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Religions that cannot be classed as either world religions nor traditional folk religions, and are usually recent in their inception.
Church of Divine Science The Church of Divine Science is a religious movement within the wider New Thought movement. The group was formalized in San Francisco in the 1880s under Malinda Cramer. “In March 1888 Cramer and her husband Frank chartered the ‘Home College of Spiritual Science’. Two months later Cramer changed the name...
Progressive Reconstructionism Progressive Reconstructionism is a loosely-knit interfaith community found primarily in the developed world. It comprises activist adherents of Reconstructionist Judaism (and of some other Jewish traditions), the Christian left, progressive Hindus, Buddhists. Muslims, left-leaning Neopagans, Wiccans, and members of other faiths. This community also includes progressives who follow a spiritual practice but...
Hellenism Hellenism (the Hellenic ethnic religion, also commonly known as Hellenismos, Hellenic Polytheism, Dodekatheism, or Olympianism, comprises various religious movements which revive or reconstruct ancient Greek religious practices, and which have publicly emerged since the 1990s. The Hellenic religion builds on traditional religion and on a traditional way of life, revolving around the Greek Gods,...
Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in the United States in 1875 by Helena Blavatsky to advance Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments, currently has several successors. Following the death of Blavatsky, competition within the Society between factions emerged, particularly among founding members and the organisation split...
Reconstructionism Polytheistic Reconstructionism (or Reconstructionism) is an approach to modern paganism first emerging in the late 1960s to early 1970s, which gathered momentum starting in the 1990s. Reconstructionism attempts to re-establish historical polytheistic religions in the modern world, in contrast with neopagan syncretic movements like Wicca, and “channeled” movements like Germanic mysticism...
New Thought The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a movement which developed in the United States in the 19th century, considered by many to have been derived from the unpublished writings of Phineas Quimby. There are numerous smaller groups, most of which are incorporated in the International New Thought Alliance. The contemporary...
Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (born Emanuel Swedberg; January 29, 1688 – March 29, 1772) was a Swedish scientist, philosopher, Christian mystic, and theologian. Swedenborg had a prolific career as an inventor and scientist. At the age of 56 he entered into a spiritual phase, in which he experienced dreams and visions of the afterlife. This...
Christian Views on Magic Christian views on magic vary widely among denominations and among individuals. Many Christians actively condemn any form of magic as satanic, holding that it opens the way for demonic possession. Others simply dismiss it as superstition. Conversely, some branches of esoteric Christianity actively engage in magical practices. Biblical references Main...
Theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late nineteenth century. It was founded primarily by the Russian immigrant Helena Blavatsky and draws its beliefs predominantly from Blavatsky’s writings. Categorized by scholars of religion as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism, it draws upon both older European philosophies such...
History of New Thought The history of New Thought started in the 1830s, with roots in the United States and England. As a spiritual movement with roots in metaphysical beliefs, New Thought has helped guide a variety of social changes throughout the 19th, 20th, and into the 21st centuries. Psychologist and philosopher William...
List of New Age topics This article contains a list of New Age topics that are too extensive to include in its main article the New Age Movement; further information may be found at The New Religious Movement. Philosophical Baqaa Destiny Esoteric cosmology Esotericism Fanaa Hierology Integral (spirituality) Integral Theory Karma...
New Religious Movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as a new religion or alternative spirituality, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society’s dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or part of a wider religion, in which case they are distinct...
Scientology Scientology is a new religious movement based on the writings of L. Ron Hubbard (1911 – 1986), a science fiction author, who founded the Church of Scientology in 1953. As with many new religious movements, Scientology has attracted much controversy and criticism, and it has been described as a “cult” by its...
Church of Satan The Church of Satan is a religious organization dedicated to Satanism as codified in The Satanic Bible. The Church of Satan was established at the Black House in San Francisco, California, on Walpurgisnacht, April 30, 1966, by Anton Szandor LaVey, who was the Church’s High Priest until his death in 1997. In 2001, Peter H. Gilmore was appointed to the position of High Priest,...
LaVeyan Satanism LaVeyan Satanism is a religion founded in 1966 by the American occultist and author Anton Szandor LaVey. Scholars of religion have classified it as a new religious movement and a form of Western esotericism. It is one of several different movements that describe themselves as forms of Satanism. LaVey established LaVeyan Satanism in the U.S. state of California through the...
Theistic Satanism Theistic Satanism or spiritual Satanism is an umbrella term for religious beliefs that consider Satan as an objectively existing supernatural being or force worthy of supplication, with whom individuals may contact, convene and even praise, rather than him being just an archetype, symbol or idea as in LaVeyan Satanism. The individual belief systems under this umbrella...
Witchcraft and Divination in The Hebrew Bible Various forms of witchcraft and divination in the Hebrew Bible are mentioned in a generally disapproving tone. The Masoretic Text of the Torah forbids: nahash;[1][2] as a noun, nahash translates as snake, and as a verb it literally translates as hissing. The verb form can be extended to mean whispering. onan;[1][2] onan literally translates as clouds, possibly referring to nephomancy....
Unity Church Unity, known informally as Unity Church, is a New Thought Christian organization that publishes the Daily Word devotional publication. It describes itself as a “positive, practical Christianity” which “teach[es] the effective daily application of the principles of Truth taught and exemplified by Jesus Christ” and promotes “a way of life that leads to...
New Religious Movements / Science and Religion
by slife · Published March 4, 2020 · Last modified May 19, 2020
Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices belonging to the metaphysical family of new religious movements. It was developed in 19th-century New England by Mary Baker Eddy, who argued in her 1875 book Science and Health that sickness is an illusion that can be corrected by prayer alone. The book became Christian Science’s central text, along with the Bible,...
What Is Halloween? Halloween or Hallowe’en (Hallows’ Even or Hallows’ Evening), also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve, is a celebration observed in several countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the...
