New Religions

New Religions - Christopher Partridge

From Christian Science and the Jehovah's Witnesses to Soka Gakkai, Wicca and Falun Gong, the last century and a half has seen an unprecedented growth of new religious movements, sects and alternative spiritualities. New Religions: A Guide - New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities offers an authoritative, richly illustrated guide to more than two hundred of these widely varied groups and movements.

In this book New Religions, movements are organised according to a new method of classification, which links each group to the religious tradition from which it arose. Rastafarianism, for example, is shown to have its roots in Christianity, while the Bahá'í faith grew out of Islam. Included are long-established groups such as the Seventh-day Adventists and the Hutterites, as well as more recent movements such as Santería, the Unification Church and ISKCON (the ‘Hare Krishnas'). Besides Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Indian religions and the religions of East Asia, sections are devoted to movements inspired by indigenous and pagan traditions and by Western esoteric and New Age traditions. Particularly fascinating is the discussion of the religious offspring of modern Western culture, including Scientology, UFO-based groups such as the Raëlians, and even the veneration of celebrities like Elvis and Princess Diana. Each entry explains clearly and concisely the history, beliefs and practices, and present-day status of the movement in question, while special entries highlight topics such as new religions in China, cargo cults, martial arts, astrology and feng shui.

The volume was edited by Christopher Partridge, professor of religious studies and a leading scholar of new religious movements and alternative spirituality, and written by a team of specialists.

A fascinating reference work for anyone interested in religion, spirituality, sects and new religious movements, esotericism, New Age and the study of contemporary belief.