New religions emerge as distinct entities in the religious landscape when innovations are introduced by a charismatic leader or a schismatic group leaves its parent organization. New religious movements (NRMs) often present novel doctrines and advocate unfamiliar modes of behavior, and have therefore often been perceived as controversial. NRMs have, however, in recent years come to be treated in the same way as established religions, that is, as complex cultural phenomena involving myths, rituals and canonical texts. This Companion discusses key features of NRMs from a systematic, comparative perspective, summarizing results of forty years of research. The volume addresses NRMs that have caught media attention, including movements such as Scientology, New Age, the Neopagans, the Sai Baba movement and Jihadist movements active in a post-9/11 context. An essential resource for students of religious studies, the history of religion, sociology, anthropology and the psychology of religion.
Introduction to New Religious Movements Olav Hammer and Mikael Rothstein; Part I. Social Science Perspectives: 1. The sociology of New Religious Movements David Bromley; 2. Religion and the Internet Douglas Cowan; 3. Major controversies involving New Religious Movements: a comparative perspective James Richardson; Part II. Themes: 4. History and the end of time in New Religions Garry Trompf; 5. Charismatic leaders in New Religions Catherine Wessinger; 6. Rituals in New Religions Graham Harvey; 7. Canonical and extracanonical texts in New Religions Mikael Rothstein and Olav Hammer; Part III. New Religions in the West and Beyond: 8. Scientology: up stat, down stat James Lewis; 9. Neo-Paganism Sabina Magliocco; 10. The International Raelian Movement Susan J. Palmer and Bryan Sentes; 11. The Sathya Sai Baba Movement Tulasi Srinivas; 12. Neo-Sufism Mark Sedgwick; 13. Satanism Asbjørn Dyrendal and Jesper Aagaard Pedersen; 14. Theosophy James Santucci; 15. The New Age George Chryssides; 16. 'Jihadism' as a New Religious Movement Reuven Firestone; 17. New Religions in the New Russia Marat Shterin; 18. New Religious Movements in sub-Saharan Africa Peter Clarke.
