SECT:
an important term which is often loosely used to mean a religious GROUP that has
broken away from an older TRADITION. Confusion is created by the fact that it is sometimes
used theologically to refer to groups of questionable ORTHODOXY or outright HERESY.
Sociologically the term has been contrasted with CHURCH and used of groups which live in
tension with the surrounding SOCIETY. To facilitate operationalizing the term Rodney STARK
defines a sect as "a religious group which lives in a state of relatively high
tension with the surrounding society that has a prior tie with another religious
organization and was founded by someone who left that organization."
