Sect

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This article is about religious groups. For other uses, see Sect (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with sex.
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A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. Although the term was originally a classification for religious separated groups, it can now refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and principles. Sects are usually created due to perception of heresy by the subgroup and/or the larger group.

In an Indian context, sect refers to an organized tradition.[1]

Etymology

A Catalogue of the Severall Sects and Opinions in England and other Nations: With a briefe Rehearsall of their false and dangerous Tenents. Broadsheet. 1647

The word sect comes from the

Metonymously, sect refers to a discipline or school of thought as defined by a set of methods and doctrines. The many disparate usages of the word sect in modern times is largely due to confusion with the homonymous (but etymologically unrelated) Latin word secta (the feminine form of the past participle of the verb secare
, to cut).

Sociological definitions and descriptions

Main article:
Church-sect typology

There are several different sociological definitions and descriptions for the term.

church-sect typology, sects are defined as voluntary associations of religiously qualified persons:[4] membership is not ascribed at birth but results from the free acceptance of the sect's doctrine and discipline by the follower, and from the continuous acceptance of the follower by the sect. Sects tend to draw disproportionately from the underprivileged elements of society, and are usually created by schisms within churches, which are aligned with the dominant social structure.[5] They are often decrying liberal trends in denominational development and advocating a return to true religion; their beliefs and practices tend to be more radical and ethically stern than those of churches, and constitute an act of protest against the values of the rest of society.[5] The American sociologists Rodney Stark and William Sims Bainbridge assert that "sects claim to be authentic purged, refurbished version of the faith from which they split".[6] They further assert that sects have, in contrast to churches, a high degree of tension with the surrounding society.[7] Other sociologists of religion such as Fred Kniss have asserted that sectarianism is best described with regard to what a sect is in tension with. Some religious groups exist in tension only with co-religious groups of different ethnicities, or exist in tension with the whole of society rather than the church which the sect originated from.[8]

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.[9]

In his book The Road to Total Freedom, the English sociologist Roy Wallis[10] 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 of final authority beyond the individual member."[11][12]

In other languages

The corresponding words for "sect" in European languages other than English – Sekte (German), secte (French), secta (Spanish, Catalan), sectă (Romanian), setta (Italian), seita (Portuguese, Galician), sekta (Polish, Czech, Slovak, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovenian, Latvian, Lithuanian), sekt (Danish, Estonian, Norwegian, Swedish), sekte (Dutch), szekta (Hungarian), секта (Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian), σέχτα (Greek) – refer to a harmful religious sect and translate into English as "cult".[citation needed]

In Buddhism

Main article: Schools of Buddhism
Sōtō Zen
sect

The Macmillan Encyclopedia of Religion distinguishes three types of classification of Buddhism, separated into "Movements", "Nikāyas" and "Doctrinal schools":

In Christianity

See also: List of Christian denominations and Christian denomination
Prayer meeting of the Korpela movement in 1935

While the historical usage of the term "sect" in Christendom has had pejorative connotations, referring to a group or movement with heretical beliefs or practices that deviate from those of groups considered orthodox,[13][14] its primary meaning is to indicate a community which has separated itself from the larger body from which its members came.

Orthodox

Main article: Orthodoxy

Roman Catholic sects

Main article: Independent Catholicism

There are many groups outside the Roman Catholic Church which regard themselves as Catholic, such as the

Institute of the Mother of Good Counsel
, and others.

Protestant sects

See also: List of the largest Protestant denominations

In Hinduism

Main articles: Hindu denominations and Sampradaya
Ganesha worshippers

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."[1] According to Michaels, "Indian sects do not focus on heresy, since the lack of a center or a compulsory center makes this impossible – instead, the focus is on adherents and followers."[1]

In Islam

Main article: Islamic schools and branches
Further information: Fiqh and Madhhab

Islam was classically divided into two major sects, known as

Murijite Islam were two early Islamic sects. Each sect developed several distinct jurisprudence systems reflecting their own understanding of the Islamic law during the course of the history of Islam
.

Current sects

Sunnis are separated into five

Batiniyyah.[15]

  • The "
    Ibadi
    branch of Kharijte sect.
  • Alavis
    ).
  • The Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali Sunnis, the Twelver groups, the Ismā'īlī groups, the Zaydis, the Ibadis, and the Ẓāhirīs continue to exist. In addition, new sects like
    Zikris
    have been emerged independently.

Former sects

  • The Khawarij were initially divided into five major branches:
    Ibadis
    .

Amman Message

Main article: Amman Message
Further information:
Islamic denominations

An Islamic convention held in

Islamic schools and branches
are:

  1. Hanafi
  2. Sunni
    Maliki
  3. Sunni
    Shafi'i
  4. Sunni
    Hanbali
  5. Ja'fari jurisprudence
    )
  6. Shi'i
    Zaydi
  7. Ibadi
  8. Sunni
    Ẓāhirī

In Jainism

Main article: Jain schools and branches

In Taoism

Main article:
Taoist schools

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-691-08952-3
    .
  2. ^ "sect (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper. Retrieved 10 May 2022. mid-14c., "distinctive system of beliefs or observances; party or school within a religion," from Old French secte, sete "sect, religious community," or directly from Late Latin secta "religious group, sect in philosophy or religion," from Latin secta "manner, mode, following, school of thought," literally "a way, road, beaten path," from fem. of sectus, variant past participle of sequi "follow," from PIE root *sekw- (1) "to follow." Confused in this sense with Latin secta, fem. past participle of secare "to cut" (from PIE root *sek- "to cut"). Meaning "separately organized religious body" is recorded from 1570s.
  3. ISBN 0815605153
    .
  4. ISBN 978-1-84553-083-9
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0199588961
    .
  6. JSTOR 1385935
    .
  7. ISBN 0520048547
    .
  8. ISBN 9780813541709
    .
  9. ISBN 0-534-54126-7
    page 338
  10. ISBN 0-11-340927-3
  11. ISBN 0-231-04200-0
    .
  12. S2CID 144335265
    .
  13. ISBN 0-19-826664-2 Oxford University Press
    page 89
    "In English, it is a term that designates a religiously separated group, but in its historical usage in Christendom it carried a distinctly pejorative connotation. A sect was a movement committed to heretical beliefs and often to ritual acts and practices like isolation that departed from orthodox religious procedures."
  14. ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sect and Sects" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  15. ^ Ahmed Cevdet Pasha, Kısas-ı Enbiyâ, vol. II, page 12.
  16. ^ The Amman Message summary – Official website
  17. ^ The Three Points of The Amman Message V.1

External links

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