Research on the concept of “sekta”
A sociolinguistic study of how people understand the word
Some time ago I carried out a sociolinguistic study of how people understand the Russian word sekta (roughly “cult” or “sect”).
Why does it matter? Everyone in our country has heard the word sekta, but why do we call these particular people sectarians? Right now the concept is confused. The definitions in dictionaries and in different scholarly approaches differ from one another and differ significantly from the way the term is understood in public. This vagueness leaves room for speculation: it allows any group at all to be called a sekta (even a cross-stitch club!), or, the other way round, allows people to claim that there are practically no sects left today (if the word is taken to mean closed communities of hermits). We decided to put an end to the speculation and to clarify the concept in the light of present-day reality.
You can see the calls to take part in the study here (both in Russian):
- “Let’s Help the Research: What Is a Sekta?”
- “Latvians Asked to Help in the Fight Against Totalitarian Sects”
The study has now been completed.
Translated from the Russian original with the help of AI. Read the original (in Russian).