religious order vs sect

religious order and sect both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
religious order	Yes	No	No	No
sect	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, religious order and sect are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of religious order include religious sect.

religious order (noun)	sect (noun)
a subdivision of a larger religious group	a dissenting clique
	a subdivision of a larger religious group