Religion:List of new religious movements

Short description: none

A new religious movement (NRM) is a religious, ethical, or spiritual group or community with practices of relatively modern origins. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may exist on the fringes of a wider religion, in which case they will be distinct from pre-existing denominations. Academics identify a variety of characteristics which they employ in categorizing groups as new religious movements. The term is broad and inclusive, rather than sharply defined. New religious movements are generally seen as syncretic, employing human and material assets to disseminate their ideas and worldviews, deviating in some degree from a society's traditional forms or doctrines, focused especially upon the self, and having a peripheral relationship that exists in a state of tension with established societal conventions.

A NRM may be one of a wide range of movements ranging from those with loose affiliations based on novel approaches to spirituality or religion to communitarian enterprises that demand a considerable amount of group conformity and a social identity that separates their adherents from mainstream society. Use of the term NRM is not universally accepted among the groups to which it is applied. Scholars have estimated that NRMs now number in the tens of thousands worldwide. Most have only a few members, some have thousands, and very few have more than a million. Academics occasionally propose amendments to technical definitions and continue to add new groups.

List

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List of new religious movements

Name	Founder	Founded	Type	Refs
3HO	Harbhajan Singh Khalsa	1969	Sikh
Adidam, previously Free Daist Communion, Dawn Horse Fellowship, etc.	Adi Da	1972	Neo-Hindu-inspired
Adonai-Shomo	Frederick T. Howland	1861	Adventist Communal
Adonism	Franz Sättler	1925	Modern Pagan
Adventures in Enlightenment, A Foundation	Terry Cole-Whittaker	1985	Religious Science
The African Church	Jacob Kehinde Coker	1901	Anglican
African initiated churches	Multiple	1800s	Syncretistic Christian-Indigenous
African Theological Archministry, previously Order of Damballah Hwedo Ancestor Priests, Shango Temple, and Yoruba Temple	Walter Eugene King	1973	Afro-American Voodoo
Agasha Temple of Wisdom	Richard Zenor	1943	Spiritualism
Agni Yoga (Roerichism)	Helena Roerich, Nicholas Roerich	1920	Neo-Theosophical
Ahmadiyya	Mirza Ghulam Ahmad	1889	Messianic Islam
Aiyy Faith, previously Kut-Siur	Lazar Afanasyev alias Téris	1990	Modern Pagan Neo-Tengrist
Aladura	Josiah Ositelu	1930	Pentecostal
Alamo Christian Foundation, a.k.a. Alamo Christian Church, Consecrated, Alamo Christian Ministries, and Music Square Church	Tony Alamo; Susan Alamo	1969	Fundamentalist Communal
Altruria	Edward Biron Payne	1894	Christian Communal
American Buddhist Movement		1980	Western Buddhism
American Buddhist Society and Fellowship, Inc.	Robert Ernest Dickhoff	1945	Tibetan Buddhism
American World Patriarchs	Uladyslau Ryzy-Ryski	1972	Eastern Orthodox
Amica Temple of Radiance	Ivah Berg Whitten	1932	Neo-Theosophical
Ananda Ashrama	Paramananda	1923	Neo-Hindu Neo-Vedanta
Ananda movement, incl. Ananda World Brotherhood Colonies and Ananda Church of Self-Realization	Kriyananda	1968	Neo-Hindu Self-Realization Fellowship
Anandamayee Sangha, officially, Shree Shree Anandamayee Sangha	Anandamayi Ma	1920s	Neo-Hindu
Ancient British Church in North America	Jonathan V. Zotique	1976	Homosexually oriented Christian
Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis	H. Spencer Lewis	1915	Rosicrucianism
Ancient Teachings of the Masters (ATOM)	Darwin Gross	1983	Sant Mat Eckankar
Anglo-Saxon Federation of America	Howard B. Rand	1928	British Israelism
Ansaaru Allah Community	As Siddid Al Imaan Al Haahi Al Mahdi	1960s, late	Black Islam
Ant Hill Kids, a.k.a. Holy Moses Mountain Family	Roch Thériault	1977	Seventh-day Adventist
Antiochian Catholic Church in America	Gordon Mar Peter	1980s	Independent Catholic Monophysite
Antoinism	Louis-Joseph Antoine	1910	Christian Healing
Apostles of Infinite Love, a.k.a. The Order of Magnificat of the Mother of God	Michel Collin, Jean-Gaston Tremblay	1961	Catholic
Apostolic Christian Church (Nazarean)	Samuel Heinrich Froehlich	1906	European Free-Church
Apostolic Christian Church of America	Samuel Heinrich Froehlich	1830	European Free-Church
Apostolic Church	Daniel Powell Williams	1916	Pentecostal
Apostolic Church of Christ (Pentecostal)	Johnnie Draft; Wallace Snow	1969	Apostolic Pentecostal
Apostolic Overcoming Holy Church of God	William Thomas Phillips	1920	Apostolic Pentecostal
Arcane School	Alice and Foster Bailey	1937	Neo-Theosophical
Arica School	Oscar Ichazo	1968	Sufism
Art of Living Foundation, a.k.a. Association for Inner Growth and 'Ved Vignan Maha Vidya Preeth'	Ravi Shankar	1981/1982	Neo-Hindu
