Political Sectarianism
In the political realm, to describe a group as "sectarian" (or as practicising "sectarianism"), is to accuse them of prioritizing differences and rivalries with politically close groups. An example might be a communist group who are accused of devoting an excessive amount of time and energy to denouncing other communist groups rather than their common foes. However, separatist fundamentalist Protestant political parties have proliferated (and regularly denounce one another)in New Zealand, as can be seen from the entries on United Future New Zealand and Future New Zealand. Libertarianism is similarly susceptible to fissiparous tendencies of its own. The Boston Tea Party splintered off from the Libertarian Party, due to the former being completely opposed to all government. Also, geo-libertarians are often disliked by other libertarians.
The Monty Python film The Life of Brian has a well-known joke in which various Judean groups, indistinguishable to an outsider, are more concerned with in-fighting than with their nominal aim of opposing Roman rule.
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Famous quotes containing the words political and/or sectarianism:
“Individuality is the aim of political liberty. By leaving to the citizen as much freedom of action and of being, as comports with order and the rights of others, the institutions render him truly a freeman. He is left to pursue his means of happiness in his own manner.”
—James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851)
“In America the taint of sectarianism lies broad upon the land. Not content with acknowledging the supremacy as the Diety, and with erecting temples in his honor, where all can bow down with reverence, the pride and vanity of human reason enter into and pollute our worship, and the houses that should be of God and for God, alone, where he is to be honored with submissive faith, are too often merely schools of metaphysical and useless distinctions. The nation is sectarian, rather than Christian.”
—James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851)