Knowra New religious movement New religious movement A religious group or spiritual community that emerged relatively recently, often outside established religious institutions or traditions. The category includes movements with diverse origins, beliefs, and forms of organization.
Religion : A system of beliefs, practices, and institutions concerned with sacred or ultimate realities. The broader category that new religious movements reshape or inhabit.
Religious innovation : The introduction of new beliefs, practices, or forms of organization within religious life. Movements emerge when innovators offer new ways to interpret spiritual questions.
L. Ron Hubbard : An American writer who founded Dianetics and the Church of Scientology. His teachings and organizational decisions shaped Scientology's emergence as a movement.
Church of Scientology : A religious organization founded by L. Ron Hubbard, teaching that spiritual self-understanding can be developed through auditing. It is a prominent case whose classification as religion has been publicly contested.
Religious freedom : The right to hold, change, practice, or reject religious beliefs without coercion. It frames legal protections claimed by minority and newly formed religious communities.
Religious conversion : A change in religious identity, commitment, or practice, sometimes involving adoption of a new faith. Conversion can bring members into movements that challenge inherited religious affiliations.
Second Great Awakening : A Protestant revival movement in the United States, active from the late eighteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries. Its revivals and reform networks helped foster several American religious movements.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi : An Indian spiritual teacher who popularized Transcendental Meditation internationally. His teaching organization carried a modern meditation movement across national and cultural boundaries.
Unification Church : A religious organization founded by Sun Myung Moon, also known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. Its international growth and distinctive theology illustrate a movement built around a modern founder.
Anti-cult movement : A collection of groups and campaigns opposing organizations they identify as cults. Its advocacy has shaped public scrutiny and policy debates about new movements.
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