> I now have this vague feeling that Rust is a religious cult

I had this feeling from the very beginning just by the tone of its zealots here and elsewhere. My theory is that since the language is very hard to learn but doesn't provide a lot of tangible benefits (memory safety exists in most mainstream languages fot decades), the sunk cost fallacy hits very hard. Then the only way to get some benefits for the time spent is to recruit new comers in a sort of pyramidal scheme structured around experience in the language. This way the zealots become priests and are compensated in form of social status. Of course, the whole scheme cramble if nobody joins, which is why the community is so aggressive (RIIR, vocal advocating, etc.) with the non-believers.