New Religious Movements
By Daniel C. Peterson and William J. Hamblin
One of the remarkable things about religion is its tremendous variability. Throughout history there have been literally hundreds of different religions, with thousands of denominations. Today new religions are being created at an ever-increasing pace-possibly hundreds a year. In one sense, the modern world has been described as the age of new technologies, but it could just as easily be viewed as the age of new religions. Recognizing this trend, historians of religion are increasingly focusing attention on what are called “New Religious Movements” (NRMs), in an attempt to create explanatory models describing how religions are created, spread, decline, and eventually disappear.
There are a number of factors that contribute to the vibrancy of NRMs in the modern world. One important element is the impact of modern Western technologies, institutions, and values on traditional peoples of the Third World. In part as a result of colonialism and imperialism, traditional peoples often react to the West by creating NRMs in an attempt to balance the new and the traditional. Scholars estimate that over 10,000 such NRMs may have arisen in the Third World in the past century, sharing a total of over twelve million members.
But the religious impact of modernity is not limited to traditional peoples of the Third World. There are at least 2000 NRMs in the West as well. (Exact numbers are difficult to come by since most NRMs are informal and ephemeral.) Many scholars credit the rapid expansion of NRMs in part to the failure of traditional religions to give answers to the new problems of the modern world. In the past few centuries the rise of secularism and the separation of church and state in the West laid the basis for the rise of NRMs. The old ties binding religion, language, state, and culture together have been permanently severed in the West, creating a true freedom of religion for the first time in world history. And in this new religious environment, NRMs have thrived.
The most universal characteristic of NRMs is their vast diversity. Some reject the secularism and materialism that infest the Western world. Many are opposed to institutional religions, seeking complete spiritual independence; individuals can now create their own completely idiosyncratic religion of a single member. Syncretism-the merging of different religious beliefs and practices into a new synthesis-is widespread among NRMs. Many NRMs claim to have discovered lost ancient wisdom. This can range from the belief of having discovered the true nature of ancient Christianity to an attempt to revive the worship of pagan gods of antiquity in Neo-pagan and occult movements. Many NRMs are millenarian, forming communities in anticipation of imminent apocalypse. Others are utopian or communitarian, rejecting the evils of modern society in hopes of creating new ideal communities.
Many people, dissatisfied with their society’s own traditional religions, have turned to the traditional religions of foreign cultures, which are often viewed as more exotic, more mystical, or more “authentic.” Thus, Asian religions have made significant inroads into Europe and North America. Although such Asian religions are often thousands of years old in their own right, they seem “new” when transplanted to the West, and thus function socially as NRMs. In the process of transplantation, the beliefs and practices of foreign religions are often transformed, sometimes almost beyond recognition.
The modern world is also one of increasing globalization. As literacy, travel, communication, and immigration become easier, religious ideas spread ever more rapidly. The Internet is also fast becoming a mechanism for global proselytism. Whereas we in the West often view this phenomenon as facilitating the spread of Christianity into Africa and Asia, in reality we could just as easily describe its impact in terms of the spread of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam to Europe and North America. Indeed, we will soon reach the point in the United States where there are more Muslims than Jews, with the concomitant potential for shifting political power.
Most new religions are small and transitory, often lasting only a few years, and seldom surviving the death of their founders. A few flourish, however, creating stable institutions and communities that lay the foundation for future growth. Many scholars believe that the most successful New Religious Movement of the past millennium has been the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, now with over twelve million members. If historical and modern growth trends continue into the future, its membership will exceed one hundred million in the twenty-first century. If so, the Latter-day Saints are poised to become the first world religion since the beginnings of Islam some fourteen centuries ago.