Arya Samaj	Dayananda Saraswati	1875	Neo-Hindu
Aryan Nations, a.k.a. Church of Jesus Christ Christian	Wesley Swift	1940s, late	British Israelism
Ásatrú Folk Assembly	Stephen McNallen	1970s	Modern Pagan Polytheistic reconstructionism Heathenry
Assemblies of God	merger	1914	Pentecostal
Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ	merger	1952	Apostolic Pentecostal
Assembly of Christian Soldiers	Jessie L. Thrift	1971	Christian Identity Ku Klux Klan
Assembly of Man	Franklin Merrell-Wolff	1928	Eastern and Western esotericism
Association for Research and Enlightenment	Edgar Cayce	1931	Occult
Association of Vineyard Churches, a.k.a. Vineyard Movement	John Wimber	1982	Neo-charismatic Trinitarian Pentecostal
Aumism	Gilbert Bourdin	1969	Syncretistic Esoteric-Hinduism
Aum Shinrikyo, a.k.a. Aleph	Shoko Asahara	1987	Japanese Japanese Buddhism
Ausar Auset Society	R.A. Straughn	1970s, mid	Rosicrucianism
Azali or Azali Babi	Subh-i-Azal	1863	Babism
Baháʼí Faith	Bahá'u'lláh (Mírzá Ḥusayn-'Alí Nuri)	1863	Babism-Millenarian
Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship	Bawa Muhaiyaddeen	1971	Sufism
Bethel Ministerial Association	Albert Franklin Varnell	1934	Apostolic Pentecostal
Bible Presbyterian Church	Carl McIntire	1938	Reformed Presbyterian
Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ	schism	1957	Apostolic Pentecostal
Biosophy	Ignaz Paul Vitalis Troxler, F. W. J. Schelling	1806
Blackburn Cult, a.k.a. Divine Order of the Royal Arms of the Great Eleven	May Otis Blackburn	1922	Modern Pagan New Thought
Brahma Kumaris	Dada Lekhraj	1936/1937	Neo-Hindu
Brahmo Samaj, a.k.a. Adi Dharm	Ram Mohan Roy	1828	Neo-Hindu Unitarian Universal
Brahmoism (Brahmo Dharma)	Debendranath Tagore	1848/1850	Neo-Hindu Unitarian Universal
Branch Davidians	Benjamin Roden	1930	Seventh-day Adventist Shepherd's Rod
Branhamism	William M. Branham	1951	Pentecostal
Breatharians a.k.a. Inedia	Wiley Brooks	1970s	Hindu-influenced
The Brethren (Jim Roberts group), a.k.a. The Body of Christ and The Garbage Eaters	Jimmie T. Roberts	1970, circa	Unclassified Christian Churches
British Israelism, a.k.a. Anglo-Israelism		1870s
Bruderhof, a.k.a. the Hutterian Brethren and Hutterian Society of Brothers	Eberhard Arnold	1920, circa	Communal
Brunstad Christian Church	Johan Oscar Smith	1905	Evangelical Non-denominational Christian
Builders of the Adytum	Paul Foster Case	1922	Ritual magic
Burkhanism or Ak Jang	Chet Chelpan; Chugul Sarok Chandyk	1904	Altaian Millenarian-Indigenist Tengrist
Cao Dai, a.k.a. Dai Dao Tam Ky Pho Do	Ngô Văn Chiêu, Lê Văn Trung	1919	Syncretistic Vietnamese Millenarian
Cargo cults		1885	Syncretistic Millenarian-Indigenist
Carlebach movement	Shlomo Carlebach	1960s, late	Neo-Hasidic Rabbinic Judaism
Celestial Church of Christ	Samuel Oshoffa	1947	Indigenist Pentecostal
The Centers Network		1981
Chabad, a.k.a. Chabad-Lubavitch	Shneur Zalman of Liadi	1775	Hasidic Rabbinic Judaism
Charismatic Movement, a.k.a. neo-Pentecostalism		1950s/1960s	Charismatic Christian
Chen Tao, a.k.a. God's Salvation Church and God Saves the Earth Flying Saucer Foundation	Hon-Ming Chen	1955	UFO religion
Cheondoism, a.k.a. Chendogyo	Choe Je-u	1905
Cherubim and Seraphim, a.k.a. Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Society and Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim	Moses Orimolade Tunolase	1925, circa	African Pentecostal
Children of Thunder	Glenn Taylor Helzer	2000	Latter-day Saint Movement
Christ Apostolic Church	Joseph Ayo Babalola	1941	Pentecostal
Christadelphians, a.k.a. Thomasites	John Thomas	1844	Baptist family Restorationism
The Christian Community, a.k.a. the Christian Community Church and Christengemeinschaft	Rudolf Steiner Friedrich Rittelmeyer	1922	Anthroposophy
Christian Reformed Church in North America	Gijsbert Haan	1857	Reformed Presbyterian
Christian Science	Mary Baker Eddy	1876	Christian Faith healing New Thought
Christian World Liberation Front, a.k.a. the Spiritual Counterfeits Project	Jack Sparks, Fred Dyson, Pat Matrisciana	1969	Christian Fundamentalist-Millenarian
Church of All Worlds	Tim Zell, Lance Christie	1962	Witchcraft Modern Pagan
Church of Aphrodite (defunct)	Gleb Botkin	1939	Witchcraft Modern Pagan
Church of Bible Understanding	Stewart Traill	1971	Adventist Fundamentalist
Church of Euthanasia	Chris Korda, Robert Kimberk	1992	Parody Religion
Church of Daniel's Band		1893	Non-Episcopal Methodism
Church of Divine Science	Malinda Cramer	1888	New Thought Faith healing
Church of God in Christ	Charles H. Mason	1908	Pentecostal
The Church of God (Jerusalem Acres)	Grady R. Kent	1957	White Trinitarian Holiness Pentecostal
Church of God Mountain Assembly	J.H. Parks, Steve N. Bryant, Tom Moses, and William O. Douglas	1906	White Trinitarian Holiness Pentecostal
Church of God of Prophecy	Ambrose Tomlinson	1903	White Trinitarian Holiness Pentecostal
