New Religious Movements - Alternative Spirituality

Sections Include: Academic Study ; Christian Responses ; Branch Davidians - Waco ; Heaven's Gate ; Jonestown ; Unification Church (Moon) ; Alternative Spirituality.

Religion > Religious Movements

Social Sciences > Sociology > Religious Movements

Table of Contents


Branch Davidians, David Koresh & Waco
Heaven's Gate
People's Temple (Jonestown)
Alternative Spirituality

Important Notice
This page contains a diverse collection of spiritual and social world views. All the groups present should be treated separately and are included together here only for convenience and no value judgment is implied. I am more interested in the popular response, both within organized religion and within mainstream media, to alternative spirituality than in any theological justification for their existence.

Indexes & General Directories

Start with
The Religious Movements Homepage @ The University of Virginia
"This site seeks to provide a foundation for understanding how religious groups emerge, grow, stagnate, reinvigorate themselves, and sometimes die. It also seeks to promote understanding of religion more broadly without preference for or against any particular religious group."
A very well organized collection of resources. Includes student profiles with web resources for a large number of religious movements. This page illustrates a great use of the Internet as an educational tool.
Sections include: Group Profiles ; Cult Group Controversies ; Course Materials ; Religious Freedom Page ; Religious Broadcasting Page.
Jeffrey K. Hadden, University of Virginia

• Sociology of Religious Movements Course Materials (Jeffrey K. Hadden) - (dead link)

Continue on with:
Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR)
"...an international network of associations of scholars working in the field of new religious movements. Its director is the Italian scholar Massimo Introvigne. CESNUR is independent from any religious group, Church, denomination or association." Able to search on-line the CESNUR library of 10,000+ books on new religious movements, esoterism, and more."

Apologetics Index
Apologetics Resources on Religious Cults, Sects, Movements, Doctrines, Etc.
"Apologetics Index provides a database and glossary of information on cults, sects, new religious movements, doctrines, apologetics and counter-cult organizations. Issues addressed range from spiritual abuse to the teachings and practices found in current renewal and revival movements."

Cultwatch - (dead link)
A Look at Cults in America by the Institute for the Study of American Religion - (dead link)
"It is designed to provide a concise overview of each group and a summary of the controversy surrounding it. Along with the "cult," the secular anti-cult and Christian counter-cult movements are also given treatment."

Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
An amazing collection of over 500 essays on Religious & Ethical Systems, Christianity, Spiritual Topics, Not So Spiritual Topics, and Religious Hot Topics.

Religious Movements
"Religions and human cultures are constantly being renewed and invigorated. This Religious Movements site provides a foundation for understanding how religious groups emerge, grow, stagnate, reinvigorate themselves, and sometimes die."
-University of Virginia

Maintained by Mike Madin, a graduate of the Univ. of Washington's Comparative Religion program.
Academic Info http://www.academicinfo.net/nrms.html

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