A new religious movement (NRM) is a comprehensive term used to identify religious, ethical, and spiritual groups, communities and practices of relatively modern origins. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may exist on the fringes of a wider religion, in which case they will be distinct from pre-existing denominations. Scholars studying the sociology of religion have almost unanimously adopted this term as a neutral alternative to the word cult, which is often considered derogatory. Academics identify a variety of characteristics which they employ in categorizing groups as new religious movements. The term is broad and inclusive, rather than sharply defined. New religious movements are generally seen as syncretic, employing human and material assets to disseminate their ideas and worldviews, deviating in some degree from a society's traditional forms or doctrines, focused especially upon the self and having a peripheral relationship that exists in a state of tension with established societal conventions.
A NRM may be one of a wide range of movements ranging from those with loose affiliations based on novel approaches to spirituality or religion to communitarian enterprises that demand a considerable amount of group conformity and a social identity that separates their adherents from mainstream society. Use of the term NRM is not universally accepted among the groups to which it is applied. Scholars have estimated that NRMs now number in the tens of thousands world-wide, with most in Asia and Africa. Most have only a few members, some have thousands, and very few have more than a million. Academics occasionally propose amendments to technical definitions and continue to add new groups.
List
See also
- List of religions and spiritual traditions
- Governmental lists of cults and sects
- Hinduism-oriented new religious movements
- List of Neopagan movements
- List of sects in the Latter Day Saint movement
Notes
References
External links
- AcademicInfo: Religious Movements Gateway â€" Directory of Online Resources
- Hartford Institute of Religious Research: New religious movements
- Online texts about NRMs
- SSSR Resolution on New Religious Groups
- Diskus The on-disk journal of international Religious Studies
- Law Encyclopedia
- Hadden, Jeffrey K. and Douglas Cowan The New Religious Movements Homepage @The University of Virginia [2]
- Religious Movements in the United States: An Informal Introduction