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Introduction
Religion can be organized in various ways. Different religions are structured differently, and thus a religion can be easily identified from its organization. Due to the differences in organization, spirituality can be divided into churches, sects and cults. All the three have their unique features that differentiate them. This paper is an analysis of the differences between churches, cults and sects.
Differences between churches sects and cults
A church is an element of Christianity, the alleged beginning of spirituality. Christians have therefore developed the belief that any spiritual organization that defies the beliefs of Christianity is a cult. They also use the term sect to describe the many denominations that branched from then mainstream Christian denomination – Catholic. Cults are movements that develop out of a common devotion to someone and his/her personality or even something. Cults may incorporate features of other religions but they tend to have a strong foundation in terms of beliefs to someone or something. A sect, on the other hand, is normally used to describe a spiritual organization that is slightly different from the mainstream spiritual organization (“Definition of Sects”, n.d.).
Churches are normally legal entities while their counterparts, cults and sects, are usually illegal (Stark, 1979). This is usually the case because governments have not set aside structures for legalization of sects and cults in spite of the fact that some of them may be beneficial to the community. Just like the cults and the sects are put together in terms of the legal aspect, they are normally used indiscriminately (Tangelder, 1981).
A number of people call Jehovah’s Witnesses a cult while others call it a sect. The description of a sect is also variable depending on the person describing it. The sect is thus used by people belonging to a certain mainstream spiritual institution to describe other institutions whose organization is not in conformance with their beliefs. Apart from the common people belonging to a mainstream spiritual institution, the term is also used by a sensationalist press and even governments that are wary of the development of beliefs that do not conform to the mainstream spiritual institution. In most parts of the world, Christianity is the mainstream spiritual institution and therefore small spiritual units developing in a given place will either be referred to as sects or cults.
Advantages and limitations of spiritual typology
This kind of spiritual typology is very important because it keeps people informed so that they can make wise spiritual choices. For instance, most people will be reluctant to join any spiritual organization that has been classified as a sect or a cult. This is because the two are associated with negative spirituality. It is, however, a daunting task to come up with clear-cut distinctions among the three stated religious organizations. This is especially the case with cults and sects.
Conclusion
While the definition of a sect is not clear-cut, churches and cults have clear definitions. Cults and sects are however used to describe negative spirituality, and thus they are sometimes used inter-changeably. The classification of spirituality is important because it draws the line between the various spiritual organizations so that people are aware of the kind of organizations that they can join. Without such classification, people will find themselves in undesirable spiritual organizations without much knowledge. However, the classification has its limitations. For instance, it is difficult to differentiate between cults and sects since they are both associated with negative spirituality, and they are used inter-changeably.
Reference List
Reformed Reflections. (n.d.). Definition of Sects. Web.
Stark, R. (1979). Of Churches, Sects and Cults. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 1979, 18 (2), pp. 117 – 133. Web.
Tangelder, J. (1981). Sects and Cults: an introduction. Web.
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