List of religious sects

This is a list of religious movements labeled or classified as sects in one of the sociological meanings of the term.

In the sociology of religion a sect is generally a small religious or political group that has broken off from a larger group, for example from a large, well-established religious group, like a denomination, usually due to a dispute about doctrinal matters.

In its historical usage in Christendom the term has a pejorative connotation and refers to a movement committed to heretical beliefs and that often deviated from orthodox practices. [Wilson, Bryan "Religion in Sociological Perspective" 1982, 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 that departed from orthodox religious procedures."]

In an Indian context "sect" refers to an organized tradition.

* Christian Science [Wilson 1982, Pages 109-110.]

ee also

* Church-sect typology
* List of Christian denominations
* List of churches
* List of new religious movements

Notes

References

* Wilson, Bryan "Religion in Sociological Perspective" 1982, ISBN 0-19-826664-2 Oxford University Press page 109-110