Nadine ,dont be silly, of corse people dont just wake up one morning.....
you are such a zelot.....g
Differences between Jewish denominations, which are more commonly known as "movements," reflect varying responses to changing times and cultures.
The historical Jewish movements (Pharisses, Sadduccees, and Essenes) were responses to the Roman rule of Israel, while the major modern movements (Reform, Orthodox, and Conservative) are responses to the modern, secular culture of Europe and America.
Thus, while Christian denominations differ chiefly in matters of doctrine, Jewish denominations differ from one another primarily with regard to practice.
Hasidism and Kabbalah are mystical approaches to the Jewish faith. Like monasticism in Christianity and Sufism in Islam, Jewish mysticism emphasizes inward, spiritual experiences over intellectual and rational knowledge.
This section explores the major modern Jewish movements: Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Hasidism, and Kabbalah.
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism is the most traditional expression of modern Judaism. Orthodox Jews believe the entire Torah - including "Written," the the Pentateuch, and "Oral," the Talmud) was given to Moses by God at Sinai and remains authoritative for modern life in its entirety. According to a 1990 nationwide survey, 7 percent of American Jews are Orthodox. American and Canadian Orthodox Jews are organized under the Orthodox Union, which serves 1,000 synagogues in North America. Full article »
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism is the most liberal expression of Judaism. In America, Reform Judaism is organized under the Union for Reform Judaism (known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations until 2003), whose mission is "to create and sustain vibrant Jewish congregations wherever Reform Jews live." About 1.5 million Jews in 900 synagogues are members of the Union for Reform Judaism. According to 1990 survey, 42 percent of American Jews regard themselves as Reform. Full article »
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism may be said to be a moderate position between Orthodox and Reform Judaism. It seeks to conserve the traditional elements of Judaism, while allowing for modernization to a less radical extent than Reform Judaism. The teachings of Zacharias Frankel (1801-75) form the foundation of Conservative Judaism. Full article »
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic (or Chasidic) Judaism arose in 12th-century Germany as a mystical movement emphasizing asceticism and experience born out of love and humility before God. The austere religious life of these early Hasids ("pious ones") is documented in the Sefer Hasidim ("Book of the Pious"). The modern Hasidic movement was founded in Poland in the 18th century by Israel ben Eliezer, more commonly known as the Baal Shem Tov ("Master of the Good Name") or "the Besht" (an acronym for Baal Shem Tov). Full article »
Kabbalah: Jewish Mysticism
The mystical form of Judaism is Kabbalah. Broadly speaking, Kabbalah refers to Jewish mysticism dating back to the time of the second Temple. For many years a carefully guarded oral tradition, it became systematized and dispersed in the Middle Ages. The kabbalistic viewpoint was expressed most importantly in the Yalkut Re'uveni by Reuben Hoeshke in 1660, but also made its way into prayer books, popular customs and ethics. The focus of the Kabbalah is the simultaneous transcendence and immanence of God, with the latter described in terms of the sefirot, or attributes of God.
Sect
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This article is about religious groups. For an astrological factor, see astrology of sect.
In the sociology of religion a sect is generally a small religious or political group that has broken off from a larger group, for example from a large, well-established religious group, like a denomination, usually due to a dispute about doctrinal matters.
In its historical usage in Christendom the term has a pejorative connotation and refers to a movement committed to heretical beliefs and that often deviated from orthodox practices.[1]
A sect as used in an Indian context refers to an organized tradition.
Contents
[hide]
1 Etymology
2 Sociological definitions and descriptions
3 The concept of sect as used in an Indian context
4 Corresponding words in French, Spanish, German, Polish, Dutch, and Romanian
4.1 Meaning of the word in countries with strong Catholic traditions
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
[edit]Etymology
The word sect comes from the Latin secta (from sequire to follow), meaning (1) a course of action or way of life, (2) a behavioural code or founding principles, (3) a specific philosophical school or doctrine. Sectarius or sectilis also refer to a scission or cut, but this meaning is, in contrast to popular opinion, unrelated to the etymology of the word. A sectator is a loyal guide, adherent or follower.
