religious sect
5
4.7
- noun
- /rɪˈlɪdʒəs sɛkt/
:
secta religiosa
- He leads a religious sect that follows Jesus of Nazareth.
- practices of religious sect
- particular religious sect
- competing religious sects
I mean any kind of prolonged violent struggle between groups that includes villages, clans, gangs, ethnic groups, religious sects, political factions and nations.
- I mean any kind of prolonged violent struggle between groups that includes villages, clans, gangs, ethnic groups, religious sects, political factions and nations.
Examples
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There are pockets of religious sects that are against the immunization of children for various reasons.
Blog text (3) -
There are, however, records of a religious sect that mysteriously disappeared.
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The last people we met were a religious sect who lived in a beautiful crystal ship the size of a moon.
Fiction book (2002) -
But what does the Bible teach, since Christianity is the biggest religious sect?
Blog text (4) -
As far away as Scotland the leader of a religious sect claims the mysterious hero is, in fact, an angel anticipated in scripture.
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Their infant girl is believed to have been abducted by this religious sect.
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Citizenship means little and carries few substantial rights or duties compared with membership in a family, clan, religious sect, or ethnic community.
Academic text (1992) -
Its acquisition by the Unification Church is an example of a new religious sect seeking status by obtaining a prominent structure in a prominent city.
Academic text (2004) -
The Establishment Clause does not merely prohibit the state from favoring one religious sect over others.
Academic text (1995) -
The Shakers are a tiny religious sect devoted to simplicity and honesty.
Synonyms
962
1.0
A group of Christians with the same beliefs and way of worship
193
5.5
A small group inside a larger group with different ideas that wants power
84
6.1
A small group that splits from a larger religious group because of different beliefs
42
5.5
A branch of a religion with its own leaders and beliefs
13
6.0
A group of Christian churches that share the same faith and rites
7
5.0
A small group that leaves a larger group because its members disagree
7
4.0
A group of people who live together, follow special rules, and focus on prayer or service
6
7.4
A small group that follows one leader or teaching and has strict, unusual beliefs and practices
3
6.5
A group of people who follow strict religious rules and reject modern ideas
3
3.5
A group of people who try to change beliefs and practices about faith
A small religious group with unusual beliefs and practices outside larger churches
How Different
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both constituents directly contribute to the meaning: 'sect' denotes a subgroup and 'religious' specifies relation to religion, so together they transparently indicate a subgroup within a religion with distinct beliefs or practices. This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the phrase's meaning.
Etymology
Religious sect comes from the idea of a small group that follows a particular 'path' or leader, and the word sect once meant a way people followed. So a religious sect is a smaller 'group' inside a religion with its own 'beliefs' or 'practices'.