Sects

Many sects have initiation rituals for new members.

There are many sects in Hinduism.

The Depression revitalized many Christian sects.

"Frank, Christianity isn't really just one religion. There are zillions of sects with different beliefs." "You're right, Don."

Lebanon is a deeply divided country with different sects sharing power.

There are homegrown Christian sects in the Philippines, such as Iglesia ni Cristo and the Aglipayan Church.

Amongst Christian sects, Roman Catholicism attracts more Japanese, but most Japanese do not really interest themselves in Christianity, generally. Maybe, Roman Catholicism has more aesthetic value than other sects.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that JC was not nailed to a cross, but to a stake. They, unlike other Christian sects, do not use the cross symbol.

There were many kinds of early Christians. Some sects never made it to the present time. One of them was the Ebionites, from the Hebrew "ebyonim" for poor. They revered Jesus' supposed brother James the Just, but rejected the missionary Paul of Tarsus. They believed that Mary was not a virgin and that Jesus was adopted by God. The Ebionites were vegetarians. There were many other extinct sects of Christianity. At that time, the distinction between Jews and Christians was not really clear-cut. Another sect that is extinct today is the Marcionites. Marcion of Sinope (circa 85-160 CE) wrote books that did not survive to the present day; one book that he wrote was The Antitheses. Unlike the Ebionites who still followed Jewish Law and thought that Jesus was human, not God, the Marcionites rejected Jewish Law and thought that Jesus was God, not human. The Marcionites believed that there were 2 gods, the Creator God of the Jews and the God of Jesus. Jesus was the God of mercy and love; he was to save people from the wrathful Creator God. "Docetism" is the term used for thinking that Jesus was a phantasm that appeared human. Marcionites believed that Jesus was not born into this world. Their canon was something like the New Testament, but more compact, and phrases that Marcion thought were scribes' earlier modifications had been elided.

Generally, I think that "Trinity Religions" or "three-tending religions" are Xtianity, Hare Krishna, and Hinduism, but one should note that amongst Xtian sects, Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons do not believe in the Trinity, as it is not Biblical, they say.