sect 
(sĕkt)
(sĕkt)n.
1. A group of people forming a distinct unit within a larger group by virtue of certain refinements or distinctions of belief or practice.
2. A religious body, especially one that has separated from a larger denomination.
3. A faction united by common interests or beliefs.
[Middle English secte, from Old French, from Latin secta, course, school of thought, from feminine past participle of sequī, to follow; see sekw-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]