religious sect vs sect

religious sect and sect both are nouns.

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

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

Other synonyms of religious sect include religious order.

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