The Joy of Sects
Every subgroup within Christianity should rightfully be referred to as a “sect.” That can give the media a way to refer to a specific religious subgroup without characterizing all of Christianity.
Catholics are a religious sect. Evangelicals are a religious sect. Lutherans are a religious sect. This is a form of terminology becoming increasingly important as minority Christian groups gain outsized influence in the public conversation. No single religious expression—especially those representing religious extremism—should define all of Christendom, in politics or the media.
At its root, “sect” is a fairly neutral word, derived from the Latin word, “sequi” which means to follow. Hence, a sect is a following of people, or is a religious expression or organization that one follows.
Admittedly, the word has not always been used in a neutral way. Many will think of sect in terms of division and strife: sectarian hatred, discrimination and violence. As current global events demonstrate, history has never ceased to provide copious examples of death and tragedy caused by religious differences.
Yet, the word has a more respectable use, too, one that can help to more effectively distinguish different subgroups of religions, especially within Christianity.
At its best, referring to “sects” simply affirms the presence of multiple forms and expressions of religion within America and around the world. The word can be used effectively to clear up the confusion when a politician or media outlet sums up one small part of national or global Christianity as “Christian”—as if that one expression spoke for every other one.
Why not use other words? Why not simply “religion” or “tradition” or “branch”? Because those words aren’t specific enough. Within all religions are smaller bodies of adherents that differ from one another in small or large ways. “Denomination” sometimes works. That’s a lot of different groups. According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, there are more than 200 Christian denominations in the US and around 45,000 globally.
The problem with “denomination” is that it generally refers to an official body or organization, fairly tightly defined, often with its own rules, traditions and confessions. The larger issue, however, is that much of the religious landscape in the US today is characterized by nondenominational churches. The 2020 US Religion Census counted 4,000 more nondenominational churches than in 2010, and nondenominational church attendance rose by 6.5 million during that time.[i] By contrast, only about 10% of Americans still identify as “mainline” Protestants—Methodists or Lutherans or Presbyterians. Nondenominational Protestants now outnumber the mainline.[ii]
Accuracy with Christian references
These nondenominational Protestants comprise only 13% of US adults,[iii] yet their presence in public life seems to constitute an outsized influence. Meaning that their interpretations and practices can skew public perception of Christianity as a whole.
Indeed, many of these nondenominational expressions constitute forms of Christian extremism, whether theological or political. An example of theological extremism is the literal interpretation of scripture or the belief that it is infallible. For example, a 2022 Gallup poll found that the majority of Christian adults believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, but should not be read literally. Only 25% believe that scripture is infallible and should be read as literal truth.[iv] Yet fundamentalist-literalist church leaders seem to gain an outsized share of voice, with pastors like Franklin Graham, Robert Jeffress, and Kenneth Copeland receiving so much coverage, especially during the years of the Trump administration. One might well read media coverage of “Christians” and presume that most, if not all, are fundamentalist-literalists.
From a political perspective, the extremism of Christian nationalism (a sub-group heavily influenced by conservative evangelicalism) is on the rise and gaining considerable political power, especially among white evangelicals. The current Speaker of the House, an evangelical Christian nationalist, is second in line to the Presidency. It is a movement hard to ignore, with almost a third of Americans (29%) identifying as Christian nationalists (two-thirds of which are white evangelicals). But to what extent should the media cover nationalists as representatives of “Christianity”?
The answer is to circumscribe the importance and influence of individual religious subgroups or “sects” to more accurately reflect their role within the diversity of belief and practice across Christianity. To begin, I suggest we refer to conservative, right-wing evangelicals as the “evangelical sect,” or perhaps the “fundamentalist-literalist” sect.
Then everything ripples from there in an egalitarian way: Lutheran sect, United Church of Christ sect, Pentecostal sect, Southern Baptist sect, and so on across whatever Christian subgroups exist across America. Another advantage to this approach is that observers and analysts can make further divisions based on how a general sect parses out in practice. It is possible, for example, that “People of Praise,” the secretive Catholic “covenant community” to which Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett belongs could most accurately be described as another sect within Catholicism.
Rational analysis could also then help determine when a particular sect has instead become a “cult,” with unusual fidelity to a single, charismatic and powerful leader. It is not hyperbole today to characterize as “cult-like” the members of the extremist evangelical sect who refer to Donald Trump in messianic ways. Evangelical pastor Paula White served as Advisor to Trump’s Faith & Opportunity Initiative. She spoke seriously of Trump as God’s designee on earth: “I do believe that President Trump was God’s answer to so much prayer and fasting, and he was and is appointed [by God] to lead America.”[v] This rhetoric is a real threat to reasonable discourse about the role of religion.
It is both inaccurate and unfair to award a single expression of Christianity the right to define the entire body of Christendom. It is like having one loud and opinionated uncle defining the identity and character of a family. Properly designating Christian subgroups as “sects” can go a long way toward taming the unruly beast of Christianity in America and properly contextualizing those who think their singular religious expression can speak for God on earth.
[i] https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/august/nondenominational-growth-mainline-protestant-decline-survey.html
[ii] https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/july/mainline-protestant-evangelical-decline-survey-us-nones.html
.
[iv] https://news.gallup.com/poll/394262/fewer-bible-literal-word-god.aspx#:~:text=The%20majority%20of%20Christians%20(58,an%20ancient%20book%20of%20fables.
[v] https://www.jpost.com/christianworld/article-746372