[edit]Sociological definitions and descriptions
Main article: church-sect typology
There are several different sociological definitions and descriptions for the term.[2] One of the first ones to define them were Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch (1931)[3] In the church-sect typology they are described as newly formed religious groups that form to protest elements of their parent religion (generally a denomination). Their motivation tends to be situated in accusations of apostasy or heresy in the parent denomination; they are often decrying liberal trends in denominational development and advocating a return to true religion. The American sociologists Rodney Stark and William Sims Bainbridge assert that "sects claim to be authentic purged, refurbished version of the faith from which they split".[4] They further assert that sects have, in contrast to churches, a high degree of tension with the surrounding society.[5]
Sectarianism is sometimes defined in the sociology of religion as a worldview that emphasizes the unique legitimacy of believers' creed and practices and that heightens tension with the larger society by engaging in boundary-maintaining practices.[6]
A religious or political cult, by contrast, also has a high degree of tension with the surrounding society, but its beliefs are, within the context of that society, new and innovative. Whereas the cult is able to enforce its norms and ideas against members, a sect normally doesn't strictly have "members" with definite obligations, only followers, sympathisers, supporters or believers.
Mass-based socialist, social-democratic, labor and communist parties often had their historical origin in utopian sects, and also subsequently produced many sects, which split off from the mass party. In particular, the communist parties from 1919 experienced numerous splits; some of them, it is argued, were sects from their foundation.
One of the main factors that seems to produce political sects is the rigid continued adherence to a doctrine or idea after its time has passed, or after it has ceased to have clear applicability to a changing reality.
The English sociologist Roy Wallis[7] argues that a sect is characterized by “epistemological authoritarianism”: sects possess some authoritative locus for the legitimate attribution of heresy. According to Wallis, “sects lay a claim to possess unique and privileged access to the truth or salvation and “their committed adherents typically regard all those outside the confines of the collectivity as 'in error'”. He contrasts this with a cult that he described as characterized by “epistemological individualism” by which he means that “the cult has no clear locus of final authority beyond the individual member.”[8][9]
[edit]The concept of sect as used in an Indian context
The Indologist Axel Michaels writes in his book about Hinduism that in an Indian context the word “sect does not denote a split or excluded community, but rather an organized tradition, usually established by founder with ascetic practices.” And according to Michaels, “Indian sects do not focus on heresy, since the lack of a center or a compulsory center makes this impossible – instead, the focus is on adherents and followers.”[10]
See also Hindu sects
[edit]Corresponding words in French, Spanish, German, Polish, Dutch, and Romanian
In European languages other than English the corresponding words for 'sect', such as "secte", "secta", "sekta", "sekte" or "Sekte", are used sometimes to refer to a harmful religious or political sect, similar to how English-speakers popularly use the word 'cult'. In France, since the 1970's, "secte" has a specific meaning, which is very different of the english word [11] .
[edit]Meaning of the word in countries with strong Catholic traditions
In Latin America, it is often applied by Roman Catholics to any non-Roman Catholic religious group, regardless of size, often with the same negative connotation that 'cult' has in English, in turn some Latin American Protestants refer to groups such as Jehovah WitnessesSP, Mormons, etc, as sects. Similarly, in some European countries where Protestantism has never gained much popularity Orthodox churches (both Greek and Roman) often depict Protestant groups (especially smaller ones) as sects. This can be observed, among others, in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Poland.
[edit]Self interpretation
Often teachers of religion (preachers, monks, rabbis) make a claim that their religions are not religions at all —rather are "Way of Life," a "Reality," or "The Truth." From the point of view of another religion's aherents, claims like this are often seen to be diametrically opposed to their own teaching and belief. A Taoist who says for example that "Tao is not a religion, rather is a way of life" may find a very different view from a Christian minister, or a Hindu priest.
The typical claim then, is: 'Despite what another religion may claim, our truth is the real truth, or closer to the real truth. namely "God." Hence a claim, by one religion's adherents that its truth is greater than the other. The irony is obvious: While each tradition aspires to appear as close to an essential truth —one which transcends material concerns and perceptual appearances, each will have adherents who maintain very localized and material concerns for its own traditional symbols and language. Logically then, it is only by these localized views that one religion's adherents may see others as inferior. |
