The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1687 page)

, and
Seich
no ie
.

 
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New religious movements
.

A generic term referring to the literally thousands of religious movements (and occasionally secular alternatives to religion) that have emerged world-wide, but especially in Africa, Japan, and the West during this cent. Their adherents are to be estimated in millions. While for the most part highly syncretistic, the ritual and content of many of these new religions have been influenced, to a greater or lesser degree, by Buddhist, Christian, and Hindu spiritual techniques and perspectives. There is also a sizeable number of Islamic-and Jewish-oriented new religions, and numerous esoteric,
metaphysical
, and
neo-pagan
movements.
Although classification is difficult, one of the more successful is that of R. Wallis, using ‘response to the world’ as the principal distinguishing criterion: this separates two main types: world-denying and world-affirming movements—and a third, relatively minor category, the world-accommodating type. The first type emerged as participants of the
counterculture
, somewhat disillusioned with its approach and objectives, began to turn to religions such as Hare Krishna (see
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY
…), the
Divine Light Mission
, the Unification Church (see
MOON, SUN MYUNG
), and the
Children of God
, which shunned the world and stressed the importance of the expressive, experiential approach to religious truth over against reason and reflection.
For a time these movements, highly authoritarian, rigid, demanding, and communalistic, exercised most appeal, sometimes rivalled by the world-affirming
Scientology
and
Transcendental Meditation
. More recently, however, world-affirming movements as a whole (embracing among others
metaphysical movements
such as the
Spiritual
Frontiers Fellowship, such ‘self-religions’ as
Exegesis
and
Silva Mind Control
, African and Japanese new religions, for example the Aladura churches and
S
ka Gakkai
respectively) have experienced considerable growth.
The world-affirming movements (or self- or psycho-religions) aim to transform the individual by providing the means for complete self-realization, in the sense of becoming fully aware that the real or inner self is divine and that the ultimate goal of the religious quest is not to know but to become God.
Other common characteristics include a strong
millennial
dimension, the use made of contemporary language and symbols, eclecticism, and an egalitarian emphasis which in theory permits all to attain the highest levels of spiritual growth. The world-accommodating movements (such as the growth of Christian house churches, and the various restoration and renewal groups) are more concerned with personal holiness and the revitalization of the established religions than with the wider society.

 
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New Sect Shinto
:

see
SECT SHINTO
.

 
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New Testament
.

The collection of books which in addition to the Jewish scriptures make up the Christian Bible. The Greek word
diath
k
, ‘covenant, testament’, in the sense of writings goes back to
Paul
(2 Corinthians 3. 14).

 
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