The Concept of Sect in the Interwar Period

Due to the mechanisms of socialization, urbanization and globalization, the society resembles increasingly the structure of an intimate ecosystem. Therefore, when one approaches various subjects or, even more importantly, when one enunciates various concepts one must take into account their impact and significance at global level. As this paper analyses the use of the concept of “sect†during the interwar period, the author notes how the term had different connotations on each side of the Atlantic Ocean. On the Western side, the term “sect†had designated a state of affairs that emerged from the segregation of a group of believers from the mother–community of faith, and it is found used both as colloquialism as well as in academic settings. In Europe, however, the term “sect†acquired strong pejorative meaning, as the term was used with the intent to marginalize and stigmatize those labeled as such.