Church of God with Signs Following	George Went Hensley	1920s	Holiness Pentecostal
Church of Israel	Dan Gayman	1974	British Israelism
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints	Joseph Smith	1830	Latter-day Saint Movement-Millenarian
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)	Joseph Smith James Strang	1844	Latter-day Saint Movement
Church of Satan	Anton LaVey	1966	Satanism
Church of the SubGenius	J.R. "Bob" Dobbs	1979	Parody
Church of the Creator	Rev. Dr. Grace Marama URI	1969	Liberal family
Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Pastafarianism	Bobby Henderson	2005	Parody
Church of the Living Word, also known as The Walk	John Robert Stevens	1954	Fundamentalist Occult
Church of the Lord (Aladura)	Josiah Ositelu	1930	Pentecostal Family
Church of World Messianity	Mokichi Okada	1934	Shinto Faith healing
Church Universal and Triumphant	Mark Prophet, Elizabeth Clare (Wolf) Prophet	1958	Theosophical Occult
Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles, also known as CARP	Sun Myung Moon	1955	Unification Church
Commandment Keepers: Holy Church of the Living God	Arnold Josiah Ford	1924	Black Judaism
Community Chapel and Bible Training Center	Donald Lee Barnett	1967	Latter Rain Pentecostal
Concerned Christians	Monte Kim Miller	1980s
Conservative Judaism	Sabato Morais, Marcus Jastrow, H. Pereira Mendes	1887	Rabbinic Judaism
Core Shamanism, The Foundation for Shamanic Studies	Michael Harner	1980	Neoshamanism
Covenant of the Goddess	merger	1975	Goddess Witchcraft Modern Pagan
Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans	Margot Adler	1987	Witchcraft Modern Pagan
The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord	James D. Ellison	1970s, mid	British Israelism
Creativity	Ben Klassen	1970s, early	Pantheism Agnostic Atheism White Racialism.
Crossroads Movement		1970s
Cyberchurches		2000s, early	Non-denominational Christian
Dalit Buddhist Movement, also known as the Neo-Buddhist movement or Navayana Buddhist movement	B. R. Ambedkar	1956	Neo-Buddhism (Navayana)
Dances of Universal Peace	Samuel L. Lewis	1968
Dianic Wicca	merger	1971	Witchcraft Modern Pagan
Discordianism	Greg Hill, Kerry Wendell Thornley	1963	Absurdism, Greek Mythology
Eastern Lightning, a.k.a. the Church of Almighty God	Yang Xiangbin, Zhao Weishan	1991	Chinese house churches
Eckankar or ECK	Paul Twitchell	1965/1971	Derived from Radha Soami but denies connection
Efficacious Spirit Teachings, a.k.a. Spirit Church and The Lingling Sect	Hua Xuehe	1986	Pentecostalism
Emin	Raymond Armin	1971	New Age
End Time Survivors Jesus Christians	David McKay	1981	Fundamentalist Millennialism
Esoteric Nazism		1940s, late	Occult Western esotericism
Evangelical Association of the Israelite Mission of the New Universal Covenant	Ezequiel Ataucusi Gamonal	1968	Syncretistic Messianic Judaism-Indigenous
Evangelical Methodist Church	J.H. Hamblen	1946	Non-Episcopal Methodist
Falun Gong	Li Hongzhi	1992	Qigong movement
Family International, previously the Children of God, the Family of Love and the Family	David Berg	1968	Fundamentalist, Jesus movement countercultural evangelical
Fellowship of Isis	Olivia Robertson	1976	Modern Pagan Goddess
Fellowships of the Remnant	Denver Snuffer Jr.	2013	Latter-day Saint Movement
Feraferia	Frederick Adams	1967	Modern Pagan Goddess
Findhorn Foundation	Eileen Caddy, Peter Caddy, Alexis Edwards, Roger Benson	1963	Christian-Anthroposophistical-Rosicrucian
Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas	W.E. Fuller	1898	Black Trinitarian Pentecostal
Followers of Christ	Marion Reece (or Riess)	1800s, late	Unclassified Pentecostal
Fourth Way	George Gurdjieff	1913–1916	Esoteric Esoteric Sufism
Fraternitas Rosae Crucis	Paschal Beverly Randolph	1858	Rosicrucianism
Fraternity of the Inner Light	Dion Fortune	1924	neo-Hermeticism Esoteric Christianity
Freedomites		1902
Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO), now a.k.a. Triratna Buddhist Community	Sangharakshita (Dennis Lingwood)	1967	Neo-Buddhism
Fundamentalist Christianity		1800s, late	Christian
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints	Lorin C. Woolley	1929	Latter-day Saint Movement
General Church of the New Jerusalem	schism	1890	Swedenborgianism
The Genesis II Church of Health and Healing	Jim Humble	2009/2010	UFO-New Age inspired Pseudoscience
Gentle Wind Project	John "Tubby" Miller and Mary "Moe" Miller	1980	Spiritualism
Ghost Dance		1889	Native American religion
Global Peace Foundation	Hyun Jin Moon	2007	Unification Church
Godianism, a.k.a. Chiism	K. O. K. Onyioha	1949	African Indigenist Modern Pagan
Grail Movement	Oskar Ernst Bernhardt	1924	Syncretistic Christian New Age Channeling
Hanuman Foundation	Richard Alpert (Ram Dass)	1974/1980	Neo-Hindu
Heaven's Gate formerly Human Individual Metamorphosis and Total Overcomers Anonymous	Marshall Herff Applewhite, Bonnie Lu Nettles	1973	Syncretistic Christian New Age UFO religion
