(n.) Division or separation; specifically (Eccl.), permanent division or separation in the Christian church; breach of unity among people of the same religious faith; the offense of seeking to produce division in a church without justifiable cause.

affiliation alienation apostasy betrayal body bolt branch breach breach of friendship break breakaway chasm church cleavage cleft communion community defection denomination dereliction deserter desertion disaffection disfavor disruption dissent dissidence disunion disunity divergence dividedness division estrangement faction falling-out fellowship fissure fracture group heterodoxy misbelief nonconformism nonconformity offshoot open rupture order organization party persuasion ratting recall of ambassadors religious order rent rift rupture school secession sect sectarism segment separation society split unorthodoxy variety version walkout