In the 1930s cults became the object of sociological study in the context of the study of religious behavior. They have been criticized by mainstream Christians for their unorthodox beliefs. In the 1970s the anticult movement arose, partly motivated by acts of violence and other crimes committed by members of some cults (notably the Manson Family and People's Temrple.
Nowadays are diferents kind of cults and sect:
Cults are absent of the betterment of the individual person but rather than leader only. Cults try to subvert the human will with total and complete obedience to the leader of a group or sect .
Some may say that Christianity is a Jewish sect, or that the Shi'ite and Sunni confessions within Islam are sects. The problem in attempting to define a 'sect' by asking whether the institution as such is recognised by the state or receive benefits also leads one into subjectivity, in that a mainstream institution in one country may not be across the world. The Baptists, for example, are mainstream in the US, but are considered to be a sect in Russia as they have not been registered there for fifteen years. One man's religion is another man's sect.
Some may say that Christianity is a Jewish sect, or that the Shi'ite and Sunni confessions within Islam are sects. The problem in attempting to define a 'sect' by asking whether the institution as such is recognised by the state or receive benefits also leads one into subjectivity, in that a mainstream institution in one country may not be across the world. The Baptists, for example, are mainstream in the US, but are considered to be a sect in Russia as they have not been registered there for fifteen years. One man's religion is another man's sect.
