through its order. It encompasses the practical as well as the theoretical.

In my understanding, philosophy is a sub-area of what religion is.

In Buddhism, this is more clearly divided and makes it apparent what Christians have also integrated into their religion.
For the Buddhists it is

• Buddha - the ideal figure in the form of the Buddha (in our case Jesus)
• Dharma - the theoretical teachings of Buddhism, which are lively discussed or debated (here I would categorise philosophising as a sub-area and what you called

"Philosophising entails an active pursuit to try and understand")

• Sangha - the practical exercises and coming together in groups for meditation, recitation/chanting as well as events such as celebrations and death (church services, Christian holidays, funerals etc.)

We often call the sages of the West philosophers, the sages of the East probably also, although I have often read the word "mystic". However, I would still regard them both as scholars in contemporary terms. But if the scholars do not engage in religious practice, I would call them professors. I don't think that there is philosophical practice in the mentioned sense.

Modern man forgets the practice and the very material and social needs that are expressed in practice, such as funeral ceremonies, wakes, funeral feasts, services for the dead, baptisms, marriages and so on, because of all the theory.

Regarding a cult/sect:
I therefore do not think that religion of modern times and the cult in one breath, called, fit together. A cult, by my definition, is to be understood as something irrational, detached and negative and destructive, while culture is not. Regarding the Christian faith, the cult followers are those who violate the first and second Christian commandments. A cult persecutes and punishes those who do not belong to it. At the same time, it is said that those parts of the Church who did so were not Christians but cultists who abused religion for their cultist purposes. Which is what they did.