Arikah Map

Schism (religion)

The word schism (IPA: ['sɪzəm] or ['skɪzəm]), from the Greek σχίσμα, skhísma (from σχίζω, skhízō, "to tear, to split"), means a division or a split, usually in an organization or a movement. A schismatic is a person who creates or incites schism in an organization or who is a member of a splinter group. Schismatic as an adjective means pertaining to a schism or schisms, or to those ideas, policies, etc. that are thought to lead towards or promote schism. More generally, especially outside of religion, the word schism may refer to the separation/split between two or more people, be it brothers, friends, lovers, etc. or any division of a formerly united from the state movement in politics or any other field into two or more disagreeing groups.


Contents

Use within Christianity

Schism (religion):The historical development of major church branches from their roots.
Enlarge
The historical development of major church branches from their roots.

The words schism and schismatic have found perhaps their heaviest usage in the history of Christianity, to denote splits within a church or religious body. In this context, schismatic as a noun denotes a person who creates or incites schism in a church or is a member of a splinter church, and schismatic as an adjective refers to ideas and things that are thought to lead towards or promote schism, often describing a church that has departed from whichever communion the user of the word considers to be the true Christian church. These words have been used to denote both the phenomenon of Christian group splintering in general, and certain significant historical splits in particular.

Thus, within Christianity the word schism may refer to:

Use within Islam

The division between Sunni, Shia, and Kharijite Islam in CE 632 regarding the rightful successor to the prophet Muhammad, and in 661 and 680 regarding the rightful claimant to the Caliphate. This is distinguished from the liberal movements within Islam, a reform rather than an attempt at schism.

Use within Buddhism

In Buddhism, the first schism was set up by Devadatta, during Buddha's life. This schism didn't last long, and Devadatta later repented his misdeeds. Later (after Buddha's passing away), the early Buddhist schools came into being due to various schisms, but there is still some unclarity concerning the specific schisms that occurred, and the order in which they occurred. In the old texts, 18 or 20 early schools are mentioned. Later, there were the Mahayana and Vajrayana movements, which can be regarded as being schismatic in origin. Each school has various subgroups, which often are schismatic in origin. For example, in Thai Theravadin Buddhism there are two groups (Mahanikaya and Dhammayut), of which the Dhammayut has its origin partly in the Mahanikaya, and is the new and schismatic group. Both Mahanikaya and Dhammayut have many subgroups, which usually do not have schismatic origins, but came into being in a natural way, through the popularity of a (leader) monk.

Use within Judaism

Main article: Schisms among the Jews
See also: Jewish views of religious pluralism, Relationships between Jewish religious movements, and Jewish principles of faith

Throughout the Jewish history, Judaism survived many schisms. Today, major Jewish denominations are Orthodox Judaism and non-Orthodox: Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist.

Examples

In the early centuries of Christianity through much of the Middle Ages, schism was considered by many Christians to be as serious or more serious than heresy.[citation needed] In the eighth circle of the Inferno, the poet Dante imagined a particularly gruesome fate for schismatics in Hell, whereby the condemned are eternally carved in half, only to have their wounds heal and the experience repeated. Within the Roman Catholic Church schism is still an act that incurs automatic excommunication as a penalty (while heresy does incur canonical penalties, severity depending on the severity of the heresy being taught, it does not necessarily incur automatic excommunication).

References

  1. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: Judaizers see section titled: "THE INCIDENT AT ANTIOCH"

See also

Categories


Articles with unsourced statements | Christian group structuring

Find

Find

Find