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US expats sometimes sound a bit like recovering cult members. (Probably generalizes to other countries, don't know.)

"Oh my god, did they make you 'pledge allegiance' to that fucking flag too!? [1] That was so fucked up! And over 4 in 10 of us believe the earth was created 10,000 years ago??? [2] We're gonna kill the Earth, aren't we?"

[1] http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/pledge-of-allegiance-sta...

[2] http://www.livescience.com/46123-many-americans-creationists...

In the example you've given the group is defining what is best and what is not; you doing what is best for you is defined by only you.

Here's a better explanation of the concept: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_equilibrium

"Avoid sin" and "cleansing" does not always goes together with self-improvement, but it usually goes tight with regret. I would have agreed with you if you used self-control as self-improvement.

Plus... the concept of sin depends on the religion.