The English sociologist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Wallis Roy Wallis] [[argues]] that a sect is characterized by “epistemological authoritarianism”: sects possess some [[authoritative]] locus for the legitimate attribution of [[heresy]]. According to Wallis, “sects lay a claim to [[possess]] [[unique]] and [[privileged]] access to the [[truth]] or salvation and “their committed adherents typically regard all those outside the confines of the collectivity as 'in [[error]]'”. He [[contrasts]] this with a [[cult]] that he described as characterized by “epistemological individualism” by which he means that “the cult has no clear locus of final [[authority]] beyond the [[individual]] member.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sect] | The English sociologist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Wallis Roy Wallis] [[argues]] that a sect is characterized by “epistemological authoritarianism”: sects possess some [[authoritative]] locus for the legitimate attribution of [[heresy]]. According to Wallis, “sects lay a claim to [[possess]] [[unique]] and [[privileged]] access to the [[truth]] or salvation and “their committed adherents typically regard all those outside the confines of the collectivity as 'in [[error]]'”. He [[contrasts]] this with a [[cult]] that he described as characterized by “epistemological individualism” by which he means that “the cult has no clear locus of final [[authority]] beyond the [[individual]] member.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sect] |