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"Assess the view that cults and sects are only fringe organisations that are inevitably short-lived and of little influence in contemporary society"
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| Submitted: Thu Jan 13 2005
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Sociology of Religion: Cult and Sect Essay "Assess the view that cults and sects are only fringe organisations that are inevitably short-lived and of little influence in contemporary society" (40 Marks) A sect is a small religious group that has branched off a larger established religion. Sects have many beliefs and practices in common with the religion they have broken off from, but are differentiated by a number of theological differences. Sociologists use the word sect to refer to a religious group with a high degree of tension with the surrounding society, but whose beliefs are largely traditional. A cult, by contrast, also has a high degree of tension with the surrounding society, but its beliefs are new and innovative. Sects, in the sociological sense, are generally traditionalist and conservative, seeking to return a religion to its religious purity. Some cults actually meet their demise once their charismatic leader dies; no longer does...
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