As there were Buddhist priests' groups outside of Japan that organized priests into armed groups, such as Suzan Shorin-ji Temple (Mountain Sung Shaolin Temple), the term Sohei sometimes refers to such armed religious groups in broad terms.
また、日本以外にも嵩山少林寺のように僧兵として武装集団を組織する仏教僧の集団がおり、広義には武装した宗教集団を指すこともある。