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DEFINITION OF THE TERM The term New Religious Movement s comprises a wide range of movements which range from loose affiliations based on novel approaches to Spirituality or Religion to Communitarian enterprises which demand a considerable amount of group conformity and a Separatism from Mainstream Society . This term was introduced in the 1980s by scholars to replace the loaded term Cult which had been used since being coined by Max Weber as a category for such religious groups but which had, during the Cult Debates of the 1970s , developed a pejorative tone and was being used by the public quite indiscriminately for any kind of non-mainstream religion. Some scholars, especially in sociology of religion, use the term "new religious movement" to refer to any non-mainstream religion, while others use "new religious movement" for the majority of benign alternative religions and reserve "cult" to label groups—whether religious, psychotherapeutic, political or commercial—they believe to be extremely manipulative and exploitative. {Link without Title} While there is no one criteria for when a group is described as a "new" religious movement, it usually refers to both ''of recent origin'' and ''different from existing religions''. The definitions of "of recent origin" vary greatly: some authors see as ''new'' movements those originating or appearing in a new context after World War II , others define as ''new'' everything originating after the Bahá'í Faith (mid 19th century) or even everything originating after Sikhism (17th century). ''New'' in the sense of ''different from existing religions'' refers by common consensus to all movements which are not part of any existing religion. Some authors also count those movements which are, in religious science, seen as part of an existing religion but which either present themselves as separate or as "the only right" religion, or are not accepted by that religion as sharing the same basic creed. Some authors also count religious movements as ''new'' when they appear in a new cultural context and present themselves as distinct from traditional religion, e.g. new Hindu or Buddhist groups in the Western World . There is a great variety in the kinds movements included in this characterization, such as leadership, authority, concepts of the individual, family, gender, teachings, organizational structures, etc. This variety has presented a challenge to social scientists in their attempts to define a classification by means of a comprehensive criteria. Ibid. ''Religion in the modern World" p.270 Generally, Christian denominations that are an accepted part of ecumenical Christianity are not seen as ''new'' religious movements. However, the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints , Jehovah's Witnesses , Seventh-day Adventists , Christian Science practitioners, Shaker s, and even Tent Revival s have been studied as NRMs. There are also examples of such groups being characterized as cults, generally by other evangelicals who are hostile to their proselytization efforts. There are groups which are by some or many authors seen as new religious movements, though they do not define themselves as religion. Debates among academics on the acceptability of the word "cult" continue in scholarly research papers. Similarly, no consensus has been reached in the definition of ''new religious movement'' among scholars. EXAMPLES OF NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS NRMs are very diverse both in its beliefs, practices, the way they are organized, and the degree of acceptance by society. Irving Hexham and Karla Poewe have proposed that NRMs be understood as forming global sub-cultures, particularly where a given group has gained adherents in many nations. In general, the number of people who have affiliated with NRMs worldwide is quite small when compared to major world religions. However the sheer diversity of NRMs has seen the emergence of many different groups in Africa , Japan and Melanesia . In Africa, David Barrett has documented the emergence of some 6,000 new indigenous churches since the late 1960s. In Japan a number of NRMs based on revitalised Shinto belief, as well as many neo-Buddhist and New Age groups have emerged, some originating in the late Nineteenth century in the Meiji era, and many more in the aftermath of World War Two. Around twenty-five per cent of the world's cultures are found in Melanesia, spanning the island nations from Papua New Guinea , the Solomon Islands , Vanuatu and Fiji . It was here that the phenomena of Cargo Cults were first discerned by Anthropologists and religious studies scholars. The Cargo Cults are interpreted as indigenous NRMs that have arisen in response to colonial and post-colonial cultural changes, and with the influx of Modernisation and Capitalist Consumerism . At the time of their foundation, many religions or religious traditions considered "established" or "mainstream" today were original seen as new religious movements, as it were, in their time. For example, Christianity was opposed by many within Judaism and within the Roman Culture as a sacrilege to existing doctrines. Likewise, Protestant Christianity was originally seen—and still considered so today among some—as a new religious movement or breakaway development. Some have seen Buddhism as a breakaway innovation from Hinduism . The Mormon faith was faced with varying degrees of opposition from mainstream Christian adherents and governmental bodies at the time of its creation but over time eventually gained acceptance. ''For a list of new religious movements see List Of New Religious Movements .'' NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS AND THEIR CRITICS Main article Opposition To Cults And New Religious Movements Advocates who regard certain fringe religious organizations, new religious movements or (controversially) " {Link without Title} policy.) In turn, a number of new religious movements have used the term "hate group" to label certain former members of these groups. Disaffected former members of these organizations have worked to expose what they believe is the "truth" about the groups in question, though the methods used by some of these former members have been known to be Polemic , hostile and verbally abusive. Alleged cults and new religions have seized upon the hostile acts of their former members and cited them as examples of Persecution and Bigotry by these former members. Supporters of these groups have waged campaigns of their own to label former members as hate groups, even to the point where they publish literature and Web sites dedicated to attacking these disaffected persons. An example is a page of 60 "Anti-Religious Extremists" {Link without Title} about 1/3 of whom are former members. resort to tactics that may create a background favorable to extreme manifestations of Discrimination and Hate against individuals that belong to new religious movements. Critics of CESNUR, however, call Introvigne a Cult Apologist who defends harmful religious groups and cults. Somewhat in concurrence with Introvigne, professor Eileen Barker asserts in an interview that the controversy surrounding certain new religious movements can turn violent by a process called Deviancy Amplification Spiral . {Link without Title} Elan Vital , an NRM and an organization that supports the work of Prem Rawat , accuse its Vocal Critics that call themselves "Ex-Premies", to harbor the hatred and ill-will typical of a Hate Group , such as Hate Speech and harassment. The ex-premies reject these accusations asserting that the evidence for these allegations is uncorroborated, and assert that they are performing a public service by providing information not disclosed by Elan Vital. See Criticism Of Prem Rawat . Aspects of the ''guru-shishya'' (teacher-disciple) Tradition are commonly brought forward in disputes related to alleged abuse of authority by gurus and spiritual teachers of new religious movements. In a paper by Anson Shupe and Susan Darnell presented at the 2000 meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, they affirm that although the International Cultic Studies Association ( ICSA, formerly known as AFF or American Family Foundation) has presented "slanted, stereotypical images and language that has inflamed persons to perform extreme actions", the extent to which the ICSA and other anti-cultist organizations are hate groups as defined by law or racial/ethnic criteria in sociology, is open for debate. See also Verbal Violence In Hate Groups . The Foundation against Intolerance of Religious Minorities, associated with the Adidam NRM, sees the use of terms "cult" and "cult leader" to suggest that these are to be detested, avoided at all costs and see this as the exercise of prejudice and discrimination against them in the same manner as " Nigger " and "commie" were used in the past to denigrate Blacks and Communists {Link without Title} . SEE ALSO
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