The Arab uprisings left an indelible mark on the politics of identity in the Middle East. However, the ways that identities have formed, morphed, and translated into action rebuff many theoretical expectations drawn from political science. Sectarian sentiments have seemed to dominate the regional public sphere, but they do not engender predictable patterns of mobilization, conflict, or congregation among social movements and political governments. This chapter hence provides a deep, reflective, and comparatively informed dive into sectarian identity and the notion of sectarianism. It illustrates the different approaches taken by political scientists in defining these terms and accentuates the importance of moving beyond existing concepts to deconstruct how political understandings of identity arise in historical context. It suggests that creative research among political science should aim as much to explore not just sectarianization but also de-sectarianization as the next trend that could reshape social and political forces in the region.