The difference between a sect and a denomination
- Thread starter Vereya
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Vereya skazala
Can anyone explain this difference? Nowadays in Russia everyone, whose opinion is different from that of the Russian orthodox church is considered a sect. What do you think--------------------------------------------------------------
A "denomination" is a recognized branch of a church/religion .A "sect" is" a group of people with different religious beliefs from those of a larger group to which they belong(ed).
eg.David Koresh was a member of "Jesus Christ Church of Latter Days Saints(That church ia a "denomination".)but his belives differed from that of the "Mother Church" so taking some followers with him ,he opened up his own "church" (a sect) in Waco , Texas.
PS....his church (the building and the people who lived in it ) was burned down by the FBI. Many people , including DK , lost their life.
Can anyone explain this difference? Nowadays in Russia everyone, whose opinion is different from that of the Russian orthodox church is considered a sect. What do you think--------------------------------------------------------------
A "denomination" is a recognized branch of a church/religion .A "sect" is" a group of people with different religious beliefs from those of a larger group to which they belong(ed).
eg.David Koresh was a member of "Jesus Christ Church of Latter Days Saints(That church ia a "denomination".)but his belives differed from that of the "Mother Church" so taking some followers with him ,he opened up his own "church" (a sect) in Waco , Texas.
PS....his church (the building and the people who lived in it ) was burned down by the FBI. Many people , including DK , lost their life.
missile said:When it began,Christianity was considered a radical sect
It is exactly what I meant!
What does it take for a sect to become a church or an established religion?
so far, the only difference I can perceive is the number of followers and influence, in the worldly sense of the word.
Vereya said:
Sounds familiar. I remember reading a book called... I forget what it was called, something of the cults anyway. And according to this book written by a baptist minister, everything that was not baptist was a cult. That's right. It was called Kingdom of the Cults. A Baptist gave it to me as 'good readin'!
So in the end, words serve as cheap shots. That's all.
Well, speaking as an unrepentant old atheist, I'd say the difference between a sect, a denomination, a cult, a whatever, is functionally nothing. They're all just superstition. The only practical difference is in the status various societies give them. Denominations, like Catholicism, Anglicanism, Lutheranism, etc., are generally respected and honoured. Sects are generally splinter groups from one of those; there are, for instance, charismatic and fundamentalist groups that call themselves Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and so forth, that the officlal church usually looks upon with disfavour, but the state treats as another church, with tax breaks and various other special statuses. And then there are people like David Koresh, and groups like the Branch Davidians, who are clearly whacko; those are the cults.
Far as I can tell, none of them really mean anything, they're all nonsense. The distinctions among them are based on the legal status they have in the societies where they exist. The Bahai faith, for example, is just another church in North America and Western Europe, with the same legal status as the major Christian denominations. In Islamic countries Bahais have been savagely persecuted as dangerous heretics. We in the West would call them a sect, Muslims view them as a dangerous and heretical cult. It all depends on your point of view, and my point of view, just in case you missed it above, is that they're all mystic nonsense.
Far as I can tell, none of them really mean anything, they're all nonsense. The distinctions among them are based on the legal status they have in the societies where they exist. The Bahai faith, for example, is just another church in North America and Western Europe, with the same legal status as the major Christian denominations. In Islamic countries Bahais have been savagely persecuted as dangerous heretics. We in the West would call them a sect, Muslims view them as a dangerous and heretical cult. It all depends on your point of view, and my point of view, just in case you missed it above, is that they're all mystic nonsense.