Hikari no Wa	Fumihiro Joyu	2007	Aum Shinrikyo
Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy	Swami Rama	1971	Hindu
House of Israel	David Hill a.k.a. Rabbi Edward Washington	1972	Black Hebrew Israelites
Humanistic Judaism	Sherwin Wine	1965	Nontheistic Rabbinic Judaism
Human Sacrifices Sect of Nacozari	Silvia Meraz	2009	Santa Muerte
Huna	Max Freedom Long	1936	New Thought New Age Hawaiian religion
I AM Activity	Guy Ballard, Edna Anne Wheeler Ballard	1930s, early	Neo-Theosophical
Iglesia ni Cristo	Felix Manalo	1913, formally 1914	Restorationism Nontrinitarian Fundamentalist
Isha Foundation	Jaggi Vasudev	1992	Hindu
Indian Shaker Church	John and Marry Slocum	1881	Native American and Christian
Independent Fundamental Churches of America	R. Lee Kirkland	1922	Unaffiliated Fundamentalist
Insight Meditation Society	Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein	1976	Theravada Buddhism
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), a.k.a. Hare Krishna movement	A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada	1966	Hindu
International House of Prayer, a.k.a. IHOP or IHOPKC	Mike Bickle	1999	Charismatic Movement Post-tribulational Historic premillennialism
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel	Aimee Semple McPherson	1923	White Trinitarian Pentecostal
International Community of Christ, a.k.a. Church of the Second Advent (CSA) and Jamilians	Eugene Douglas Savoy	1972	New Age
Iriadamant	Pierre Doris Maltais	1973	Animism Native American religions Spiritual ecology
ISKCON Revival Movement (IRM)	?	2000	Neo-Hindu ISKCON
Ivanovism (the Ivanovites)	Porfiry Ivanov	1933	Syncretistic Modern Pagan Slavic Native Faith
Jehovah's Witnesses	Charles Taze Russell	1870	Adventist Bible Students Nontrinitarian
Jesus Army, a.k.a. "Jesus Fellowship Church" and "Bugbrooke Jesus Fellowship"	Noel Stanton	1977	Fundamentalist Communal
Jesus Movement		1960s, late	Fundamentalist
Jewish Renewal	Zalman Schachter-Shalomi	1970s, mid	Neo-Hasidic Rabbinic Judaism Syncretistic
Jews for Jesus	Moishe Rosen	1970	Fundamentalist Messianic Judaism
John Frum		1936	Syncretistic Millenarian
Joy of Satan Ministries	Andrea Maxine Dietrich	2002	Satanism Theism
Kabbalah Centre	Philip Berg	1970s	Kabbalist New Age
Kalki cult, a.k.a. Oneness Movement and Oneness University	Kalki Bhagawan (Vijay Kumar Naidu)	1989	Indian religions-inspired New Age Neo-Hindu 2012 phenomenon-inspired
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra	the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa	1976	Tibetan Buddhism
Kemetic Orthodoxy	Tamara Siuda	1988	Modern Pagan Polytheistic reconstructionism Kemetic
Kerista	John Presmont	1956	Communal—After 1960
Kopimism	Isak Gerson	2012	Internet religion
Konkokyo	Bunjirō Kawate (ja)	1859	Japanese Shinto
Krishnamurti Foundations	Jiddu Krishnamurti	1928	Neo-Theosophical Universalism
Kripalu Center (Kirpalu)	Amrit Desai	1966	Hindu
Lama Foundation	Steve Durkee	1967	Communal
Latter Day Saint movement (Mormonism)	Joseph Smith	1830	Christian restorationism
Latter Rain Movement	George Hawtin, Percy Hunt	1946	Millenarian Pentecostal
Laymen's Home Missionary Movement	Paul S. L. Johnson	1920, circa	Adventist Bible Students
Lectorium Rosicrucianum	Jan van Rijckenborgh; Zwier Willem Leene; Catharose de Petri	1924	Rosicrucianism
The Living Word Fellowship	John Robert Stevens	1951	Latter Rain Pentecostal
Local Church movement	Ni Shu-tsu (Watchman Nee)	1920s	Independent Fundamentalist Other Bible Students
Love Family, a.k.a. the Church of Jesus Christ at Armageddon and Love Israel	Paul Erdman	1969	Communal
Love Has Won	Amy Carlson	2005, circa	New Age
Lucis Trust	Alice A. Bailey	1923	Neo-Theosophical
Lumpa Church	Alice Lenshina	1953	African initiated church
Mahikari	Kotama Okada	1959	Shinto
Makasol (Wind Nation), a.k.a. Paliau movement	Paliau Maloat	1970s, circa	Papuan Indigenist Millenarian countercultural
Manson Family	Charles Manson	1967	Millenarianism
Maranatha Campus Ministries	Bob Weiner	1972	Pentecostal
Martinus' Spiritual Science	Martinus Thomsen	1932	Esoteric
Mata Amritanandamayi Math	Mata Amritanandamayi	1981	Neo-Hindu
Mazdaznan	Otoman Zar-Adusht Ha'nish	1902	Zoroastrianism
Meher Baba followers	Merwan Sheriar Irani	1921	Hindu-inspired
Messianic Judaism		1960s	Judeo-Christian
Million Man March	Louis Farrakhan	1995	Nation of Islam
Mita Congregation	Juanita García Peraza	1940	Deliverance Pentecostal
Modekngei (Ngara Modekngei)	Tamadad from Chol	1915, circa	Syncretistic Christian-Indigenous
Monastic Order of Avallon	Henri Hillion de Coatmoc'han	1972	Modern Pagan
Moody Church	Dwight L. Moody	1864	Fundamentalist Evangelical
Moorish Science Temple of America	Timothy Drew	1925	Black Islam
Moral Re-Armament	Frank N. D. Buchman	1921
Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God	Credonia Mwerinde, Joseph Kibweteere	1989	Catholicism
Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness	John-Roger Hinkins	1971	Syncretistic Sant Mat and Eckankar-influenced
Namdhari	Balak Singh	1800s, mid	Sikh
Narcosatánicos	Adolfo Constanzo	1985	Palo
Nation of Islam	Elijah Muhammad	1930s, mid	Black Islam UFO religion
Nation of Yahweh	Hulon Mitchell, Jr.	1970s	Black Judaism
National Spiritualist Association of Churches	Harrison D Barrett, James M. Peebles, Cora L. Richmond	1893	Spiritualism
Native American Church, a.k.a. Peyotism		1906	Native American religion Indigenist Entheogen Groups
Native Ukrainian National Faith, a.k.a. RUNVira or Sylenkoism	Lev Sylenko	1960s, mid	Modern Pagan Slavic Native Faith
Neo-charismatic movement		1980s, early	Charismatic Christian Nondenominational Christian
Neo-Hinduism or Reform Hinduism		1830, circa	Hindu
New Apostolic Church	Heinrich Geyer	1863	Catholic Apostolic Church Unclassified Christian Churches
The New Message from God	Marshall Vian Summers	1992	UFO religion
New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn		1969	Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn Witchcraft Modern Pagan
New Thought	Phineas Parkhurst Quimby	1800s, mid	Metaphysical Faith healing
Nuwaubian Nation or United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors	Dwight York	1967	UFO religion, New Age, Christian, Jewish, Black supremacist
Oahspe Faithists	John Ballou Newbrough	1882	UFO religion
Odinism	Orestes Brownson	1848	Modern Pagan
Oneida Community	John Humphrey Noyes	1848	Perfectionism
Oomoto	Mrs. Nao Deguchi	1899	Japanese Shinto-Millenarian
Open Bible Standard Churches	merger	1935	White Trinitarian Pentecostal
Opus Dei	Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer	1928	Roman Catholic
Order of the Solar Temple	Joseph Di Mambro, Luc Jouret	1984	Rosicrucian
Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.)	Carl Kellner;Theodor Reuss	1895/1906	Western esotericism Neo-Hermetism Thelema
Pentecostal Church of God		1919	Pentecostal
Pentecostalism		1900s	Charismatic Christian
People Unlimited, also known as Eternal Flame Foundation, People Forever, and CBJ	Charles Paul Brown, Bernadeane Brown, James Russell Strole	1982	Immortalism, Christianity
Peoples Temple	Jim Jones	1955	Psychic-New Age
Philosophical Research Society	Manly Palmer Hall	1934	Occult
Pilgrims of Arès	Michel Potay	1974
Plymouth Brethren	John Nelson Darby	1830	evangelical Millenarian
Potter's House also known as Christian Fellowship Ministries (CFM), The Door, Victory Chapel, Christian Center, Crossroads Chapel, etc.	Wayman Mitchell	1970	Pentecostal
The Process Church of the Final Judgment	Mary Ann MacLean and Robert de Grimston	1963	Satanism
Quiverfull	Mary Pride	1985	Christian Natalism
Radha Soami, also Radhasoami Movement or Sant Mat movement	Shiv Dayal Singh	1861	Sikh-derived or Syncretistic Sikh-Hindu or Sant Mat-inspired
Radha Soami Satsang Beas	Baba Jaimal Singh	1891	Sant Mat Radha Soami
Radha Soami Satsang Dayalbagh	Kamta Prasad Sinha	1907	Radha Soami
Raëlism, a.k.a. Raëlian Church	Claude Vorilhon (Rael)	1973/1974	UFO religion
Rainbow Family, a.k.a. Rainbow Coalition	Barry Adams or Jesse Jackson	1960s, late	Communal Afro-American
Rajneesh movement, a.k.a. Osho movement	Rajneesh Chandra Mohan	1966	Indian religions-inspired Syncretistic
Ramakrishna Mission, a.k.a. Ramakrishna movement or Vedanta Society	Swami Vivekananda	1897	Neo-Hindu Neo-Vedanta
Ramtha's School of Enlightenment	J. Z. Knight	1977	New Age
Rastafari	Leonard Howell, Joseph Hibbert, Archibald Dunkley, Robert Hinds	1920s/1935	Jewish and Christian-influenced Afro-centric
Reconstructionist Judaism	Mordecai Kaplan	1922	Rabbinic Judaism
Reform Judaism, a.k.a. Progressive or Liberal Judaism	Isaac Harby; Isaac M. Wise; others	1820s	Rabbinic Judaism
Reformed Druids of North America		1960s	Modern Pagan
Reiki, also Usui Shiko Ryoho System of Healing	Mikao Usui	1922	Energy medicine Japanese Buddhism
Religious Science	Ernest Holmes	1948	New Thought
Risshō Kōsei Kai	Nikkyo Niwano, Myoko Naganuma	1938	Nichiren Buddhist
The Rosicrucian Fellowship	Carl Louis von Grasshof	1909	Rosicrucianism
Ruhani Satsang, a.k.a. Kirpal Light Satsang	Kirpal Singh	1948	Radha Soami
Sacred Name Movement	Clarence Orvil Dodd	1930s	Judeo-Christian (Judaizers) Nontrinitarian Church of God (Seventh-Day)
Sadharan Brahmo Samaj	Anandamohan Bose, Sivanath Sastri, Umesh Chandra Dutta	1878	Brahmoism
Sahaja Yoga	Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi	1970	Neo-Hindu
Saiva Siddhanta Church	Subramuniy	1957	Hindu
The Salvation Army	William Booth	1865	Holiness movement
Saminism, Samin movement	Samin Surosentiko	1889	Abrahamic religions Indigenist
Sant Nirankari Mission	Baba Buta Singh Ji	1929, formally 1947	Sikh Nirankari
Santa Muerte Cult		1940s, late (or earlier)	Syncretic Folk Catholic
