New Religious Movements Research Paper

There are a number of problems related to the use of the term. First, it does not refer to all new religious groups (the United Reformed Church, e.g., would not be called an NRM although it only came into being in 1972 as the result of a merger between English Presbyterians and Congregationalists). Second, some groups classified as NRMs protest that they are not new but can claim a heritage of hundreds of years. ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness), e.g., traces its lineage through the sixteenth-century monk, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Interestingly, in Japan those movements which have appeared since 1970 are now referred to as ‘new New Religions’—and Christian groups are referred to as new religions (Mullins et al. 1993). Third, several groups deny that they are religions; many prefer to call themselves spiritual, philosophical, or educational; some, such as the Raelians, are avowedly atheistic. NRMs can, however, be defined loosely as new in so far as they have become visible in their present form since World War II, and religious in so far as they address at least some of the questions of ultimate concern that traditionally have been addressed by more established religions—questions such as ‘What is the meaning of life?’ ‘Is there life after death?’ ‘Is there a God?’

A further problem has arisen from political battles arising out of the conflicting images of the movements that are constructed by several categories of persons (Barker 1995). The media, who tend to be interested in the more sensational aspects of a group, and anticultists (see below), who disseminate only negative accounts, both use the terms ‘cult’ or ‘sect.’ Scholars, in their desire to give as objective an account as possible, had introduced the term NRM partly to distance themselves from the blanket condemnations associated a priori with the label ‘cult.’ This, however, led to accusations from anticultists that the scholars’ use of the concept was an insult to ‘genuine religion’ and little more than an attempt to whitewash the movements. By the late 1990s, this had resulted in a preference among some scholars and the movements themselves to use the less discriminating terms ‘alternative’ or ‘minority religions.’

2. Numbers

The number of NRMs is unknown and will, of course, differ according to the precise definition that is used. It is, however, possible that in the West there are around 1,500 groups—more if all the ‘self religions’ are included. Several thousand more may be found in Latin America, the former Soviet Union, and throughout Asia, including the Indian subcontinent. It has been estimated that over 10,000 new religions are to be found in Africa, although many of these are referred to more frequently as African Independent Churches.

The number of members is even more difficult to assess. There are a few large, international movements (Soka Gakkai claims around 10,000,000 members worldwide; Scientology claims over 8,000,000 have taken one or more of its courses); but there are probably less than 100 groups in the West with more than 1000 adherents; the majority are small, local groups with no more than 50 or so followers at any one time. The difficulty in obtaining accurate figures is confounded by the fact that most movements have various levels of membership, ranging from the fully committed, who may live with and work for their movement, to ‘sympathizers’ who might belong to more than one group (especially within the New Age or Human Potential movement). Furthermore, both the NRMs and their opponents tend to exaggerate membership figures, the former because they wish to be seen as more successful than they really are, the latter because they want to exaggerate the threat that the movements pose, and because adherence to a brainwashing thesis (which claims members are recruited by irresistible and irreversible mind-control techniques) leads them to deny the high turnover rate, with large numbers of converts deciding to leave after a few months’ membership (Barker 1989).

3. Variety

Perhaps the most important generalization to be made about NRMs is that one cannot generalize about them. There have, of course, been new religions throughout history, including early Christianity, early Islam, and early Methodism. But while most of the movements that arose in previous times were offshoots of the prevailing traditions in their society of origin, the range of traditions, permutations, and combinations to be found within the current wave of NRMs is without precedence. This may in part be explained by the dramatically increased social and geographical mobility, the phenomenal expansion of the mass media, and various other processes subsumed under the rubric of postindustrial globalization. Thus, one can find those brought up in, say, the Judaeo– Christian tradition deciding to join (from, respectively, the Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, or Islamic traditions) the Brahma Kumaris, Nichiren Shoshu, Mahikari, or Hizb ut-Tahrir. There are, moreover, NRMs that draw on the beliefs and practices of Wicca, Paganism, Occultism, and Esotericism; others have turned for their inspiration to modern philosophies and ideologies, psychological and psychoanalytic theories, and astrology; yet others owe much to ideas to be found in science fiction writing (Barker 1989, Melton 1992, Miller 1995, Robbins 1988).

Some NRMs, such as the Unification Church, have relatively systematic theologies; others consist of what seems to outsiders to be a jumble of uncoordinated pronouncements. Practices include chanting, meditation, ritual magick, dance, formal liturgy, and group therapy. Some members of NRMs live together in rural communes, others live separately in high-rise apartments. Life styles may be ascetic or hedonistic. Attitudes towards women, children, and the outside world vary. Some groups indulge in sexual orgies, others practice celibacy. Some are rich, others poor. The movement’s organization may be democratic or authoritarian. The leader may be seen as a guru, teacher, prophet, Messiah, god, or God. He (or sometimes she) may perform miracles, may channel messages from Ascended Masters, or may be in touch with aliens from another planet. Some NRMs are destructive, others benign. Most have positive effects some of the time for some of their members and negative effects at other times for others.

