The violent confrontation in Texas between federal agents and Branch Davidians is tragic and deplorable. The calamity might have been avoided by an understanding of religious sects. The "cult" stereotype perpetuates an irrational fear of religious groups that usually are merely different. America's religious minorities _ Catholics, Jews, Quakers, Amish, Latter-Day Saints, Christian Scientists, Jehovah's Witnesses and many others _ frequently have been subjected to public hatred, mob violence and government persecution. Future tragedies will not be prevented by a public crusade against or legal repression of those labeled "religious cults." The likely damage to individual and religious freedom is a much more serious threat than dangerous cults. The popular term "cult" is used to describe a spurious or illegitimate religion. It provokes stereotypical imagery of bizarre dogmas and deranged, authoritarian leaders, who through "brainwashing," extract absolute obedience from mindless, sheep-like followers. Groups so labeled are deemed responsible for psychological and physical abuses, the destruction of families and a host of crimes. The perception that cults are exceptionally dangerous supports the cry for organized opposition, political action and legal persecution. Thousands of small groups in the United States subscribe to supernatural beliefs different for those of conventional religion. Yet most are "religions," even by the most conservative scholarly definition. Judgments to the contrary typically advance narrow meanings dependent on a particular form of religion. Christianity _ but not Buddhism. Protestantism _ but not Catholicism. Us _ but not them. Otherwise, non-conventional religions rarely fit the cult stereotype. They are non-dogmatic, lack strong leadership and demand little of loosely organized, completely voluntary participants. Members are not abused, families continue and group activities are not antisocial. Their only offense is unorthodox religious belief. Fewer non-standard religions are "sects." They are characterized by uncompromising doctrines and tight-knit community, commonly directed by charismatic leadership. The "brainwashing" contention is nonsense, but a high degree of commitment and conformity is expected from members. Sects oppose the secular society, sometimes militantly, though rarely violently. In these ways, sects resemble the popular idea of cults. Most sect negatives are not distinctive to religion. Moral absolution, rigid behavioral norms and close relationships often result in authoritarian organizations and leaders. Sect members learn and obey rules, value group goals over most else, and their activities may be antisocial whether the ideology is religious, political, economic or something else. Children everywhere get involuntary moral instruction from authoritarian parents and school teachers, and failure to conform is sanctioned seriously. Authoritarian organizations, religious or otherwise, do not inevitable produce ruinous outcomes, but they do create situations readily subject to aberration and abuse. Fortunately, very few sects yield intolerable consequences. People are much more likely to be psychologically or physically abused by a family member or an employer than by a religious sect. Many sect affronts are matters of perspective. From the Romans' viewpoint, Jesus was a deranged leader of a zealous cult. His disciples envisioned themselves as sheep and him as shepherd, lord and master. Jesus attracted social outcasts, disrupted families and was defined as a criminal. Most sects (such as early Christianity), eventually accommodate the surrounding culture, become secular stereotype vaguely describes most religions at some period in their history, and many of the abuses attributed to cults also periodically apply to traditional, established religions, political groups, and other institutions. The enormous challenge of our age is learning to live with and respect one another for all the difference, such as ethnicity and religion, whereby we define ourselves and the meaning of our lives. Dr. Jorgensen, a professor of religious studies at the University of South Florida's Tampa and St. Petersburg campuses, is the author of The Esoteric Scene, Cultic Milieu and Occult Tarot, (Garland Publishing, 1992) as well as more than a dozen scholarly essays on religious cults and sects.