Sathya Sai Baba movement or Sai Baba movement	Sathya Sai Baba	1950	Neo-Hindu
Science of Identity Foundation (SIF)	Chris Butler alias Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda	1977	Neo-Hindu ISKCON
Scientology	L. Ron Hubbard	1955	UFO-Psychic New Age
Sekta Niebo	Bogdana Kacmajora	1990	Christian
Seicho-no-Ie	Masaharu Taniguchi, Fenwicke Holmes	1930	Japanese Religious Science-Shinto
Self-Realization Fellowship	Paramahansa Yogananda	1935	Neo-Hindu
Semitic Neopaganism	Raphael Patai	1960s	Modern Pagan Polytheistic reconstructionism Feminism
Seventh-day Adventist Church	Ellen G. White; Joseph Bates	1860	Adventist Millerite Seventh-day Sabbatarian
Seventh-day Adventist Reform Movement	schism	1925	Seventh-day Adventist
Shakers	Ann Lee	1750s	Communal—Before 1960
Shengdao, a.k.a. Tongshanshe	Peng Tairong (Ruzun)	1900s, early	Chinese salvationist
Shepherd's Rod, a.k.a. the Davidians, officially, the Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Association	Victor T. Houteff	1935	Seventh-day Adventist
Shiloh Youth Revival Centers	John J. Higgins, Jr.	1969	Communal—After 1960
Shinji Shumeikai, a.k.a. Shumei	Mihoko Koyama	1970	Church of World Messianity Faith healing
Shinnyo-en	Shinjo Ito, Tomoji Ito	1936	Japanese Japanese Buddhism
Shinreikyo	Kanichi Otsuka	1950, circa	Japanese Shinto Syncretistic
Shouters	Li Changshou	1965	Christianity
Shri Ram Chandra Mission	Shri Ram Chandraji Maharaj	1945	Hindu
Slavic Native Faith, a.k.a. Rodnovery or Slavic Neopaganism	Władysław Kołodziej, Jan Stachniuk	1920–30s	Modern Pagan Polytheistic reconstructionism
Slavic-Hill Rodnovery	Aleksandr Belov	1980s	Modern Pagan Slavic Native Faith
Soka Gakkai International	Tsunesaburo Makiguchi	1930	Japanese Nichiren Buddhism
Spiritualism	Kate and Margaret Fox	1848	Psychic-Mediumship Metaphysical
Subud (Susila Budhi Dharma)	Muhammed Subuh	1933	Kejawèn neo-Sufism
Sufi Ruhaniat International	Samuel L. Lewis	1968	neo-Sufism
Sukyo Mahikari	Sekiguchi Sakae	1978	Japanese Mahikari Syncretistic
Summum	Claude Rex Nowell	1975	Unclassified Christian Churches
Syntheism	Alexander Bard	2012	Pantheist Humanist Netocratic
The Satanic Temple	Lucien Greaves, Malcolm Jarry	2012	Satanism Nontheistic
Tenrikyo	Miki Nakayama	1838	Japanese Shinto
Tensegrity	Carlos Castaneda	1995	Neoshamanism New Age
Terasem	Martine Rothblatt	2004	Transhumanism
The Family, a.k.a. Santiniketan Park Association & Great White Brotherhood	Anne Hamilton-Byrne	1963	New Age
Thelema, a.k.a. the A∴A∴ order	Aleister Crowley	1900s, early	Occult neo-Hermetism Western esotericism
Theosophy or Theosophical Society, a.k.a. 1882 as Theosophical Society Adyar	Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge	1875	Occult Eastern and Western esotericism
Theosophical Society Pasadena	William Quan Judge	1895	Theosophical
Toronto Blessing	Randy Clark	1994	Pentecostal
Transcendental Meditation (TM)	Maharishi Mahesh Yogi	1958	Neo-Hindu-inspired
Triratna Buddhist Community (formerly FWBO)	Sangharakshita (Dennis Lingwood)	1967	Neo-Buddhism
True Buddha School	Lu Sheng-yen	1980s, late	Tibetan Buddhism Taoism
True Russian Orthodox Church	Pyotr Kuznetsov	2007	Russian Orthodoxy Apocalypticism
Twelve Tribes	Gene and Marsha Spriggs	1972	Messianic Jewish Communal—After 1960
Two by Twos, a.k.a. Cooneyites, Christian Conventions, the Workers and Friends, the Truth, etc.	William Irvine	1897	Independent fundamentalist family
Umbanda	Zélio Fernandino de Moraes	1920	Spiritism
Unarius Academy of Science	Ernest Norman, Ruth Norman	1954	UFO Religion
Unification Church, also known as the Moonies	Sun Myung Moon	1954	Syncretistic Christian
Unitarian Universalism	consolidation	1961	Unitarian Universalism
United Holy Church of America	Isaac Cheshier	1900	Black Trinitarian Pentecostal
United House of Prayer for All People	Marcelino Manoel de Graca	1925	African American Pentecostal
United Israel World Union	David Horowitz	1944	Other Jewish Groups
United Lodge of Theosophists	Robert Crosbie	1909	Theosophical
United Pentecostal Church International	merger	1945	Apostolic Pentecostals
Unity Church	Charles Fillmore and Myrtle Fillmore	1889/1903	New Thought-Christian
Universal Great Brotherhood	Serge Raynaud de la Ferriere	1940s, late	Other Theosophical Groups
Universal Life Church	Kirby Hensley	1962	Liberal Family
Universal White Brotherhood	Peter Deunov	1900	Other Theosophical Groups Esoteric Christianity
Urantia Foundation	William S. Sadler	1934	UFO religion Psychic New Age Christian occultist
Vajradhatu	Chögyam Trungpa	1973	Tibetan Buddhism
Vale do Amanhecer	Tia Neiva	1959	Spiritualism
Volunteers of America	Ballington Booth, Maud Booth	1896	Holiness movement
The Way International	Victor Paul Wierwille	1942	Independent fundamentalist family
The Way of the Livingness (Universal Medicine)	Serge Benhayon	1999	Neo-Theosophical and/or "Socially harmful cult".
