Wretched person belonging to cult? (6)
I believe the answer is:
insect
'wretched person' is the definition.
(I know this)
'belonging to cult?' is the wordplay.
'belonging to' becomes 'in' (in can mean being a member of).
'cult?' becomes 'sect' (religious sect).
'in'+'sect'='INSECT'
(Other definitions for insect that I've seen before include "Soldier perhaps" , "Small creature with six legs and no backbone" , "Perhaps nit" , "Ladybird, for example" , "Small arthropod creature" .)