What is religious sectarianism?

Sectarianism is a political or cultural conflict between two groups often related to the form of government they live under. Common examples of these divisions are denominations of a religion, ethnic identity, class, or region for citizens of a state and factions of a political movement.

What is an example of sectarianism?

Sectarianism occurs when members of different denominations within a faith display bigotry and prejudice toward each other. Examples include the Sunni and Shia within Islam, Orthodox and Reform within Judaism or Protestants and Catholics within Christianity.

Are there any sects in the Jewish religion?

While some scholars have posited the existence of these sects, or perhaps more accurately proto‑sects, as early as the fourth and third centuries, such theories are entirely speculative as there are no data to substantiate them.

What’s the difference between sectarianism and sectarianization?

Various scholars have made a differentiation between “sectarianism” and “sectarianization”. While the first describes prejudice, discrimination, and hatred between subdivisions within a group, e.g. based on their religious or ethnic identity, the latter describes how sectarianism is mobilized by political actors due to ulterior political motives.

What was an example of sectarianism in the Middle East?

An example of this is the Middle Eastern regional response to the Iranian revolution of 1979. Middle Eastern dictatorships backed by the United States, especially Saudi Arabia, feared that the spread of the revolutionary spirit and ideology would affect their power and dominance in the region.

Why was there so much sectarianism during the Iranian Revolution?

Therefore, efforts were made to undermine the Iranian revolution by labeling it as a Shi’a conspiracy to corrupt the Sunni Islamic tradition. This was followed by a rise of anti-Shi’a sentiments across the region and a deterioration of Shi’a-Sunni relations, impelled by funds from the Gulf states.