White Eagle Lodge	Lady Elizabeth Carey	1943	Other Theosophical Groups
Wicca	Gerald Gardner	1949, circa	Modern Pagan Witchcraft Occult
Wotansvolk	David Lane	1990s	neo-völkisch paganism
The Word Foundation	Harold W. Percival	1904, circa	Theosophical
World Peace and Unification Sanctuary Church	Hyung Jin Moon, Yeon Ah Lee Moon	2015	Unification Church-based ultra-Orthodox/Fundamentalism
Yiguandao	Wang Jueyi; Chang Thien Ran	1800s, late	Chinese salvationist-Millenarian

See also

• Governmental lists of cults and sects
• Hinduism-oriented new religious movements
• List of Christian denominations
• List of New Thought denominations and independent centers
• List of Neopagan movements
• List of religions and spiritual traditions
• List of sects in the Latter Day Saint movement
• New religious movements in the United States

Bibliography

Main sources

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Other selected sources

• Ashcraft, W. Michael (2018). Introduction to the Study of New Religious Movements. London: Routledge. 
• Bainbridge, William Sims (1997). The sociology of religious movements. London; New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-91202-0. 
• Barrett, David V. (2001). The new believers: a survey of sects, cults and alternative religions (Rev. ed.). London: Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-35592-1. https://archive.org/details/newbelieverssurv00barr. 
• Best, Felton O., ed (1998). Black Religious Leadership from the Slave Community to the Million Man March; flames of fire. Lewiston, New York: The Edwin Mellen Press. 
• Burgess, Stanley M.; van der Maas, Eduard M., eds (2002). "The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements". The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. ISBN 0-310-22481-0. 
• Clarke, Peter B., ed (2000). Japanese New Religions: In Global Perspective. Surrey, UK: Curzon Press. ISBN 0-7007-1185-6. 
• Dawson, Andrew (2007). New Era, New Religions: Religious Transformation in Contemporary Brazil. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-5433-9. 
• Dawson, Lorne L. (2006). Comprehending Cults: The Sociology of New Religious Movements. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-542009-8. https://archive.org/details/trent_0116405390356. 
• Ellwood, Robert S. (1971). "Notes on a Neopagan Religious Group in America". History of Religions XI (1): 125. doi:10.1086/462645. 
• Enroth, Ronald M. (2005). A Guide To New Religious Movements. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-8308-2381-9. https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780739454954. 
• Fort, Samuel (2014). Cult of the Great Eleven. Nisirtu Press. 
• Gallagher, Eugene V. (2006). Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-275-98713-8. 
• Gold, Lorna (2004). The Sharing Economy: Solidarity Networks Transforming Globalization. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-3345-7. 
• Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas (2002). Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-3155-0. 
• Greer, John Michael (8 October 2003). "The new encyclopedia of the occult". The new encyclopedia of the occult. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 978-1-56718-336-8. 
• Hanegraaff, Wouter (2013). Western Esotericism: A Guide for the Perplexed. London: Bloomsbury Press. ISBN 978-1-4411-3646-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=khaNd720XQMC. 
• Hayes, Michael A. (2006). New Religious Movements in the Catholic Church. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8264-9357-6. 
• Irons, Edward A. (2008). "Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Encyclopedia of World Religions)". Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Encyclopedia of World Religions). New York: Checkmark Books. ISBN 978-0-8160-7744-1. 
• Jones, Lindsay, ed (2005). "Encyclopedia of Religion". Encyclopedia of Religion. 15-volume Set (2nd ed.). Detroit, Mi: MacMillan Reference USA. ISBN 0-02-865733-0. https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofre0000unse_v8f2. 
• Klass, Morton; Weisgrau, Maxine K. (1999). Across the Boundaries of Belief: Contemporary Issues in the Anthropology of Religion. Boulder, Co; Oxford, UK: Westview Press. ISBN 978-0-8133-2695-5. 
• Krogh, Marilyn; Pillifant, Brooke Ashley (2004). "Kemetic Orthodoxy: Ancient Egyptian Religion on the Internet: A Research Note". Sociology of Religion 65 (2): 167–175. doi:10.2307/3712405. 
• "Mini-Consultation on Reaching Mystics and Cultists". Lausanne Occasional Paper 11 (1.e). 1980. http://www.lausanne.org/all-documents/lop-11.html. 
• Lewis, James R. (2002). Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions. Amherst, NY: Prometheus. ISBN 978-1-57392-888-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=3w8ZAQAAIAAJ. 
• Lewis, James R. (2003). "The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO Religions". The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO Religions. Prometheus Books. ISBN 978-1-57392-964-6. 
• Lewis, James R., ed (2004). "The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of New Age Religions". The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of New Age Religions. Prometheus Books. ISBN 978-1-59102-040-0. 
• Lewis, James R., ed (2004). "The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements". The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-514986-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=srzUHo874qIC. 