Attempts to classify NRMs have been largely unsuccessful, the sheer variety having made elegant typologies such as that which Wilson (1970) elaborated for the largely Christian-based sects of the nineteenth century well nigh impossible. The most effective attempt has been Wallis’ distinction between ‘world rejecting,’ ‘world-affirming,’ and ‘world-accommodating’ new religions (Wallis 1984).

4. Characteristics

There are, nevertheless, certain characteristics that are commonly found among NRMs merely because they are both new and religious. First, new religions, by definition, are composed of first-generation members, and converts to any religion tend to be more zealous than those born into their religion. Second, the membership is usually atypical of the general population; e.g., during the 1970s, NRMs in the West appealed disproportionately to young adults from middle-class backgrounds. The movements had, thus, an enthusiastic, healthy, well-educated, but inexperienced membership with few responsibilities. Third, the founder frequently wields charismatic authority, being unconstrained by rules or tradition, and unaccountable to anyone (except, perhaps, God). Fourth, NRMs often embrace dichotomies that allow little qualification. The world is divided unambiguously into ‘them’ vs. ‘us’ people; ‘true’ vs. ‘false’ beliefs; ‘good’ and ‘godly’ vs. ‘evil’ and ‘satanic’ morals and practices; and time is split between ‘before’ vs. ‘after’ significant events such as conversion or the coming apocalypse. Fifth, NRMs, given that they present an alternative to the status quo, commonly are regarded with suspicion and/or antagonism by the host society. Understandably, such fears have been reinforced by horrific incidents such as the mass suicides and/or murders associated with the Peoples Temple (Guyana 1978), the Branch Davidians (Waco 1993), the Solar Temple (Quebec, Switzerland, and France 1994 5), Aum Shinrikyo (Tokyo 1995), and Heaven’s Gate (San Diego 1997).

5. Changes

A sixth characteristic of NRMs is that they are likely to change far more rapidly than older, more established religions. Taking demographic factors alone: youthful converts get older; the arrival of a second generation will mean not only that resources (time and money) have to be devoted to their care and socialization, but also that they are likely to question many of the beliefs and practices their parents had adopted. As children cannot be expelled as easily as stroppy converts, the movement could have to adapt its beliefs and practices. Furthermore, charismatic leaders die, their authority usually being replaced by a more predictable and accountable leadership. Many of the sharp boundaries that distinguished the NRM from the rest of society become permeated by qualification and accommodation, and the movements that survive tend, though not always, to merge less noticeably into the pluralistic smorgasbord of contemporary democracies.

6. Cult-Watching Groups

During the 1970s, there arose a number of organizations devoted to exposing the perceived dangers of NRMs in an attempt to have them controlled or outlawed completely. These became generically known as the anticult movement (ACM) (see Bromley and Hadden 1993). Originally many of the members of the ACM were worried relatives of converts who believed that their loved ones were in danger, but they were soon joined by others, including ex-members and persons such as lawyers, private detectives, politicians, mental health professionals, and counselors who developed a specialist interest in NRMs. Anticultists range from persons who have engaged in forcible ‘deprogramming’ for thousands of dollars (a practice now rarely carried out in the West, although still prevalent in Japan), to those who merely attempt to educate the general public through literature, lectures, and counseling. By the 1990s, the American Family Foundation had become the largest and most professional such organization. Alongside the ACM, there also developed a counter-cult movement that criticizes the beliefs of NRMs. Among the most active of these are the Dialogue Centres in Europe, and the Watchman Fellowship in the USA.

Other groups, such as INFORM, based at the London School of Economics, RENNER at the Universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, and CESNUR, in Turin, are more scholarly in their orientation, with the largest collection of material being housed at the University of California, Santa Barbara under the direction of Gordon Melton. Several Government Enquiries have been commissioned to look into the activities of the NRMs. The Eastern European, French, Belgian and, to a lesser extent, German reports have tended to rely either solely or predominantly on anticult resources and to recommend the movements should be restricted, while the Swedish, Dutch, and Ontario reports have paid more attention to scholarly research, and tend to share the position of the British and US governments that NRMs should be treated in law like any other religions unless they are found guilty of criminal malpractice.

Bibliography:

1. Barker E 1989 New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction. HMSO, London
2. Barker E 1995 The scientific study of religion? You must be joking! Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 34(3): 287–310
3. Bromley D, Hadden J 1993 The Handbook on Cults and Sects in America (Parts A&B). JAI Press, Greenwich, CT
4. Inoue N (ed.) 1991 New Religions: Contemporary Papers in Japanese Religion 2. Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics, Kokugakuin University, Tokyo
5. Melton J G 1992 (original edn. 1986) Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America. Rev. edn. Garland, New York and London
6. Miller T (ed.) 1995 America’s Alternative Religions. State University of New York, Albany, NY
7. Mullins M R, Susumu S, Swanson P L (eds.) 1993 Religion and Society in Modern Japan. Asian Humanities Press, Berkeley, CA
8. Robbins T 1988 Cults, Converts and Charisma. Sage, Newbury Park, CA
9. Wallis R 1984 The Elementary Forms of the New Religious Life. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London
10. Wilson B R 1970 Religious Sects: A Sociological Study. Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London