The word "sect" in most people who use or hear it is often associated with something negative. At the same time, the topic of sects has always been and continues to excite the minds of many scholars and religious scholars.
What is a sect
A lot of linguists, philologists, sectologists, lawyers, philosophers have spoken out about the definition of the meaning of the term "sect." I must say that such associations appeared a very long time ago, despite the fact that they were not called so yet, but carried a semantic load that was completely close to modern sects.
In Latin, the word "secta" means something like a certain teaching, way of thinking, school. Initially, this term was not directly associated with a religious association, it was used to define any secession, other movement, another group in politics, philosophy, including religion. Even in ancient Roman culture, some philosophical schools were also called sects.
Cynics and Stoics, now well-known representatives of Hellenistic philosophy, are also recognized as sectarians in preserved samples of ancient Roman literature. From all this we can conclude that a sect is any movement, association, separated from the prevailing current in a given culture and creating its own doctrine, which is often directly opposed to this very dominant one. Often sects follow their own traditions, doctrines, and values. They are also very closed from the state and society and do not allow anyone to interfere in their affairs.
