Sects and Sectarians

I. The Sociology of the Sect

A sect, as the Latin etymology suggests, consists of men who have cut themselves off from the main body of society. They have formed a restricted and closed group which rejects the norms of the inclusive society and proclaims its adherence to a special set of rules of conduct.

The religious sect, as distinct from the Church which contains within its fold both saints and sinners, consists of the visible community of pure saints; the ...