Sect
A
sect is in a non-
Indian context generally a small
religious or
political group. Sects have many beliefs and practices in common with the religion or party that they have broken off from, but are differentiated by a number of
doctrinal differences. In contrast, a
denomination is a large, well-established religious group; however, in
Islam, the large groups such as
Wahabi,
Shi'a and
Sunni are referred to as "sects", not "denominations". In politics, a
mass party typically tolerates a variety of views and interpretations, insisting only on a limited number of basic principles as a condition for membership.
The word
sect comes from the
Latin secta (from
sequi to follow), meaning (1) a course of action or way of life, (2) a behavioural code or founding principles, (3) a specific philosophical school or doctrine.
Sectarius or
sectilis also refer to a scission or cut, but this meaning is, in contrast to popular opinion, unrelated to the etymology of the word. A
sectator is a loyal guide, adherent or follower.
There are several different sociological definitions and descriptions for the term.
[McCormick Maaga, Mary excerpt from her book Hearing the Voices of Jonestown (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1998) available online] One of the first ones to define them were
Max Weber and
Ernst Troeltsch (1931)
[McCormick Maaga, Mary excerpt from her book Hearing the Voices of Jonestown (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1998) . available online] See
Church-sect typologySociologists Starks and Bainbridge use the general definition and additionally assert that "sects claim to be authentic purged, refurbished version of the faith from which they split"
[Stark, Rodney, and Williams Sims Bainbridge (1979) Of Churches, Sects, and Cults: Preliminary Concepts for a Theory of Religious Movements Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 18, no 2: 117-33]. They further assert that sects have, in contrast to churches, a high degree of tension with the surrounding society
[Stark, Rodney, and Williams Sims Bainbridge (1985) The Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival, and Cult formation Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press].
Sectarianism is sometimes defined in the
sociology of religion as a worldview that emphasizes the unique legitimacy of believers' creed and practices and that heightens tension with the larger society by engaging in boundary-maintaining practices.
[McGuire, Meredith B. "Religion: the Social Context" fifth edition (2002) ISBN 0534541267 page 338]A religious or political
cult, by contrast, also has a high degree of tension with the surrounding society, but its beliefs are, within the context of that society, new and innovative. Whereas the cult is able to enforce its
norms and ideas against members, a sect normally doesn't strictly have "members" with definite obligations, only followers, sympathisers, supporters or believers.
Mass-based
socialist,
social-democratic,
labor and
communist parties often had their historical origin in
utopian sects, and also subsequently produced many sects, which split off from the mass party. In particular, the communist parties from 1919 experienced numerous splits; some of them, it is argued, were sects from their foundation.
One of the main factors that seems to produce political sects is the rigid continued adherence to a doctrine or idea after its time has passed, or after it has ceased to have clear applicability to a changing reality.
The English sociologist
Roy Wallis[Barker, E. New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction (1990), Bernan Press, ISBN 0113409273] argues that a sect is characterized by "
epistemological authoritarianism": sects possess some authoritative locus for the legitimate attribution of heresy. According to Wallis, "sects lay a claim to possess unique and privileged access to the truth or salvation and "their committed adherents typically regard all those outside the confines of the collectivity as 'in error'". He contrasts this with a cult that he described as characterized by "epistemological individualism" by which he means that "the cult has no clear locus offinal authority beyond the individual member."
[Wallis, Roy The Road to Total Freedom A Sociological analysis of Scientology (1976) available online (bad scan)] [Wallis, Roy Scientology: Therapeutic Cult to Religious Sect abstract only (1975)]The Indologist Axel Michaels writes in his book about
Hinduism that in an Indian context the word "sect does not denote a split or excluded community, but rather an organized tradition, usually established by founder with ascetic practices. And according to Michaels, "Indian sects do not focus on
heresy, since the lack of a center or a compulsory center makes this impossible â€" instead, the focus is on adherents and followers."
[Alex Michaels "Hinduism past and Present" (2004) Princeton University Press, ISBN 0691089523, translated from German "Der Hinduismus" (1998) page 319]*See also
Hindu sectsIn
European languages other than
English the corresponding words for 'sect', such as "secte", "secta", or "Sekte", are used to refer to a harmful religious or political sect, similar to how English-speakers popularly use the word '
cult'.
Meaning of the word in countries with strong Catholic traditions
In
Latin America, it is often applied to any non-
Catholic religious group, regardless of size, often with the same negative connotation that 'cult' has in English. Similarly, in some European countries where protestantism has never gained much popularity Orthodox churches (both Greek and Roman) often depict protestant groups (especially smaller ones) as sects. This can be observed, among others, in
Russia,
Ukraine,
Belarus and
Poland.
*
Cult*
Religious denomination*
Ecclesia (sociology of religion)*
Sectarianism*
Sociology of religion
*
Three Groups in One by Mary McCormick Maaga excerpt from her book ''Hearing the Voices of
Jonestown (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1998)
*
Apologetics Index: research resources on cults, sects, and related issues. The publisher operates from an evangelical Christian point of view, but the site links to and presents a variety of viewpoints.
*
ReligionNewsBlog.com Current news articles about religious cults, sects, and related issues.
*
Church sect theory by William H. Swatos, Jr . in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Society by Swatos (editor)
