Asect is a subgroup of areligious,political, orphilosophical belief system, typically emerging as an offshoot of a larger organization. Originally, the term referred specifically to religious groups that had separated from a main body, but it can now apply to any group that diverges from a larger organization to follow a distinct set of beliefs and practices. Sects often form when there is a perception ofheresy either within the subgroup or from the larger group.
In anIndian context, sect refers to an organized tradition.[1]
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 wordsect originates from theLatin nounsecta (a feminine form of a variant past participle of the verbsequi, to follow) which translates to "a way, road".[2] Figuratively, it signifies a (prescribed) way, mode, or manner.Metonymously, sect refers to a discipline or school of thought as defined by a set of methods and doctrines. The various modern usages of the term stem largely from confusion with thehomonymous (but etymologically unrelated) Latin wordsecta (the feminine form of the past participle of the verbsecare, to cut).
Sociologists have developed various definitions and descriptions for the term "sect." Early scholars likeMax Weber andErnst Troeltsch (1912) were among the first to define sects within the church-sect typology, viewing them as voluntary associations of individuals who meet specific religious qualifications. Unlike churches, membership in a sect is not inherited at birth; rather, it arises from a person's voluntary acceptance of the sect's doctrines and disciplines, which requires ongoing validation from both the follower and the sect itself. Sects often attract individuals from marginalized or underprivileged social groups and typically form from schisms within established churches that align with the dominant social order.[3]
Sects frequently critique liberal trends within mainstream denominations, advocating for a return to what they view as authentic religious practices. Their beliefs and practices are usually more radical and ethically strict than those of mainstream churches, acting as a form of protest against the prevailing societal values.[3] The AmericansociologistsRodney Stark andWilliam Sims Bainbridge argue that sects present themselves as authentic, reformed versions of the faith they have separated from, maintaining a high degree of tension with the surrounding society.[4] They further assert that sects have, in contrast to churches, a high degree of tension with the surrounding society.[5] Other sociologists, like Fred Kniss, suggest that sectarianism is best understood through the lens of what the sect opposes. Some religious groups may be in tension primarily with other co-religious groups of different ethnic backgrounds, while others may conflict with society at large rather than the church they originally separated from.[6]
Sectarianism in thesociology of religion, is sometimes defined as a worldview that emphasizes the unique legitimacy of a sect's creed and practices, often heightening tension with broader society by maintaining strict boundaries.[7]
In his bookThe Road to Total Freedom, the English sociologistRoy Wallis[8] describes that a sect is characterized by "epistemological authoritarianism": meaning it has an authoritative source for determining heresy. According to Wallis, sects claim to have unique and privileged access to truth or salvation, and their followers often view those outside the group as being in error. In contrast, Wallis describes cults as being marked by "epistemological individualism,"[9][10]
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),sekti (Finnish), -szekda (Hungarian),секта (Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian), σέχτα (Greek) – refer to a harmful religious sect and translate into English as "cult".[citation needed]
TheMacmillan Encyclopedia of Religion[11] distinguishes three types of classification of Buddhism, separated into "Movements", "Nikāyas" and "Doctrinal schools":
While the historical usage of the term "sect" inChristendom has hadpejorative connotations, referring to a group or movement withheretical beliefs or practices that deviate from those of groups considered orthodox,[12][13] its primary meaning is to indicate a community which has separated itself from the larger body from which its members came.
TheIndologistAxel Michaels writes in his book aboutHinduism 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]
Islam was classically divided into two major sects, known asSunni Islam andShia Islam.Kharijite andMurijite 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 thehistory of Islam.
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 likeBlack Muslim movements,Quranists,Salafis,Wahhabis, andZikris have been emerged independently.
^abcMichaels, Axel (2004).Hinduism past and Present (2004) translated from German "Der Hinduismus" (1998). Princeton University Press.ISBN0-691-08952-3.
^"sect (n.)".Online Etymology Dictionary.Douglas Harper. Retrieved10 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 ofsequi "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.
^abDawson, Lorne L. (2009). "Church-sect-cult: Constructing Typologies of Religious Groups". In Clarke, Peter B. (ed.).The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199588961.013.0030.ISBN978-0199588961.
^Kniss, Fred; Numrich, Paul D. (2007).Sacred Assemblies and Civic Engagement: How Religion Matters for America's Newest Immigrants. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.ISBN9780813541709.
^McGuire, Meredith B. "Religion: the Social Context" fifth edition (2002)ISBN0-534-54126-7 page 338
^Jones, L., Eliade, M., & Adams, C. J. (Eds.). (2005).Encyclopedia of religion (Second edition.). Macmillan Reference USA.
^Wilson, BryanReligion in Sociological Perspective 1982,ISBN0-19-826664-2Oxford 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."
