Word: sects
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...mention gonorrhea and syphilis, these diseases went largely untreated and ate away at countless victims. Because we are "too nice" to call attention to the errors and other evils within one another's sectarianism, they eat away at our religious life. The less defensible the practices of a sect, the more it stands to gain by the "conspiracy of silence." While critics of sectarianism generally remain silent, zealous sectarians urge their points of view with emotional fervor.. Free and frank evaluation would reduce many evils of sectarianism, but neither sectarian leadership nor sectarian dictatorship willingly submits to such evaluation...
Calling itself "Holy" and its tradition "Sacred,' a sect considers any "attack" on it too wicked to be tolerated in the public press. Would any but a group unsure of itself deny its critics the opportunity to sell their points of view in an open market of ideas? Is that which must protect itself by such censorship really worth protecting...
...Refusing to examine itself critically or to face searching questions by others, a religious sect retains obviously untrue and harmful--even degrading--items side by side with items that are true, helpful and elevating...
...great proportion of the resources of each sect, given in the name of religion, is wastefully used up in just keeping alive and in promoting self-centered sectarian ends rather than in ministering to the religious needs of individuals and communities...
...1860s, some 6,000 Shakers were living in 18 communities scattered from New England to Indiana. Today the sect is virtually extinct, since Mother Ann regarded sex as a device of the devil and Shaker "brothers" and "sisters" lived in separate dormitories. Their only mutual recreation was prayer meetings, at which they sang hymns and "shook" together in frenzied dances that must have looked like Saturday night at the Electric Circus...