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Cults, like sects, often integrate elements of existing religious theologies, but cults tend to create more esoteric theologies synthesized from many sources. [citation needed] According to Ronald L. Johnstone, cults tend to emphasize individual and individual peace. [32] Cults, like sects, can develop into denominations.
The application of the labels "cults" or "sects" to (for example) religious movements in government documents usually signifies the popular and negative use of the term "cult" in English and a functionally similar use of words translated as "sect" in several European languages.
American sociologist Howard P. Becker further bisected Troeltsch's first two categories: church was split into ecclesia and denomination; and sect into sect and cult. [22] [2] Like Troeltsch's "mystical religion", Becker's cult refers to small religious groups that lack in organization and emphasize the private nature of personal beliefs. [23]
A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical 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 ...
Until the mid 1980s, notes regarding the Two by Twos had appeared infrequently in religious journals and sociological works, with some writers assuming that the church had greatly declined, with nothing published regarding it. [97] [98] In 1982, the publication of The Secret Sect was followed by press reports and public statements by former ...
It's murky; the American Psychological Association says a cult is "a religious or quasi-religious group characterized by unusual or atypical beliefs, seclusion from the outside world and an ...
The authority of religious leaders also presents a threat to the authority of the political religion. As a result, some or all religious sects may be suppressed or banned. An existing sect may be converted into a state religion, but dogma and personnel may be modified to suit the needs of the party or state.
Cult is the care (Latin: cultus) owed to deities and their temples, shrines, or churches; cult is embodied in ritual and ceremony. Its presence or former presence is made concrete in temples , shrines and churches , and cult images , including votive offerings at votive sites .