Eh... Sort of? The two organisations together would form a cult, but the community split I mention makes it a bit confusing. Overall, I agree that miri's level-of-cult is too damn high.
Interestingly, it's an ancient form of cult called Gnosticism. Gnostics teach that the material world is evil ("gives rise to the AI"), and only through hidden knowledge ("correct thinking") can one find the true path to spiritual salvation ("become an immortal human")
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosticism