38 Types of religious practices: animism, monism, pluralism, sects, cults

Sect and Cult

The chief feature of a religious sect is that it is a voluntary association. A sect is a small religious group that has branched off of a larger established religion. Sects have many beliefs and practices in common with the religion that they have broken off from, but are differentiated by a number of doctrinal differences.

The word sect comes from the latin secta, meaning an organized religious body or organization, from Latin, meaning a course of action or way of life. 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 (within the context of that society) largely traditional. A sect seeks to impose a rigid pattern of ideal conduct on its members but seeks toleration rather than change from the larger society.

Sects are concerned with purity of doctrine and with the depth of genuineness of religions feeling.A 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. It may seek to transform society but more often concentrate upon creating satisfying group experience.

Animism means the belief in spirits.E.B. Taylor in his famous book Primitive Culture developed the thesis of animism and subsequently he developed the distinction between magic, religion and science. In his thesis of animism he advocated that anima means spirit. Animism refers to a given form of religion in which man finds the presence of spirit in every object that surrounds him. Taking this fact into consideration primitive mind considered that when man sleeps the soul moves out of the body of man temporarily and when he is dead it leaves out the body permanently. Thereafter man generalized that every embodiment, which is subjected to birth, growth and decay, is obviously associated with spirit. Hence, trees, rivers, mountains, which are greatly subjected to decay and expansion, were considered as the embodiments in which soul is present. Realizing this, man started worshipping and these embodiments and that is how animism as a specific form of religions came into being. According to Taylor, the most ancient form of animistic practice is manifested in terms of ancestor worship.

Man realized that his ancestors after their death convert into spirits who may be benevolent or malevolent. Realizing this, in order to convert these souls as protecting spirits, man made them periodic offerings.

Monism (Greek monos,"single"), in philosophy, is a doctrine that ultimate reality is entirely of one substance. Monism is thus opposed to both dualism and pluralism. Three basic types of monism are recognized: materialistic monism, idealistic monism, and the mind-stuff theory. According to the first doctrine, everything in the universe, including mental phenomena, is reduced to the one category of matter. In the second doctrine, matter is regarded as a form of manifestation of mind; and in the third doctrine, matter and mind are considered merely aspects of each other. Although monistic philosophies date from ancient Greece, the term monism is comparatively recent.

Religious pluralism is sometimes used as a synonym for interfaithdialogue. Interfaith dialogue refers to dialogue between members of different religions for the goal of reducing conflicts between theirreligionsand to achieve agreed upon mutually desirable goals. Inter-religious dialogue is difficult if the partners adopt a position of particularism, i.e. if they only care about the concerns of their own group, but is favored by the opposite attitude ofuniversalism, where care is taken for the concerns of others. Interfaith dialogue is easier if a religion's adherents have some form ofinclusivism, the belief that people in other religions may also have a way tosalvation, even though the fullness of salvation can be achieved only in one’s own religion. Conversely, believers with anexclusivistmindset will rather tend toproselytizefollowers of other religions, than seek an open-ended dialogue with them.