• Lewis, James R., ed (2004). Controversial New Religions. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/019515682X.003.0018. ISBN 978-0-19-515682-9. 
• Lewis, James R., ed (2015). "Handbook of Nordic New Religions". Handbook of Nordic New Religions. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-29246-8. 
• Lewis, James R., ed (2016). "The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements". The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements. Oxford Handbooks. 2 (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-046617-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=KisRDAAAQBAJ. 
• Lyon, David (2000). Jesus in Disneyland: Religion in Postmodern Times. Polity. ISBN 978-0-7456-1489-2. 
• Marhic, Renaud; Kerlidou, Alain (1996). Sectes & mouvements initiatiques en Bretagne: du celtisme au nouvel âge. Terre de brume editions. ISBN 978-2-908021-78-3. 
• Mayer, Jean-François; Kranenborg, Reender (2004) (in fr). La naissance des nouvelles religions. Genève: Georg. ISBN 978-2-8257-0877-4. http://religion.info/french/articles/article_149.shtml. Retrieved 2009-12-26. 
• Melton, J. Gordon, ed (1990). "New Age Encyclopedia". New Age Encyclopedia. Detroit, Mi: Gale Research. ISBN 0-8103-7159-6. https://archive.org/details/newageencycloped00jgor. 
• Melton, J. Gordon (1992). "Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America". Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America. Religious Information Series, 7 (Rev. and updated ed.). New York: Garland Publ.. ISBN 0-8153-0502-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=KRTGzgpDvL4C. 
• Melton, J. Gordon (1999). "Religious Leaders of America: A Biographical Guide to Founders and Leaders of Religious Bodies, Churches, and Spiritual Groups in North America". Religious Leaders of America: A Biographical Guide to Founders and Leaders of Religious Bodies, Churches, and Spiritual Groups in North America (2nd ed.). Detroit, Mi: Gale Group. ISBN 0-8103-8878-2. https://archive.org/details/religiousleaders0000melt. 
• Melton, J. Gordon, ed (2009). "Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions". Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions (8th ed.). Detroit, MI: Gale Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-0-787-69696-2.  (archive)
• Melton, J. Gordon, ed (2010). Religions of the world: a comprehensive encyclopedia of beliefs and practices (2nd ed.). Santa Barbara, Ca: ABC-Clio. ISBN 978-1-59884-203-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=v2yiyLLOj88C. 
• Nelson, Geoffrey K. (1987). Cults, New Religions and Religious Creativity. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 978-0-7102-0855-2. https://archive.org/details/cultsnewreligion0000nels. 
• Partridge, Christopher (2004). New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-522042-1. 
• Partridge, Christopher Hugh (2003). UFO Religions. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-26324-5. 
• Peters, Shawn Francis (2008). When Prayer Fails: Faith Healing, Children, and the Law. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-530635-4. 
• Ramstedt, Martin (2007). Kemp, Daren. ed. Handbook of the New Age. Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion. 1. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-15355-4. 
• Raphael, Melissa (April 1998). "Goddess Religion, Postmodern Jewish Feminism, and the Complexity of Alternative Religious Identities". Nova Religio 1 (2): 198–215. doi:10.1525/nr.1998.1.2.198. https://online.ucpress.edu/nr/article-abstract/1/2/198/70030/Goddess-Religion-Postmodern-Jewish-Feminism-and?redirectedFrom=PDF. 
• Reece, Gregory L. (2007). UFO Religion: Inside Flying Saucer Cults and Culture. I. B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-451-0. 
• Ryan, Charles J. (1975). H.P. Blavatsky and the Theosophical Movement. San Diego, Ca: Point Loma Publications. ISBN 0-913004-25-1. 
• Saliba, John (2003). Understanding New Religious Movements. AltaMira Press. ISBN 978-0-7591-0356-6. 
• Singer, Margaret Thaler; Lalich, Janja (1995). Cults in Our Midst. San Francisco, Ca: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-0-7879-0051-9. https://archive.org/details/cultsinourmidst00sing. 
• Smith, Christian; Joshua Prokopy (1999). Latin American Religion in Motion. London; New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-92106-0. https://archive.org/details/latinamericanrel0000unse. 
• Strmiska, M.; Sigurvinsson, B. A. (2005). "Asatru: Nordic Paganism in Iceland and America". in Strmiska, M.. Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives. Santa Barbara, Ca; Denver, Co; Oxford: ABC-Clio. ISBN 978-1-85109-608-4. 
• Swenson, Donald (2009). Society, Spirituality, and the Sacred: A Social Scientific Introduction. North York, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-9680-7. 
• Tamura, Yoshiro (2001). Japanese Buddhism: A Cultural History. Kosei Publishing Company. ISBN 978-4-333-01684-6. 
• Tucker, Ruth A. (2004). Another Gospel: Cults, Alternative Religions, and the New Age Movement. Zondervan. ISBN 978-0-310-25937-4. 
• York, Michael (2004). Historical Dictionary of New Age Movements. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow. ISBN 978-0-8108-4873-3. 
• Daniels, Lee (2021). Book of Weksek: The book of the religion of Weksek. Lulu. ISBN 978-1-716-05838-7. 

External links

• Diskus The on-disk journal of international Religious Studies
• Hartford Institute of Religious Research: New religious movements
• Introvigne, Massimo (June 15, 2001). "The Future of Religion and the Future of New Religions". http://www.cesnur.org/2001/mi_june03.htm. 
• Online texts about NRMs
• SSSR Resolution on New Religious Groups
• Hadden, Jeffrey K. and Douglas Cowan The New Religious Movements Homepage @The University of Virginia
• Religious Movements in the United States: An Informal Introduction