In many world religions there are sects that appear due to differences in views on the doctrine itself or its practical implementation. Today, some of the sects that appeared at different times are forgotten, in others they still exist. Our review will focus on the most interesting of them.
1. Kharijites
Kharijites - the first sect in Islam
The first sect in Islam to separate itself from the main body of Muslims is the Kharijite sect, which remains relatively unknown among representatives of other religions. After the Prophet Muhammad died, controversy arose as to how to further develop the religion. When Caliph Uthman was assassinated, the Muslim community split into two factions, each of which fought for control of society. The main controversial issue was who should be the next caliph. Eventually, these two factions became Shiite and Sunni streams.
At the same time, a third group broke away from them, organizing a sect of Kharijites (translated as “abandoned”). The Kharijites believed that no one should be a caliph until a revelation from Allah was received. Over time, the Kharijites developed into a powerful organization that practiced the killing of Muslims who did not agree with them. Over time, they split into various sects, some of which still exist in much less extreme forms.
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2. Kuranists
Kuranists: * and only the Quran is the word of Allah *
The Kuranists are an Islamic sect that believes that only the Quran is the word of Allah. In fact, the Quranists reject hadith and any Muslim literature that is not directly related to the Quran. Moreover, adherents of this sect often argue that all other books or hadiths are fakes. In Islamic theology, hadith is a tradition that affects various religious and legal aspects of the life of Muslims. These are essentially chronicles of Muhammad's life and deeds.
Since there is no biographical information about Muhammad's life in the Qur'an, hadith became very important for Islam in terms of practical aspects of life. However, the Quranists do not believe that hadiths are needed at all, since "only the Qur'an says how a Muslim should live." Because of such beliefs, the Quranists are persecuted by many Muslim governments.
3. Adamites
Adamites: the body is evil
In the second and third centuries, various Gnostic sects appeared in the Christian world, the doctrines of which differed from that of mainstream Christianity. Most of them followed secret or esoteric doctrines. The sect of the Adamites advocated a return to the purity of thoughts and behavior of the ancestors of people (Adam and Eve), and they also denied any kind of church organization and rituals and advocated community of property. The Adamites are distinguished by a dualistic outlook on life, and they also claim that the body is evil and the spirit is good. Thus, they advocate the liberation of man from his material shell. At the same time, since the material world is evil, human beings can do whatever they want.
The Adamites often performed their rituals in the nude. Their teaching is that everyone is ultimately naked before God. In the fourth century, the Adamites disappeared and re-emerged during the Middle Ages. But the neo-Adamites existed only until 1421, when the Taborites, their main religious rival, attacked the headquarters of the Adamites on the territory of modern Czechoslovakia and killed almost everyone.
4. Sabbatianism
Sabbatianism: there is always a place for mysticism in life
The expectation of a messiah is characteristic of Jewish theology - Judaism teaches that a savior will come to help the Jewish people fulfill their ultimate destiny. Unfortunately, many people throughout the history of the Jewish religion have played on this expectation for their own benefit. A striking example is Sabbatianism - the direction of Judaism, which was founded in 1665 by Shabtai Zvi, who declared himself the messiah.
Exiled from his hometown of Smyrna, Zvi traveled throughout the Middle East, attracting followers. In the end, Zvi converted to Islam, and Sabbatianism practically ceased to exist. But even after that, he had a number of followers who continued to believe that Shabtai was the Messiah. The sect existed until the 18th century, preaching a mystical approach to Jewish life.
5. Chinese Muslim sects
Chinese Muslim sects
While most people don't think there can be many Muslims in China, there are three different schools of Islam in the modern Middle Kingdom, some of which are relatively new religious organizations. The earliest of these is Kadim. This Islamic sect is the most popular and most orthodox in China. Although some aspects of Chinese culture are practiced by her followers, Kadim retains the basic tenets of Islam.
6. Bardesanites
The Bardesanites: A Special View of Christianity
During the period of Gnostic Christianity, various mystical leaders founded mostly short-lived and often persecuted Gnostic sects. Modern Christians, when looking at their doctrines, can hardly trace the relationship of these Gnostic sects with Christianity. However, they were once part of the development of Christianity. The Syrian mystic Bardesan was one of the key Gnostic leaders who not only founded his own sect in 179 AD. e., but was the first religious leader of the Christianization of Syria.
Bardesan taught that God did not create the world out of nothing, and supposedly the world arose when God mixed the four elements - water, earth, fire and light - into a new form. Bardesan also rejected the idea that God created evil or Satan, believing that this is a reflection of the hierarchy of gods. And Jesus Christ, according to his teaching, only seemed to be clothed in a human body.
7. Millerites
Millerites are the forefathers of Jehovah's Witnesses and Adventists
Common throughout Christianity is the idea that Jesus Christ will return to the world, which will then enter a period of peace and prosperity. For centuries, Christian leaders have prophesied of the second coming. One of the most prominent teachers to preach about the end times was William Miller, who created his own Christian sect known as the Millerites.
Miller allegedly based on the sacred texts deduced the date when the Apocalypse would occur - from March 21, 1843 to March 21, 1844. The splinter groups from the Millerites eventually formed the sects of Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-day Adventists.
8. Brothers of the free spirit
Brothers of the free spirit
In the 13th and 14th centuries, great upheavals took place in European Christian society. During this time, the papacy in Avignon fought against secular European governments, and the Inquisition also flourished. Various sects sprang up like mushrooms after the rain, including the Brothers of the Free Spirit, an offshoot of the Christian movement that tried to bring Christian theology to a more individualistic and egalitarian philosophy. One of the most interesting aspects of their doctrine was the idea that God is embodied in everything in the universe.
It was essentially a form of pantheism - the religious idea that the universe itself is God. Followers of the sect believed that God justifies everything, including gruesome crimes such as rape and murder. When people from the sect preached, they did so in the nude. They also had very open views of sexuality. The Brothers of the Free Spirit viewed intimacy as a form of paradise and mystical union.
9. Shugendo
Shugendo is one of the oldest religions in the world
Shugendo is still practiced today, but it has few adherents and remains relatively unknown outside of Asia. It is difficult to say that Shugendo is a sect of any one religion. In practice, Shugendo is an extremely syncretic teaching that combines ideas from many religious sources, including Shinto, Taoism, Buddhist esoteric ideas, and onmyodo (Japanese occult teachings).
Shugendo is primarily focused on the development of spiritual experience and strength, and also professes asceticism, life in the mountains and harmony between man and nature. The religion itself is very old (it originated in the 7th century), but is still practiced by a relatively small group of followers. All this time, the central idea of shugendo was that the mountains are key objects of worship.
10. Evionites
Evionites: Jesus as Messiah of the Jewish People
The Evionites are considered either a Christian sect, which is inherent in Jewish beliefs, or a sect of Judaism with Christian beliefs. In any case, the Evionites were an important syncretic religious group that influenced the early development of Christianity. Many of their texts are reminiscent of early Christian writings such as the Gospel of Matthew. The name of the sect comes from the Hebrew word meaning "poor."
The sect arose in about 70 AD, after the Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. The Evionites believed in Jesus Christ as the Jewish Messiah. Over time, they disappeared as Christian teaching became more homogeneous.